Had the fright of my life this morning....

[Cheshire Cat]

I was woken up suddenly to hear Tui thrashing against the cage. I rushed out of bed and when I looked she was literally thrashing her wings up and down and rushing around the cage as if something was chasing her. I opened the cage and even then when she saw me she wouldn't calm down.

 

I finally got her out the cage and she flew out of my hands and onto the floor. I picked her up and then held her against me for about 10 minutes trying to calm her as best I could. When I got back into bed I didn't put the cover back over her cage just in case she got scared again, and she could see me.

 

Does anyone know what this might be? Sounds strange, but could it be a bird version of a night terror? Do birds dream? I was just so worried about her this morning, but thankfully since her behaviour has been completely normal. I did notice she seemed a little quieter than usual this morning, but she's certainly perked up and become her normal self again.

[judygram]

It does indeed sound like Tui had a night fright, its not as common in greys but it does happen, in fact Talon has a Tag that has them occasionally so she might be able to give you some insight into what works for her when Talon has them. It occurs more often in cockatiels I think, I have one but have never known her to have them. The fact that she seems normal this morning although a little quiet makes it more likely that was what it was.

[Talon]

Yes, Judy is correct. It is a night fright. They scare the daylights out of you when that happens, cause we dont understand what has happened!! I keep Talon in my room in a sleep cage, covered by a navy blue sheet, but keeping it partially opened on both sides, a soft towel on the bottom of her cage, as many times she has fallen during one of these episodes, and ALWAYS a nite light next to her cage. I have tried with out the light, but they get worse. Usually, when it happens, I FLY to her cage, open it as I am calming trying to reassure her all is ok, then I DO take her out, comfort her as she is usually breathing very heavy. She will chirp at me, and I do this for a short time, just until I see she is calm, then I make her go back into her cage and tell her its still night time and time to go back to bed. Then I cover her a but less and go back to bed. I dont want to keep her out too long and encourage this in any way. Se has suffered from night frights ever since she was a baby, and I have had her since 8 1/2 weeks.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I never heard of birds having night terrors, but it certainly makes sense as we all dream. Zoey my dog sleeps with me. I KNOW she has bad dreams. When she whimpers in her sleep, I wake her up. nancy