Does the Weather Affect Your Bird?

Alright, so when I adopted my 15 y.o. B&G macaw a week and a half ago, one of the volunteers said that weather can affect them. I had never heard of this before and kind of brushed it off. WELL... there have been 3 days so far since I have had him that the weather has been gloomy and turned into rain and/or storming and every time it has been like this he has gone into a 'funk' where he squawks a tremendous amount more than usual and almost paces back and forth on his perch and will not eat as much.

Does anyone else have a bird that behaves like this when the weather gets like this? I also have a dog that will do this but I did not know birds would do this.

Kiwi naps a little more than usual during the day, is a little less active and a little more puffy when it's cloudy/rainy (which I think most animals do). I haven't ever heard of a bird freaking out over clouds and rain though. That sounds more like difficulty adjusting to his new home than the weather. Especially since you've only had him 3 days. It might finally be sinking in that his prior owners aren't coming back for him. I'd suggest some trust-building activities to help put him at ease. Try sitting near his cage and reading out loud to him (doesn't matter what) in a soft, soothing voice. Offer him some treats (if he will accept them) if he comes close to you. This builds trust in the fact you're showing him you'd like to be his friend and are welcoming him into your flock by sharing food.

Well it's warm and sunny today here in San Diego. Kiwi is outside in her outside cage. I've tried to bring her in 3 times, nope she wants to stay outside and enjoy the weather,

Mine drive me nuts at times when they don't get to go outside... so in that respect, when the weather is bad and I can't take them out, it does.

That has more to do with not getting their tree time, than rain.

I have had him for about a week and half now. When it is nice outside, he isn't very vocal. When it is not so nice outside, however, he seems to be more vocal squawking-wise. It's just interesting so I thought I would ask on here to see if anybody else has a bird who behaves like this.

During storms that last for days my girl gets like this. She'll go through sessions of squawking, I believe it's like a roosting call..would normally signal to others to get to shelter or sleep. She also tends to get depressed.

Now the situation could be the bird feeding off of the storm and icky day, especially since the rescue warned you of that..or it could be her feeding off of your emotions and demeanor.

My girl doesn't get regular outdoor time due to swarms or predators in my area, so her behaviour is not from deprivation.

Kiwibird was the first post to this thread and clearly noted what is going on outside is not affecting your MAC. It is very important that you leave the idea that the weather is affecting your MAC and pay far more attention to developing a trust bond. You are missing a very importance period in developing a relationship with your parrot.

Since, dogs and parrots are not affected by changes in the passing of high/low pressure systems what is happening outside is not the source of the changes in either.

FYI: Humans as a result of low Vit D can present with mood swings and/or reduced energy. One of the primary Vit D sources for humans is direct sun light. As a result, 'overtime' some humans will present with mood/energy changes during long periods of 'extended' cloudy days.

Serve weather with lighting/thunder, strong winds, heavy rains and/or hail can as a result of the 'noise' stress animals and humans alike. However, these rare events are short term lasting minutes, at most a few hours (training), and once passed all return to normal.

I agree with Solo that both your dog and the MAC are likely feeding off your emotions.

Dogs, parrots and humans can all be affected by weather change and pressure fronts. There can be many reasons why a bird is behaving a certain way. I would love to hear from the OP though and know how things are progressing. Hope all is going well.[emoji4]

Understanding that the mass of air weighing down upon animal and human alike sets a baseline of pressure. A passing low or high pressure system would have an increase or decrease in pressure of moving between the first floor and the upper levels of a New York skyscraper. Larger bodies (large lakes (example: North America's Great Lakes) and Oceans because of the huge surface areas will display an effect. Humans and animals are just to small to display an effect.

The effects felt 'if any' is likely what is carried by the front. Increase / decrease in moisture and/or airborne contaminates. Contaminates, maybe. Moisture, not likely, for the same reason as cover above.

I suppose we shall agree to disagree on this one.

How Does Barometric Pressure Affect Birds?

Birds predict weather change and adjust behaviour by reading barometric pressure

There are plenty of links if anyone cares to do a Google search on how weather DOES affect your bird.

With the 'huge' number of 'studies' that have been called in to question of late, care should be taken when there are limited supporting studies.

What humans are reacting to is more likely what is carried with large systems. In the upper mid-west, system that move in from the Southwest will carry at their 'leading edge' dust and micro elements that differ greatly from systems that move down the Northwest or directly from the West. Low pressure system commonly care more, likely due to the increase moisture, which provide great surface area. What we are 'feeling' and therefore reacting to is more likely the type and volume of the 'contamination' pushed at and slightly in front of the system.

At this point, I am staying with older 'studies.' And, as Solo stated: We shall agree to disagree.

I am always impressed with JerseyWendy's contributions! Thank-you for maintaining the edge.

Solo-- He is doing incredibly well and adjusting quite well to his new home. He has come a long way since he first came home. He does still have his moments when the weather isn't ideal.


Sailboat-- Thank you for your input. I am, however, going to agree to disagree on this one as well. I do not feel that I am missing a very important period in developing a relationship with my mac as I have been putting in substantial effort to developing that very relationship of trust and bonding. I apologize if you took my statements incorrectly and thought that because of his 'funk' he was left to be alone, because that was most certainly not the case. During these times I would open the door and read out loud to him in a soft and calm voice.

As far as my one dog goes, she has had this issue since was a puppy. My other dogs have never had this issue.

SailBoat said:

Understanding that the mass of air weighing down upon animal and human alike sets a baseline of pressure. A passing low or high pressure system would have an increase or decrease in pressure of moving between the first floor and the upper levels of a New York skyscraper. Larger bodies (large lakes (example: North America's Great Lakes) and Oceans because of the huge surface areas will display an effect. Humans and animals are just to small to display an effect.

