New Behavior after Staying Somewhere Else

[Wheeliegirl]

Hi all. I was discharged from the hospital a couple of weeks ago, and thanks to Laura from this board, found a wonderful lady to care for Peachie while I was in the hospital for the surgery and 2 weeks of rehab. Peachie stayed in her home for 4 weeks.

Peachie returned to me about a week and a half ago. Ever since she returned she has been the most nesty (nasty) I've ever seen her. Also, while she was at Bev's, she bit her whole toe nail off, and continues to pick at her nails all the time. They don't appear to be too long, and if they were, I really wouldn't know how to trim them for fear of cutting them too short and making my poor baby bleed (I do have stiptic powder).

When she is out of her cage she makes a b-line to any dark, secluded place she can find, under a blanket, under the cabinet where I keep my printer, behind couch cushions/pillows.....in kitchen cabinets, anywhere! And she's fast! Try getting to her before she reaches one of these places and she runs even faster when she sees me coming!

Before going to Bev's, I put a brand new happy hut in her cage, she chewed through it in the 4 weeks that she was there, and Bev had to buy her a new one. She has chewed through that one now, and now I don't have a happy hut for her, and can't get to the pet store to get her one.

I have 3 questions:

If I don't replace her happy hut, is it detrimental to her? Other birds get by without them, but since she's always had one to sleep in, is it going to stress her out not to have one? I hate to order one online, and pay $7 for it, and $10 for shipping!

Second question; what to do about this toe nail picking? I'm afraid she'll bite a whole toe off! The toe that she bit the nail off of looks funny, but it looks fine. There is no scab or blood that shows, but on other toes it looks as if the skin might be picked at, or a little red. It's hard to tell because I never looked that closely at her toes before, so I don't know how they should look.

Third; will this nesty (nasty) behavior subside after a while? She seems so stressed and not the happy birdie she was before. What should I be doing to make her more relaxed, feel better?

Thanks all! And thanks again to Laura for finding a place for her while I was away.

It will be at least another 6 weeks before I will be able to drive myself anywhere, as the doctor still advises me that I shouldn't be picking up my wheelchair and putting it in the car by myself, so I'm still pretty much stuck in the house unless I can find a friend to help me run errands.

[bookworm0550]

i don't know much about hormones so i can't help you there. i will tell you that she'll be fine w/o a happy hut. i mean, my girl doesn't even use hers. seriously. sometimes i pull the cage cover off and she's sleeping hanging onto the cage bars while the other two are sleeping in theirs. i don't get it, but anyway, i think your girl be fine w/o it. i have read that you're not even supposed to have a hut in their cage when they are hormonal cuz the hut's dark and cozy, like a nest.

[Elle]

Since she always had a hppy hut, I would give her the new one. Birds are creatures of habbits. If she sleep in it at night, then this is where she feels secure.

If you decide not to give her one, it's okay too.

Keep a close eye on her nails and toes. If it seems she's been picking the skin off, you can use a little bit of neosporin on it. My african grey picks the skin on his feet raw when he is stressed out. I would not be surprised that Peachie is stressed out since her whole world fell appart while you were gone.
The nail should also grow back. I have a lovebird who ripped a budgie toe nail completely off and it grew back.

As far as nesting goes, there are different opinions and options. Has Peachie ever laid an egg? Because my hen has laid eggs in the past, I would give her her nest box back. It would give her a sense of security and calm her down as far as hormones goes. It would also give her the time she needs to re-ajust to the fact that everything is getting back to normal.

If you don't give her back her nest box, eventually she will calm down again. You'll just have to continue chasing her out of dark corners and from under the blankets. :)

[LauraO]

Holly. I'm glad you are home and have Peachie with you. I'm sorry to hear about her nail and nestiness:omg:. When I first read your post I thought Peachie bit off Bev's nail and I had to cringe a little:omg::whistle::omg:.

Anway, I'm wondering if Peachie ripped off her toe nail herself or if she got it caught in something like her happy hut? Anway, I agree with Elle in keeping an eye on them and her to make sure they are not getting infected or anything. I wouldn't be too worried if the nail doesn't grow back. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.

As for the happy hut, I agree that I would give her another one but given your lack of mobility I would just wait. Most all birds have had happy huts their entire lives, but we often take them out while we go on vacation for safety reason and the birdies do okay. Have you noticed if Peachie is even more determined to find dark places since her happy hut has been destroyed? If so, it may be she's looking for a hidey place to go since her happy hut is gone.

Hopefully, Peachie will calm down after a bit. A month is a long time and Bev's house has a bunch of large parrots and different routines. While Peachie was in good hands, it was really different for her after all her years of being with you. I'm sure she missed you........It was too cute. Bev described Peachie as "so sweet and full of p*ss all at the same time," which reminds me of exactly how you describe her and why I've come to love hearing about her adventures over the years:rotfl:rotfl .

I'm glad you are home and I hope you are on the mend and things are going well. Please keep us update on both you and Peachie.

[Wheeliegirl]

Laura O you made me laugh with Bev's description of Peachie! Bev keeps telling me that she misses her. Loving Peachie is truly challenging, but she must grow on you :-)

Peachie was uber-nesty from when she first came home. I didn't realize that there was a hole in her happy hut until the day before yesterday. Just before that, because of the nestiness, I decided to remove it during the day, but it was only a couple of days of that, so that change in the routine didn't have enough time to have any affect.

And from Bev's description of the events, Peachie took her own nail off. Bev was near Peachie's cage, when she heard Peachie make a funny chirp, and then saw that Peachie had taken her nail off.

Also, because she won't let me touch her with my fingers, I often stroke her and give her scritches with her stick, but now this just makes her horny and she poses as if the stick is going to "stick it to her"! Do you think she will lay an egg? Gosh.....I've been so luck with her not laying eggs. My cockateil laid eggs all the time, and I think it may have contributed to her early death.

[BarbieH]

You know, when we first got Gracie she was uber-nesty too. I think instinct (and hormones) must kick into high gear when a hen perceives that she's home.

As for the happy hut, I would let her do without one for a while. For one thing, it's only going to encourage her nesty behavior. For another, it might pose a hazard for her other toenails. As long as she has a corner to perch in, safe and warm, she will be happy and warm.

[Janie]

Holly, no nesty hen advice from me but just wanted to say I'm happy to hear that you're home and that the surgery is behind you. :) I'm sure Peachie missed you loads.

[Chickobee]

Maybe being around a bunch of other birds triggered the "need to breed"...? That could explain the happy hut destruction and searching for dark corners.

We had an awful experience with a happy hut because our nesty little hen was chewing at the seam inside. She got caught by a thread wrapped around her neck in the middle of the night. We hate to think of the consequences if this had happened when we were at work so we took the huts away from both of our birds, and they didn't seem to miss them after a couple of days.

Now I only use the happy huts for babies who haven't figured out how to chew things up yet. I'm now paranaoid about those busy nesty beaks that can cause problems so quickly.

Also, was there a perch that could have irritated her foot so she was picking at it?

Congrats on being able to be home recovering. That is such a huge step in the right direction. :clap:clap

Being a bionic woman myself I can sure relate. I hope you'll be up and about soon. One day you may realize you actually feel better, and it only keeps getting better.

:2cents: If they recommend physical therapy my suggestion is to work hard. You will be so glad you did!

:grouphug: