# My Cockatiel is acting strange....please HELP!



## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Hi. I am hoping someone here knows what to do about this. I've had my tiel for a little over 5 years now. She's been very energetic and friendly since I got her, although we've never been able to touch her.

Yesterday we drove her to the new house we are going to move into. She had been in the car before then about 3 times but never had any problems. She always sang or yelled really loudly. Yesterday in the morning, though, she became really scared and had a hard time getting on her higher perch. She did not fall at all, but I don't know what was wrong with her. When we got her inside the house, she was a bit scared, but became fine soon after. I had her in the room with me throughout the whole afternoon and she was fine. Then we got her back in the car at night. She immediately became very scared and starting breathing very quickly. We drove her home for about 20 minutes and she just wouldn't stop breathing that way. She also let us touch her on her wing without as much as a hiss, while before she hissed the second we put our hand close to the cage bars. She kept acting this way and breathing really really hard and kept her beak open and her tongue moving quickly as well. It took her about an hour to stop doing that. Then she became her normal self again, although she did not really sing.

Then she suddenly started flying around in her cage and continued to act that scared way again. She has been doing that on and off since last night and all day today. She sleeps fine but she won't eat as much as she used to, and when she sings, she sings with what appears like less energy. She is also afraid of the foods she usually likes, like cucumber and corn.

Please, if anyone knows what to do, let me know. I love her and really really want to help her but all I can think right now is that she is in some kind of shock. I can't send her to the vet because of last night's experience in the car and she is usually afraid of people. Please, please, please, help me.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Has she been in the same house for 5 years? If so, I'm not surprised she is acting scared - I presume if you're moving house then you would be packing away things and fussing over moving.. she could have picked up on this vibe and believes something terrible is happening and now you've taken her to an unfamiliar place. Try and make the new place as familiar as possible - same cage, toys, location of cage (say if you used to have her in a corner keep her in a corner), familiar music. She's probably not eating because she's busy looking out for whatever is scaring her. Give her a couple of days in the new place to adjust. Speak calmly to her and reassure her this is all ok. Some birds just hate travelling - Arnie screams the whole ride. You could try food bribery to make it a more postive experience - what do you transport her in? Also, if it were night she might not have liked the darkness? It sounds to me like she had a bit of an anxiety attack


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If travelling in the car is what's scaring her, try covering the cage while you're travelling. Enclosed spaces feel safer to a bird. 

At home, try covering the cage on three sides. That way she can still see out but only has to watch for danger in one direction. 

Getting ready to move is a big deal and the normal life in your house has probably been disrupted. This might be making her nervous and there's no way for her to understand what's going on. As much as you can, keep things calm, relaxed and non-scary around her.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Belinda said:


> Has she been in the same house for 5 years? If so, I'm not surprised she is acting scared - I presume if you're moving house then you would be packing away things and fussing over moving.. she could have picked up on this vibe and believes something terrible is happening and now you've taken her to an unfamiliar place. Try and make the new place as familiar as possible - same cage, toys, location of cage (say if you used to have her in a corner keep her in a corner), familiar music. She's probably not eating because she's busy looking out for whatever is scaring her. Give her a couple of days in the new place to adjust. Speak calmly to her and reassure her this is all ok. Some birds just hate travelling - Arnie screams the whole ride. You could try food bribery to make it a more postive experience - what do you transport her in? Also, if it were night she might not have liked the darkness? It sounds to me like she had a bit of an anxiety attack


Hi, thank you so much for calming us, we are all really worried. Yes, she has been in the same house for 5 years. And yes, we have been packing and for the first day we were at the house, we left here alone in our old home, and went to work in the new home for several hours. Next day we thought she would rather stay with us then alone, so we took her. Yet in the day after that this accident happened. She is eating and acting very normal right now while my sister sings to her close to the food to comfort her. We transport her in her cage. And it was night when we returned from the new home. This has been happening now although we keep her home (with a family member monitoring her). She still gets scared if too much movement of light changes from room too room and leans in her cage while acting like I mentioned above and tends to loose her balance just a bit. Her eyes get big as if she can't see right.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Yes, she tends to calm down if we cover her. That is the only way she calmed down before going to sleep last night. She still gets scared if too much movement of light changes from room too room and leans in her cage while acting like I mentioned above and tends to loose her balance just a bit. Her eyes get big as if she can't see right. Is this a sign of fear?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

