Sick as a parrot? Not any longer as Prozac cures stressed bird
WHEN 10-year-old Roxxi the parrot pulled out all its feathers, owner Margy Newton feared the worst.
Distressed Roxxi refused to leave the cage and vets diagnosed the Congo African Grey with severe anxiety, putting it on painkillers and the anti-depressant Prozac.
Margy, 50, a lifeguard and gymnastics coach, could only wait to see if the pills would help Roxxi to recover its “live-wire” personality.
Margy, who owns 12 birds, said: “We came down one morning and the feathers were in a circle all around her. She’d pulled out everything from the chin down.
“It was terrible. It was so distressing for us to watch her go through it. Some mornings she was so low, she didn’t even want to come out of her cage.
“And the Prozac made her a bit too relaxed, it was like she was high.”
Energetic
But after eight months of treatment Roxxi is back to its energetic former self – even resuming a habit of sliding down the bannister. Margy, of West Kirby, Merseyside, said: “It’s hard to believe how much better she is compared with even three months ago. “Roxxi was always such a live wire. She bonded so well with our other African Grey, Harley, and they were both happy as Larry. The pair of them used to love tearing around the aviary in the garden, playing games with their hoop and we’ve always let them in the house. “One of Roxxi’s favourite things to do from the first time she discovered the stairs is to slide down the bannister. “They love it and they both laugh away as they whizz down and then climb back up for another go.” Margy, who also works for bird charity Problem Parrots, was actually terrified of them until her husband persuaded her to adopt two 11 years ago and admits the house is now at capacity with abandoned or lost birds.