[tielwoman]

Hello everyone
I have a 15 year old cockatiel. When my bird is doing well he has very occasionally become fearful of things like loud noises. If he is out of his cage this can lead to flying around and sometimes crash landing. This is concerning and horrible, but it seems reasonably normal to me. But, when he is unwell or a bit low ie moulting, I have noticed that he sometimes becomes much more sensitive and may panic with seemingly no or at least little provocation ie seeing his own shadow.

Currently his appetite is low. We have been to the vet and bloods are normal. Last night he panicked really badly and flew around aimlessly crashing into things 3 times before I could catch him. He was so distressed that he could not stand on his feet. So now I am keeping him in his cage until things improve. The vet was concerned something neurological might be going on, but I am not so sure having seen this kind of thing before. But I am wondering if others have noticed increases in panic behaviour of their birds at certain times or do others birds never seem to panic like this?

 

[luvtiels11]

Hi. I'm sorry I don't have any answer for your concerns, but I hope and pray that he can get the help that he needs. Maybe clipping his wings might prevent him from crashing on the floor when he gets scared to avoid getting hurt. Also playing some soft instrumental music might help him to feel more calm. My tiels love instrumental music and soft jazz. Also, putting him in a more quiet place with not too much traffic or sounds from the tv or street and leaving a soft light on at night. You can also place some perch low in the cage near the floor and not have too many things inside his cage to avoid hitting them when he has frights. Hope that helps and I wish you the best. 😊