# Behavior Change after Traumatic Day



## Trish123 (Mar 20, 2013)

Today was a horrible day for my cockatiel. Today my family was coming over to visit (which includes 4 small children all under the age of eight). I unfortunately had to work and wouldn't be there. I talked with my family beforehand and told them not to let the kids touch Rio, until I got home from work. Well I came home to find Rio's cage completely trashed. His toys were on the ground, some of them broken, and the kids were gathered around the cage screaming at the bird. They never touched him, but they were allowed to trash the cage and torment him all day.

I am shocked this happened. First off, I don't understand why the kids were allowed to do this. Second, I am surprised the kids acted this way in the first place. They are so gentle with my other animals. I let the oldest one clean my fish's bowl because she is so careful. I've never seen anyone as concerned about a fish's well-being as she is. Over Christmas I fostered a kitten. They were all so careful and gentle with it. Not sure what happened with Rio.

Rio looks okay, but he is not acting himself. He is too calm. I just got him last week, and he isn't completely tame yet. But he is letting me pick him up and hold him without protesting. He is acting way too nice. He isn't a very active bird in the first place, so he hasn't slowed down any, but his attitude has changed. He is much friendlier than he was when I left for work this morning.

What do you think? Should I be concerned?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i'd be paying VERY close attention to him, sudden signs of tameness on a previously untame bird can be a sign for concern. it could be shock from the trauma from today (let him rest, encourage him to eat and drink) or possibly the stress from today could have brought out a hidden illness (stress can bring out underlying issues). so keep a VERY close watch, and if the behaviour continues for more than a day or two, i'd think a vet visit would be a good idea to rule out possible illness. yeast infections are often caused by stress.


it's happened to me. diet conversion stressed one of my lovebirds and she developed a severe yeast infection from the stress. and the onset was extremely sudden


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## Trish123 (Mar 20, 2013)

Thankfully Rio will be at a vet's office on Monday. The appointment is only for a wing clip, but if Rio doesn't improve I will ask for the vet. I just hope he is okay. I'm hoping tomorrow morning he will be back to his old self. I feel horrible. He was just getting adapted to his new home and this happened... Poor Rio...


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

would a lock on his cage be better for when company comes over?


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## Trish123 (Mar 20, 2013)

That's a good idea! I hadn't thought of that! I was just going to put him in my room next time, but I will put a lock on his cage too. I will definitely buy a lock.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yeah, i've had to do it before when i first got Dally, and when we have kids--there will be locks on the cages here, especially Munch our female lovebird. dont want kids losing fingers now 

but keep watch, get some locks for all openings on the doors of the cage--feeder doors, main door, etc


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

A couple of possible reasons he's being so quiet now: (1) he's afraid that the kids are still lurking around and he doesn't want to attract their attention, and/or (2) he suddenly feels safe when he's with you. You can exploit that second one while it lasts by having positive interactions with him.

Never mind the lock on the cage, the kids can find a way to torment a bird in a locked cage if they want to. You need to have a pointed conversation with the adult in charge who let them get away with this behavior, and also with the kids themselves about how they need to behave if they want to spend the day at your house again, and the importance of being nice to all animals. They're still young and maybe they somehow didn't equate the bird as being as respect-worthy as your other animals or thought it was OK to harass him as long as they didn't physically harm him, but they're old enough to understand if you explain it to them. You can also tell them that birds are prey animals, and how terrifying it is when the kids behave like predators.


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## Bailey's Mum (Sep 18, 2012)

tielfan said:


> You need to have a pointed conversation with the adult in charge who let them get away with this behavior, and also with the kids themselves about how they need to behave if they want to spend the day at your house again, and the importance of being nice to all animals.


I completely agree with this. 

I wouldn't let them back in my house if this happened to Bailey. 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


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## Trish123 (Mar 20, 2013)

*Update*

Rio is back to his old self again! He is acting like nothing ever happened! He was actually perfect yesterday, but I forgot to post this update. 

The kids are coming over again in 2 weeks. I have the night off of work thankfully, so I will be able to talk to them about being nice to my bird. I also talked to my family (the adults who were there) about what happened. I think next time will go much better. The kids really do love animals. They just have never seen a pet bird before.


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## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

When my sisters kid comes over i am very strict about the interaction - my family think they can just barge in and man handle my animals - resulted in an extremly stressed bearded dragon and so now i make sure everyone knows the rules, if im not there dont go near the pets, all it took was a conversation and a few examples of what happend. 
Hope all goes well next time.


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