When she leans, she might be getting ready to fly in a panic - she knows the cage bars are in the way but she's scared enough that she might try to go through them. It's good that you can keep her calm enough that she doesn't actually take off, because she can hurt her wings flapping wildly around the cage. Birds do tend to look big-eyed when they're afraid.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Also she lets us touch her like she doesn't know we are touching her. When in her panic, it seems like she can't support herself because her left foot and wing are droopy and she keeps slipping off the perch but never falls. Do you think this is a serious problem???


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Hi, thank you so much for calming us, we are all really worried. Yes, she has been in the same house for 5 years. And yes, we have been packing and for the first day we were at the house, we left here alone in our old home, and went to work in the new home for several hours. Next day we thought she would rather stay with us then alone, so we took her. Yet in the day after that this accident happened. She is eating and acting very normal right now while my sister sings to her close to the food to comfort her. We transport her in her cage. And it was night when we returned from the new home. This has been happening now although we keep her home (with a family member monitoring her). She still gets scared if too much movement of light changes from room too room and leans in her cage while acting like I mentioned above and tends to loose her balance just a bit. Her eyes get big as if she can't see right.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> When in her panic, it seems like she can't support herself because her left foot and wing are droopy and she keeps slipping off the perch but never falls. Do you think this is a serious problem???


Does she seem physically normal when she's calm? If she doesn't then you need to talk to an avian vet ASAP.

If she's only droopy when she's scared, it still doesn't sound normal but it might not be an emergency situation. It's possible that she has a little bit of a physical disability that only shows up when she's too scared to be in good control of her body. It would still be good to talk to an avian vet about it at some point.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Yes, she runs, jumps, preens while standing in one foot, and is very active when not scared and now she is running and being very normal and her wing and foot seem really normal. In about 3 days last year, her cockatiel friend saddly passed on. Could she be remembering that day??? And she is always screaming when she hears a siren. We don't know if she actually experienced another siren on the trip but just putting it out there.


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## Love My Babies (Dec 3, 2010)

*It is Called Stress Seizures*

I believe your baby may be having stress seizures (that is what the vet called them). One of my male tiels has those. He is the one who has to have his beak clipped every month because of an accident when he was a baby. He was always upset about the process but knows when it has to be done (he will hang it out over the bar of the cage and call me). At about 5 years old he started have seizures during nail clipping and beak trimming. The first time was so weird, but then it is always weird. The gal who trims his beak and nails noticed the heavy breathing and the weird calm and explained he was having a seizure. She put him back in his carrier and in about a minute or so the breathing was normal again and he was acting fine. She can't trim his nails anymore so I have to have the vet put him out everytime and tend to his beak too. She can usually trim the beak without the seizure but I don't want him to have the stress seizure since he is 8 years old now. 

I really believe that is what is happening to you bird. Cockatiels are very sensitive to the emotions around them. I am sure she if feeling your excitement and stress over the move. She is afraid of what is happening because it is all new and things are changing. I would try and stay calm during this time period and no more trips with her to the new home until the final day. Move her to an area of your current home on moving day, like the bathroom and close the door. She should be the last thing you move. Check on her periodically and talk to her about how she is going to have a new home but you will be there. You will be amazed at how much your bird understands. You will be worn out after everything is out of the house but don't let her know that. Try and act as normal as possible. Talk to her in the car on the way over to the new home. Stay calm. If she has a seizure I would pull over and turn off the car (if it isn't too cold) and wait for her to come out of it talk to her some more, start the car and let it run, for a little bit. Drive slowly and don't play the radio. When you get to the house you will need to spend some time with her and have her in the room with you while you unpack. She will be afraid so expect some stress behavior like biting or screeching. As she gets used to her new home she will be just fine. But car trips may continue to scare her. 
Good Luck,
Joan


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Birds are prey animals in the wild, and when something unusual happens they tend to get very frightened, thinking that a predator might be coming to eat them. I think this is what is happening with your bird. Packing up to move is noisy, with things bumping around and people calling back and forth to each other in ways that they don't usually do. So there's a big disturbance going on and the bird is afraid that it's something dangerous.

The people in the family are her flock and birds feel safer when they're with the flock. That's probably why you can touch her when she's frightened. Normally she would fuss at you if you did something she didn't like, but when she's afraid she has bigger things to worry about and she's glad that you're there. But on the other hand, when you're doing unusual things it can make her more nervous. Moving is stressful on the people too, and birds are sensitive to our emotions. When the human flock is in an uproar, the bird thinks they might be reacting to some kind of danger so she gets worried about it too. When you act normal and relaxed, she can see that you don't detect any danger so she's likely to be normal and relaxed too.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Ok thank you so very much. She is already feeling much better today. She hasn't been frightened much today, and if she does get frightened it only lasts for less then a minute and her breathing doesn't get that way anymore. She is eating on her own and is very active. Thank you so much for calming my family and I in this stressful time. I called the vet and they told me to sent her there, but I was afraid she would get scared not only from the ride there but also from the environment when she got there.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Yes, definitely, we keep her home now with a family member looking over her. We don't want to leave her alone just yet. She is feeling much better today and is running around as I write. Thank you so much, I think this was definitely it. She has always been a strong bird and never showed any signs of illnesses, so this scared us all.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

I'd just like to add that you might like to consider taking her to the new place in a small pet carrier or a small box (not much bigger than a shoe box) so that she doesn't have to perch for the ride, that could be quite uncomfortable for her and the darkness of a box might calm her and shut some of the noise out. Add a small hand towel or face washer so she has something to grip onto and place something familiar in there - I have a "cockatiel snuggie" Arnie usually sleeps next to and I place that in with her and a little bit of millet.

We're housesitting for 6 weeks a couple of suburbs away and we're moving there today - so I expect I'll have to contend with a bit of what you're going through too. My tiel is pretty young though and has been on a sort visit to visit my mum and dad before so she's a bit more adjusted. A tiel that is a bit older and hasn't been elsewhere for the last 5 years might find it really scary. 

Best of luck  I'm sure it'll all be ok.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Thank you so much for your advice. Best of luck to you and Arnella as well!


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Love My Babies said:


> I believe your baby may be having stress seizures (that is what the vet called them). One of my male tiels has those. He is the one who has to have his beak clipped every month because of an accident when he was a baby. He was always upset about the process but knows when it has to be done (he will hang it out over the bar of the cage and call me). At about 5 years old he started have seizures during nail clipping and beak trimming. The first time was so weird, but then it is always weird. The gal who trims his beak and nails noticed the heavy breathing and the weird calm and explained he was having a seizure. She put him back in his carrier and in about a minute or so the breathing was normal again and he was acting fine. She can't trim his nails anymore so I have to have the vet put him out everytime and tend to his beak too. She can usually trim the beak without the seizure but I don't want him to have the stress seizure since he is 8 years old now.
> 
> I really believe that is what is happening to you bird. Cockatiels are very sensitive to the emotions around them. I am sure she if feeling your excitement and stress over the move. She is afraid of what is happening because it is all new and things are changing. I would try and stay calm during this time period and no more trips with her to the new home until the final day. Move her to an area of your current home on moving day, like the bathroom and close the door. She should be the last thing you move. Check on her periodically and talk to her about how she is going to have a new home but you will be there. You will be amazed at how much your bird understands. You will be worn out after everything is out of the house but don't let her know that. Try and act as normal as possible. Talk to her in the car on the way over to the new home. Stay calm. If she has a seizure I would pull over and turn off the car (if it isn't too cold) and wait for her to come out of it talk to her some more, start the car and let it run, for a little bit. Drive slowly and don't play the radio. When you get to the house you will need to spend some time with her and have her in the room with you while you unpack. She will be afraid so expect some stress behavior like biting or screeching. As she gets used to her new home she will be just fine. But car trips may continue to scare her.
> Good Luck,
> Joan


Do you think that this is dangerous for her???


