# Flapping wings



## connie00000 (Apr 1, 2014)

Hello everyone. I have a Latino Cockatiel named Zazu. He is approximately almost 11 months old. I had him for about 6 months now. At the pet shop I bough him from he was the feisty one (and somehow those are the ones I'm usually drawn to) so of course I picked him lol. Anyway...he was very quick to accept me. Within two months times he was stepping onto my hand and in 3 months I was able to scratch his head (he even bows it for me to pet) Every time I leave the room he'll start whistling very loudly for a little while. Here's the problem though. Every once in awhile Zazu goes nuts with flapping his wings in his cage. I once came home and there was dried blood on him (at first I thought it was a broken blood feather) so I took him to my local Avian vet. But the vet said that it wasn't a blood feather and that he probably damaged it by hitting it against the cage bars. She suggested that I get a bigger cage (the cage he was in originally was sufficient, but I was looking into a bigger one anyway) So I got him a really big cage. A cage big enough to hold 4 cockatiels. There's only him though. That hasn't stopped with the excessive flapping every now and again though. And occasionally he starts to bleed a little. It's always stopped right away though. I was just wondering if there is anything I could do to prevent this from occurring. I just worry about him hurting himself. This takes place in the day by the way, so it's not night frights. That's Zazu below.


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

Zazu is adorable! He looks just like my Tiki!!! 

When he is flapping his wings is he standing up right or is he hanging upside down in a strange position? If he is upside down he might be batbirding. Tiki does it a lot and he also flaps his wings. He is CONSTANTLY snapping blood feathers on his wings and his poor poor tail! We toweled him yesterday to clip his nails because they were digging into our skin and I got a real good look at his tail. He has two long tail feathers in the center that are slightly tilted sideways, I was able to feel the length of them and they are both slightly broken a few inches down the feathers in the same spot  I was also able to count how many tail feathers he had that were broken since before we got him and I stopped counting at around 8 

When we bought Tiki, I also bought a bottle of kwikstop, it is a septic powder that stops bleeding, it is for cats, dogs and birds. It was the best purchase I have ever made for Tiki. Sadly, I use it constantly. For birds like Tiki and Zazu, I highly recommend that you have some. 










You may want to try the long nights with Zazu since he's a male. A lot of people around here highly recommend it. It is keeping his cage covered with a blanket for 12-14 hours during the night. It really helps the males tone down their hormonal tendencies.

This is my Tiki


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## connie00000 (Apr 1, 2014)

Tiki is so cute!  And as far as Zazu being male is concerned, well....I don't know that for sure. When I bought him at a little over four months old, the guy who sold him to me said that they couldn't tell the sex yet. And frankly $200 to determine if it is a boy or girl is a lot of money. I know that Zazu is very voal (though he doesn't talk) Zazu is also very active and loves climbing upside down on the top of his cage. I call him my little acrobat lol. So I don't know...considering his energy level I'm simply assuming Zazu is a he. But I do not know for certain. And I've actually heard of the Kwik Stop, but Zau has issues with me touching his wings. I could scratch his head and he steps on my hand and everything, but when I go to make a move towards his wings, he does not like it. So I don't know how I would be able to apply the Kwik Stop. Like I said, the bleeding stops on it's own every time so far, but I am going to be picking up what you recommended as a precaution for the future. I'm going to start trying to get Zazu more comfortable with me touching his wings. Thank you so much for your advice.


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

Tiki goes crazy on us if we try to touch his wings. We have to towel him and make sure his head is covered so he can not see who is doing this "dirty deed" to him. What I do is towel him and gently pull out the wing or limb in question and find the bleed then I pinch the power between my thumb and index finger and pack it into whatever is bleeding until the bleeding stops. If he breaks a blood feather and you can't get it to stop bleeding then you have to pluck the shaft of the feather out completely and then apply kwikstop to the skin where it was plucked. An avian vet or someone extremely knowledgeable about birds can talk you through how to do it in person and that would make it much easier for you if it ever happens. People here are also very quick to help and give online instructions if something happens. You would need to towel him and have someone else hold him when ever you have to do something like that to him. I had to do it myself the second day we got him because I was by myself, it was extremely difficult and stressful. So it can be done by yourself if it happens and you are by yourself. It is just way harder. I used to be a veterinary technician for a dog and cat vet several years ago, so I am comfortable and confident whenever something goes awry with my bird. The key thing is not to panic and do what you have to do.


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## connie00000 (Apr 1, 2014)

Oh! I forgot to answer your question about what position he's in when he flaps. Usually he's holding onto the cage bars with his claws while climbing about the cage when he does it. Other times he'll be on his perch and hunch over and flap.


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

Male Cockatiels do batbirding, beak banging and several other things when they are hormonal, when they start doing almost everything on the list, you can be pretty sure that your bird is a male. Males also mimic sounds and can be taught to sing. 

Tiki is currently learning his first song which is "If you're happy and you know it". He practices all the time. He also wolf whistles and says "Pretty Bird". We figure he is between 7-9 months old. I've had him for about 2 and a half months. You can go onto youtube and find videos of other cockatiels doing batbirding, beak banging and some other male behaviors and stuff. Also, where do you live? DNA testing for gender is only like $20-$50 in most places in the USA. Have you asked your vet about how much it would cost to have it done?


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## connie00000 (Apr 1, 2014)

I'll have to look those videos up. I live in FL. and I could have sworn either the man I bought Zazu from or his vet had said $200. Maybe I heard wrong though. I'll email the vet and ask. Thanks.


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

Oh I was born and raised in Florida 

What city do you live in?


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## connie00000 (Apr 1, 2014)

Cool! I currently live in Coral Springs.


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

I was born in Ft. Lauderdale, raised in WPB then moved to Sebastian when I was like 19yrs old and lived there for about 10 years


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## tweetsandsarah (Mar 27, 2014)

Just another thought... And I could be wrong, but could he be exercising his wings? If he gets plenty of time out of the cage to stretch his wings though, I dunno.


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