Mental Health Issues in Captive Birds

What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution

“…In fact, nighttime activity slightly increased over time, even though daytime activity patterns suggests that perch use tended to decline over time for all groups ( Figure 2 ), which is a typical phenomenon of captive birds. 44 Our findings are novel, as few studies have exposed birds to ALAN for comparable lengths of time. Two other studies exposed birds to 4 weeks of ALAN, with one reporting a persistent behavioral response 45 and the other a slight decline over time.…”

Evaluation of welfare indicators for companion parrots: a Delphi consultation survey

“…Opportunities for physical activities and time spent out of the cage were ranked by participants as the most important environment-based indicators, sharing the joint first place in the ranking, followed by cage characteristics and provision of foraging enrichment. Environmental enrichment and housing thus emerged as aspects that participants considered particularly important, likely because these provide parrots with an opportunity to meet their biological needs: mental stimulation, opportunities to forage and exercise, and interaction with other parrots - preferably conspecifics 4, 5, 7, 10, 49 . These 26 indicators would be valuable to inform owners about the type of husbandry and management conditions to provide and, if necessary, how to modify the current living environment.…”

“…Poor welfare can arise due to a lack of knowledge or neglect of parrots' biological needs and can manifest through health issues (e.g. obesity, atherosclerosis, fungal and bacterial infections) and behavioural problems, including excessive screaming, aggression, selfinjurious behaviours and stereotypies [4][5][6][7] . A lack of cognitive stimulation, opportunities to forage, social interactions, locomotor behaviour and the provision of unbalanced diets are considered the main risks to parrot welfare [7][8][9] .…”

“…obesity, atherosclerosis, fungal and bacterial infections) and behavioural problems, including excessive screaming, aggression, selfinjurious behaviours and stereotypies [4][5][6][7] . A lack of cognitive stimulation, opportunities to forage, social interactions, locomotor behaviour and the provision of unbalanced diets are considered the main risks to parrot welfare [7][8][9] . Moreover, inappropriate human-parrot interactions can cause companion parrots to become aggressive, fearful, and excessively vocal 5,10 .…”