excessive regurgitation

[B.B.]

Hello Everyone,

I have a 6 year old peachface Dutch Blue. He has some odd behaviors as his favorite entertainments. Mind you, this is a single bird and I am his second owner, I have had him for about a year now.

So what do you think about this, he sits on top of his nest which is a tent like construction made from a pant leg and repeatedly throws up his seeds and then eats them. He does this throughout the day, for at least 20 minutes at a time. I know regurgitation is part of breeding behavior and I mentioned it to a vet, who did not have really any comment on it.

Does anyone else know of this behavior and whether or not it is detrimental? It is rather gross, but he seems to really enjoy doing it. He has plenty of toys and I play with him at least a few times a day but this is still his preferred activity when he is in his cage.

what are your thoughts on this?
B.B. and owner, Angela >o

[Janie]

Hi Angela,

I should know how to move this thread to the Behavior section but for some reason, can't manage to do it! :confused: Maybe another moderator will! :D

Anyway, to try to answer your question, one of my three does regurgitate and eats what he's regurgitated often during the day, every day. :rolleyes: He is 2 1/2. I have no idea how long birds continue to display that behavior (I was hoping it would stop in the near future, what a mess! :D) so I can't say if this is normal for a 6 year old lovebird. I do weigh my bird at least once a week to make sure he's not loosing weight and he hasn't so apparently this is just his thing. His brother, same age, did the same thing but only for about 6 months and stopped at least half a year ago. My oldest lovie was already 7 when I adopted him and while in my care has never done the regurgitating thing.

[michael]

Hi Angela. Generally males are more likely to regurgitate and this can be a sign of affection. Bobbing of the head followed by either nothing or a small amounts of food is often quite normal. Depending on how frequent he's doing this you may want to remove his tent temporarily during the day and try to encourage him towards other healthy behavior. Vomiting usually lacks the head bobbs or results in them shaking their head side to side in order to get rid of the debris. Either way the amount you've indicated is a little unusual and I would observe his behavior more closely. If you still feel its too excessive, or he appears to also be vomiting, he's ready for a good checkup......Hope this helps........Michael and Goofy

[Janie]

Very noticeable difference in regurgitating and vomiting. As Michael said, they will shake their head from side to side and the vomit is very liquid and goes everywhere. Oliver did that one time, the very day of his annual vet check, and I was horrified. Probably due to the stress of the apt. or the heat in the car but it was awful to see and really frightened me.

Michael, if you would see the piles that Shy gacks daily, you would not believe it. :omg: I have taken photos in the past but they went bye-bye with ImageStation. Right now, in one cage with two birdie buddies (his gacking companions) there are two piles, one on each birdie buddy, the size of a quarter. I cleaned the piles off about 3 hours ago. I do weigh him weekly and whatever he's gacking, he's able to maintain his normal weight.

I agree that it's always best to get your vets opinion to be on the safe side. Shy went for his annual check-up in late August and my vet is aware of all that gacking but told me it's just "normal" for him and not to worry as long as he maintains his usual 53 to 55 grams.

[Z28Taxman]

Hi Angela,

I should know how to move this thread to the Behavior section but for some reason, can't manage to do it! :confused: Maybe another moderator will! :D


Moved it for 'ya.

Ditto does that to one of his toys from time to time. It's normal and he goes through phases where he'll do it quite a bit and then he won't do it at all. He's just feeling frisky.:whistle:

[Janie]

Moved it for 'ya.

Ditto does that to one of his toys from time to time. It's normal and he goes through phases where he'll do it quite a bit and then he won't do it at all. He's just feeling frisky.:whistle:

Dave, one of these days maybe you'll tell me HOW you moved it. I do click on move post but then it says I'm not telling them which one to move. :confused: Well heck, if I'm viewing THIS post and then want to move THIS post, they should understand that THIS is the post I'm referring to, right? :rotfl HELP!

[michael]

Janie and Dave. The first thing I thought was "this doesn't belong here, does it?". Honestly, I'm fearful of pulling levers and pressing buttons that aren't all that familiar. I can just hear the explosion from miles away.:eek:! The software I'm used to is very dissimilar to V-bulletin and there are no members involved, so I can screw up whatever I want :clap . At least here it would be an honest mistake :very_sad: :) . Lets see :roll: ....The leave a 30 day RD is what has me.............. These imoticons are neat, aren't they?.............Michael and Goofy

[B.B.]

Thanks for your input everyone!

I'm sorry I put the question in the wrong area, I realized it after I saw it up there. I'm new to this whole "thread" posting thing.

I think based on what you all have said this is regurgitation that he is doing and not vomiting. Like I said, it seems to keep him happy and entertained so who am I to argue?

The birdie buddy does seem to be a gacking surface of choice, you got that right Janie! LOL- gack

Thanks again ~ you are all so kind for taking the time to reply!

xoxo,
Angela and B.B.

[Janie]

BB, had I not already been on this forum for 2 years before getting my little gacker, Shy, I would have had no idea what the heck was going on! :lol I'd read about all that gross gacking but had not experienced it first hand and even though I knew it was normal and to be expected, I was still just sure that Shy was gacking too much! I took pictures and posted them.....those piles and piles of gack! :whistle:

I weighed him last night after reading this thread and he's holding steady at 54 grams but his BIG brother, Big Boi, weighed a whooping 59 grams! He does gack to Oliver a little but not nearly the way Shy does. :D Last time Big Boi and Shy went in for their yearly exam, my vet told me that I'd given "BIG Boi" the right name! :rotfl

Michael, Dave showed me (after this) how to move a thread so we'll see if I can follow his directions! :whistle: