Night Fright

[Zeb]

Hi, probably been answered here a million times so I'm extremely sorry for not using the search tool but its 4am and I can't get to sleep especially since my tiel had a night fright. She had a nasty one then settled down. Few moments later she was off again in a series of mini frights and every time I think she's stopped (I only gave it a couple chances) she carried on. By this time I was very worried so I walked into the front room (I live in a flat) and she calmed down.

She stayed on my hand for about 30 seconds before taking off and flying around the room. I got her back and stayed with her for a few minutes and put her back in her cage and went back to bed. Not being able to sleep I got dressed, made a coffee and went in to check on her to see her "stuck" to the side of the cage like she does when I'm moving stuff around the room, sort of like she's watching me holding onto the cage with her claws and her beak looking quite calm - strange since she was in the dark!

Do tiels sleep best witha little light like a door ajar or best in complete darkness? I ask because when she gets night frights (they're very rare) I get night panics!

[ljpeters]

I have had a tough experience with this. Its probably best if you don't cover the cage totally and leave a nightlight on or a door cracked with some light.

The light will help them see in the dark a little better since they don't see well in the dark. Sometimes it can help them calm down or not get scared at all because they can see what is going on.

I don't think this is a total remedy but it's worth a try.

I'll wager that a better qualified person will come along soon to get some better advice!!! That's what TFN is all about!!

[McDenny]

I would get a night light. Mila would have 'mini frights' all the time and getting a night light helped SO much. She rarely does it anymore.

[Lyn]

When we first got our tiel Mango we tried covering her cage at night. She was okay with it, but she would freak in the morning when it was taken off, so in the end we stopped putting it over her cage.

We never used a night light until one day when we realised she'd had a really bad night fright and had plucked all her flight feathers from one wing and half her tail feathers and was covered in blood. She was a terrible sight and it took a couple of months before she was fully recovered. I went and bought a little night light the same day.

Now we have our gcc in the same room as our tiel I actually leave a table lamp on. It's one of those 'touch' lamps, so I can leave it on quite low, but it's bright enough for her to see what is going on. So far she has been fine and hasn't had any more frights.

[Pootspete]

Ivan, I know that must have been scary. Here is an article on Night Frights that may help you out a bit.

[Oh Mowsie]

My birdies have had several over the years. Unfortunately, its a curse of having kitties and birdies. The cats like to knock things over as they roam about nocturnally and sometimes it freaks the birds out. For the most part, they're used to things, but every once in a while, something spooks the poor darlings. Fortunately, nothing horribly serious.

I leave my cage partially uncovered and a light is ALWAYS on so my birds can reassure themselves in their surroundings quickly. I don't take them out of their cage because flying about the house in a panicked state is worse then being confined to their cage. The ONLY time I take them out is to wrap one and check for broken feathers if I suspect there's been an injury. To calm them, I remove the cover and talk soothingly to them, chirping to them, calling them by name and reassuring them. They know "mom" so they feel much better when they see and hear me. Scritches and some soothing is usually all it takes for them to return to their "night night" perches. Once I know everyone is calm and there's no bloodshed, I'll put the cover back on (usually only halfway down) and go in search of the reason the birds spooked.

[callisto9]

mateo, my lutino cockatiel, just had a really bad night fright a few nights ago. he "lost' (or did he pluck out?) a ton of flight feathers (10 perhaps?) and beat himself up pretty bad. i was amazed at how many feathers were on the bottom of the cage floor.

i always race to comfort him when he has a fright and he will usually calm down pretty soon. he has them about every 4 months or so and they are usually pretty nasty. what's weird is he just had two in the span of less than a week. the 2nd one, since a lot of his flight feathers were gone, he got himself pretty bloody, which always scares the crap out of me. then, for the remainder of the night, he clung to the font of his cage in the corner. weird stuff.

i always have a nightlight on, ever since he started having them. every night i leave some sort of light or nightlight on, but inevitably, he has a fright every few months or so. i don't know what else i can do for him except never let him sleep!

the only thing that really scares me is the idea of him bleeding to death. sometimes, he can get pretty bloody and i have never removed a (blood) feather on my own. i live alone, so i am not even sure i could do it if i had to. i've only had the little bugger for about a year and half and we've had about 4-5 frights so far.