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'd never heard of stress seizures until this thread. There's not a lot about it on the internet but there's an article on seizures at http://www.avianweb.com/seizures.html 

It includes this: "Stress: Some birds (particularly budgies) are susceptible to "stress seizures" - also referred to as " cardiac racing syndrome" - and most of the time, they will come right out of it once they calm down. For birds that easily stress out, a stress-free environment should be created as much as possible, before any major change, some homeopathic remedy (like the Rescue Remedy for Pets) might be indicated to help a pet deal with stresses."

BTW there are a lot of true believers in homeopathy but it's a completely unscientific alternative-medicine technique whose working principle appears to be the placebo effect. In the case of pet treatments, the placebo effect occurs in the human who observes the animals with changed expectations. Personally I'd skip the Rescue Remedy and work on keeping the bird calm in other ways.

The article recommends seeing a vet, but this is for all kinds of seizures not just stress seizures. It would be best to at least talk to a vet on the phone to see if it's important enough to bring her in, considering that the stress of the visit might trigger another seizure. It's possible that the vet might be able to recommend some kind of medication that will keep her calm and seizure-free in times of stress.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Thank you so much for the link. If I think back, she was actually twitching her wing a bit just like described in the article. My birdie is feeling much better now. My only worry is when we move her to the new home next week. Thank you so much for your help and care. 

Ms. Gray thanks you too. (that's my birdie)


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

*Update*

Thank you so much everyone. Just a quick update to say that we moved in the new home and my birdie handled it like a professional! She is doing fine now and is very relaxed! :tiel1:

Thank you again and Happy Holidays to all of you!  :santa:


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Very pleased for you
Happy holidays


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Glad she is doing well  I just wanted to add that when driving your tiel in the car make sure there are no car fresheners in it. I read a really sad story the other day how a lady took her tiel to the vet who was acting sick and it's friend who was fine for company. They were in the car for a two hour drive with the windows up since it was very cold out. After getting to the vets the other tiel started to act strange a few hours later they were both dead  She had a air freshener hanging off her rear view mirror.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> Glad she is doing well  I just wanted to add that when driving your tiel in the car make sure there are no car fresheners in it. I read a really sad story the other day how a lady took her tiel to the vet who was acting sick and it's friend who was fine for company. They were in the car for a two hour drive with the windows up since it was very cold out. After getting to the vets the other tiel started to act strange a few hours later they were both dead  She had a air freshener hanging off her rear view mirror.


That is so sad


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Oh my, this is so sad... thank you for the heads up! That's gotta be just horrible. Are the air fresheners poisonous to them???


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

Also beware carpet fresheners, candles, and incense. Especially the carpet freshener-whenever I used to run my old vacuum it would perfume the house with recycled Arm & Hammer scent from pre-bird uses, so I had to get rid of it.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

How about nail polish and remover, that too???


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

Avoid those! Acetone (prevalent in remover) is what you use to kill bugs to collect them. It still turns my stomach when I'm in the room with anything cherry-flavored because I connote it with the cherry nail polish remover that I used to murder the subjects of my obligatory 7th grade science bug collection. Fumes are bad news to 'tiels, as they are smaller and have a different respiratory system. Think of a canary in a mine-they succumb more quickly to fumes.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

shelagh said:


> Avoid those! Acetone (prevalent in remover) is what you use to kill bugs to collect them. It still turns my stomach when I'm in the room with anything cherry-flavored because I connote it with the cherry nail polish remover that I used to murder the subjects of my obligatory 7th grade science bug collection. Fumes are bad news to 'tiels, as they are smaller and have a different respiratory system. Think of a canary in a mine-they succumb more quickly to fumes.


Thank you! I've been doing quite some searching lately! I want my tiel to be perfectly safe!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The same with cage covers. I had a friend that was having bad respiratory problems and deaths. I was found that the fabric softener sheet used in the dryer when she washed her cage covers was the cause of death because of the strong perfumey smell they had given off when the birds were covered. Cage covers should be scent free of anything, and if in doubt leave the cage partially covered for air flow.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Wow glad i only cover mine half way... I would never of thought about that


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