Twitching wings and flicking head at night

Hi,

Melon started to twitch his wings and flick his head when we are sleeping, and I noticed that he did it whenever one of my dogs snored... I turned on the light, and saw something that looked this birdie in the video except toe tapping. When I wanted to take a video, he stopped doing it.. My dogs also woke up..

I called the vet, and the nurse informed me that Melon might be doing that to adjust himself to the temperature because it became warmer lately.. Or he was annoyed by the snores.. She said as long as he wasn't falling off the perch, vocalizing when doing it, or getting his wings caught in bars, he should be fine..

I'm so worried... Not sure if it's something else... Any thoughts? He was doing it less last night than the other two nights...but I have been having only 4 hours of sleep a night since Saturday because I heard him, and I'm tired :/

His flight feathers are also coming out.. They were clipped by the previous owner before..

His diet is Harrison pellets, sweet peppers, baby carrots, kale/spinach/romaine, walnuts as treats.

Thanks!

[ame="http://youtu.be/EebawRX4lTU"]Ruby with new head flick.MOV - YouTube[/ame]

Ninjette said:

Hi,

Melon started to twitch his wings and flick his head when we are sleeping, and I noticed that he did it whenever one of my dogs snored... I turned on the light, and saw something that looked this birdie in the video except toe tapping. When I wanted to take a video, he stopped doing it.. My dogs also woke up..

I called the vet, and the nurse informed me that Melon might be doing that to adjust himself to the temperature because it became warmer lately.. Or he was annoyed by the snores.. She said as long as he wasn't falling off the perch, vocalizing when doing it, or getting his wings caught in bars, he should be fine..

I'm so worried... Not sure if it's something else... Any thoughts? He was doing it less last night than the other two nights...but I have been having only 4 hours of sleep a night since Saturday because I heard him, and I'm tired :/

His flight feathers are also coming out.. They were clipped by the previous owner before..

His diet is Harrison pellets, sweet peppers, baby carrots, kale/spinach/romaine, walnuts as treats.

Thanks!

Ruby with new head flick.MOV - YouTube

Click to expand...

Is this ONLY when the dogs are snoring? No other time of day? This seems to be more of a diet issue... Eclectus parrots have longer intestinal tracts than others, and can't process a pellet based diet. You should go look into the Eclectus species sub-forum, along with the Food & Recipes sub-forum. Eclectus parrots need a chop based diet.

Good luck!

That was my first thought; classic Eckie diet issues. Then I realized Melon is an Amazon...
Was the vet you called a CERTIFIED AVAIN vet? It bight just be the dogs or the temp, but it seems doubtful to me. I suggest calling up a certified avian vet and saying "I have an Amazon who seems to be acting like an Eclectus with hypervitiminosis."

Amazons don't get toe tap...

You are comparing apples to oranges. The bird in this video is an eckie that appears to have mild toe tap...

An amazon parrot that is flipping it's wings, or constantly readjusting his head, is usually annoyed... sometimes, if he's got new pin feathers coming in and they bother them, they twitch and flip as well.

If the dog was bothering him at the time, and he has no involuntary movements any other time, then it's reasonable to assume he was annoyed.

He's dreaming (or maybe the birdie version of tossing and turning). Birds move a little in their sleep just like we do. Nothing to worry about.

If there is something in particular that seems to set it off, theres your answer! Whenever the heater goes on in the winter, it disrupts Kiwi's sleep for whatever reason and he does a feather ruffle. He also 'dreams' where he moves his head around and "shrugs" his wings a little.

OH! I was confused because of the Eclectus video.

But maybe you should get a second opinion just in case? Without a video (of him specifically), we can only go by what we are imagining/thinking.

It's hard to really give an opinion without seeing video of the actual bird in question. How long do these movements continue before stopping? As June asked, do the movements, as far as you have been able to determine, only happen when the dogs are snoring?

Ditto to what Mark (Birdman) and April (Kiwibird) said.

Both my Amazons occasionally 're-adjust' themselves at night, especially if there's some sort of stir that prevents them from sleeping soundly. And yes, I'm a firm believer that birds DO dream.

On a side note, you said that Melon gets Harrison pellets, sweet peppers, baby carrots, kale/spinach/romaine, walnuts as treats. I'd recommend adding a whole lot of other foods to his diet. The greater the variety, the better, preferably fresh foods.
Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Is this ONLY when the dogs are snoring? No other time of day? This seems to be more of a diet issue... Eclectus parrots have longer intestinal tracts than others, and can't process a pellet based diet. You should go look into the Eclectus species sub-forum, along with the Food & Recipes sub-forum. Eclectus parrots need a chop based diet.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Melon is an Amazon and yes, he only does it when the dogs are snoring. and he started after July 4th.. something to do with the fireworks making his ears more sensitive? not sure..

SilverSage said:

That was my first thought; classic Eckie diet issues. Then I realized Melon is an Amazon...
Was the vet you called a CERTIFIED AVAIN vet? It bight just be the dogs or the temp, but it seems doubtful to me. I suggest calling up a certified avian vet and saying "I have an Amazon who seems to be acting like an Eclectus with hypervitiminosis."

Click to expand...

The nurse answered the phone. I already made an appointment to see the vet this Saturday.

Birdman666 said:

Amazons don't get toe tap...

You are comparing apples to oranges. The bird in this video is an eckie that appears to have mild toe tap...

An amazon parrot that is flipping it's wings, or constantly readjusting his head, is usually annoyed... sometimes, if he's got new pin feathers coming in and they bother them, they twitch and flip as well.

If the dog was bothering him at the time, and he has no involuntary movements any other time, then it's reasonable to assume he was annoyed.

Click to expand...

He does have new flight feathers coming out..
but I can't kick my dog out when we're sleeping >< and I assume my dog has been snoring.. the dog just didn't start snoring after July 4th.. not sure if the fireworks made Melon's ears more sensitive..

Anansi said:

It's hard to really give an opinion without seeing video of the actual bird in question. How long do these movements continue before stopping? As June asked, do the movements, as far as you have been able to determine, only happen when the dogs are snoring?

Click to expand...

I have taken videos of Melon, and would show them to the vet this Saturday
it only happens when one of the dogs is snoring..

JerseyWendy said:

Ditto to what Mark (Birdman) and April (Kiwibird) said.

Both my Amazons occasionally 're-adjust' themselves at night, especially if there's some sort of stir that prevents them from sleeping soundly. And yes, I'm a firm believer that birds DO dream.

On a side note, you said that Melon gets Harrison pellets, sweet peppers, baby carrots, kale/spinach/romaine, walnuts as treats. I'd recommend adding a whole lot of other foods to his diet. The greater the variety, the better, preferably fresh foods.
Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Click to expand...

he also has Lafeber's nutri-en cakes.. I occasionally get him other fruits like papaya, mango, persimmon, grapes.. sometimes I give him sweet potato, rice, eggs..


Thanks for all your help! I'm at work now; I will look at the diet link when I get home..