Hello! I have a GCC who has developed a strange habit that is starting to concern me. He is covered every night when it gets dark, and he will even get cranky and scream if he doesn't get covered on time (I swear he knows when it is 8.) Anyways, after he gets covered he goes down to the bottom of his cage, which is in pitch-blackness, and crushes up the pine pellets on the bottom of his cage.
Over the course of a week or two he grinds it all the way down to dust in some places. he also puts them in-between the tray and the cage wall and shoves plenty out of the cage as well. me and my roommate have taken to referring to this activity as "farming." Toward the end of my cage cleaning schedule he does this less and less, and singles out a particular corner of the cage, where he never poos above, and shreds everything as fine as possible. He will continue to shred other pellets, but less so. When I replace the bedding he starts all over again.
I am a little concerned that it might be a stress behavior, but he shows no other signs of stress and has never plucked a single feather. He started this behavior the spring before last when he was hormonal, and he stopped doing it, but this past spring it has continued. He isn't displaying any other hormonal indicators, but he continues to shred his bedding. One of my other chief concerns is that he is coming into contact with his own poo, while he seems to focus on the particular corner, I still worry about it because I know birds have poor night vision and he is doing all this in the dark.
I guess this could be nesting behavior, but GCC's do not nest on the ground that I know of, and i'm 99% sure he is male (no eggs over 7 years)
Has anyone else encountered behavior similar to this? I have been considering just using ceramic tile in the bottom of his cage otherwise and would appreciate advice on that as well if you have any.
Thank you!
Over the course of a week or two he grinds it all the way down to dust in some places. he also puts them in-between the tray and the cage wall and shoves plenty out of the cage as well. me and my roommate have taken to referring to this activity as "farming." Toward the end of my cage cleaning schedule he does this less and less, and singles out a particular corner of the cage, where he never poos above, and shreds everything as fine as possible. He will continue to shred other pellets, but less so. When I replace the bedding he starts all over again.
I am a little concerned that it might be a stress behavior, but he shows no other signs of stress and has never plucked a single feather. He started this behavior the spring before last when he was hormonal, and he stopped doing it, but this past spring it has continued. He isn't displaying any other hormonal indicators, but he continues to shred his bedding. One of my other chief concerns is that he is coming into contact with his own poo, while he seems to focus on the particular corner, I still worry about it because I know birds have poor night vision and he is doing all this in the dark.
I guess this could be nesting behavior, but GCC's do not nest on the ground that I know of, and i'm 99% sure he is male (no eggs over 7 years)
Has anyone else encountered behavior similar to this? I have been considering just using ceramic tile in the bottom of his cage otherwise and would appreciate advice on that as well if you have any.
Thank you!