The effects felt 'if any' is likely what is carried by the front. Increase / decrease in moisture and/or airborne contaminates. Contaminates, maybe. Moisture, not likely, for the same reason as cover above.

Click to expand...

I suffer from arthritis. And I can tell you for a fact, that sudden increases and decreases in barametric pressure absolutely causes my joints to ache... so it absolutely does have an effect on the human body.

The other thing I can say for a fact, is that during extreme tidal changes (and I tracked this because I was a surfer) corresponded with a significant increase in fluid in my bursa sacs on both my knees and my elbows. So changes in the earth's gravitational field also affect the human body in subtle (and in my case, painful) ways.

Animals sense when storms are coming, we know that for a fact. They act differently. Some get more spooked than others. I can't say what causes it, but changes in barametric pressure is certainly a very plausible theory to me.

We do know their internal clock and breeding cycles are tied to the daylight cycles in the seasons. And breeding behaviors in Amazons particularly have been affected by the amount of light they perceive.

So, they are much more sensitive and in tune with the environment than we are.

Birdman666 said:

.....Mine, personally, just get a bit pissy when they want to go outside, and don't get to...

Click to expand...

So do I. :54:

Its raining here today. Everyone wants to just sleep. Bird and humans included.

Birdman666 said:

SailBoat said:

Understanding that the mass of air weighing down upon animal and human alike sets a baseline of pressure. A passing low or high pressure system would have an increase or decrease in pressure of moving between the first floor and the upper levels of a New York skyscraper. Larger bodies (large lakes (example: North America's Great Lakes) and Oceans because of the huge surface areas will display an effect. Humans and animals are just to small to display an effect.

The effects felt 'if any' is likely what is carried by the front. Increase / decrease in moisture and/or airborne contaminates. Contaminates, maybe. Moisture, not likely, for the same reason as cover above.

Click to expand...

I suffer from arthritis. And I can tell you for a fact, that sudden increases and decreases in barametric pressure absolutely causes my joints to ache... so it absolutely does have an effect on the human body.

The other thing I can say for a fact, is that during extreme tidal changes (and I tracked this because I was a surfer) corresponded with a significant increase in fluid in my bursa sacs on both my knees and my elbows. So changes in the earth's gravitational field also affect the human body in subtle ways.

Animals sense when storms are coming, we know that for a fact. They act differently. Some get more spooked than others. I can't say what causes it, but changes in barametric pressure is certainly a very plausible theory to me.

We do know their internal clock and breeding cycles are tied to the daylight cycles in the seasons. And breeding behaviors in Amazons particularly have been affected by the amount of light they perceive.

So, they are much more sensitive and in tune with the environment than we are.

Click to expand...

I have fibromyalgia, any fluctuation in barometric pressure either way make me want to go hibernate, because I hurt so bad. Last few days have been horrible. And now its raining tomorrow will be bad to as this system moves through. Today I just want to sleep. Kiwi is in a really sleepy mood too.

First, I want to assure JerseyWendy that my stated: "Thank-you for maintaining the edge." was meant as praise.

Second, that although I have much respect for the Science Community; there are those areas dealing with Weather, Health (especially what we eat) and to a lesser degree Medical, which have far to many questionable studies. Do not get me wrong, there are still excellent studies out there. But, there are far to many that are, and an ever greater number that have been found by the Science Community to be: 'Junk Science.'

Since, I do not consider myself a 'Flat Earth' thinker. When faced with a number of people that I respect questioning me, I am fully ready to research and if needed correct myself.

The Original Thread:
The OP of this Thread was implying that the reason his B&G MAC was having behavioral problems was due to the Weather and not the fact that the parrot had been in his home for only three days. As additional Posts were added to the Thread, Barometric Pressure (BP) was a possible cause, since BP trends up or down depending on whether a Low or High Pressure system is moving toward of away from a specific location. Hence, a likely source driving behavior problems.

I am going to save this Forum from a 18000 word Study Review of a 'Fully Supported' and 'Accredited' study by: Breumer, Sprague, Patterson and Woods. This study was based on both Real World and Lab Studies over an extended time line - Seven Years. The Study: Environmental, Behavior and Physiology: Do Birds use Barometric Pressure to Predict Storms.

Summary:
- our data demonstrated that white-crowned sparrows respond to declining barometric pressure by altering their behavior in ways that appear to prepare for inclement weather. We found no association between barometric pressure and CORT-driven stress physiology in either the field or the laboratory. It is possible that other neuro-hormonal systems (e.g. orexin, neuropeptide T, agouti-related peptide (e.g. Thorpe and Kotz, 2005) (for a review see Aror and Anubhuti, 2006)) drive this system. A more neurological approach to appetite and activity would be required to ascertain a role for these in pressure-induced changes in behavior.

It could be said that I simply shopped for a study that support my position that a 'change in weather' was the bases for the behavior problem that the OP was facing. That would be wrong! In fact, study after study was finding very similar results. However, in many, one was faced with a full read of the study to find that physiology changes cannot be shown as clearly connected to changes in barometric pressure. Therefore, the problem the OP was faced with was likely due to a new home and/or picking-up on the emotions of the OP.

For those affect by 'changes in weather' and health problems that seemingly trend with those changes. I would recommend that you watch both barometric pressure and humidity levels. We have an ACU RITE 5-in-1 Weather Sensor outside and a ACU RITE Display for the 5-1 Weather Sensor inside.

As by Forum Name and location implies, I can and do enjoy Great Lakes Sailing. In the 'no so good' old days, weather and one's location was something of constant tracking and therefore interest. Barometric pressure was tracked (and logged) every three hours.

Amazons and Sailors Have More Fun!

Sailboat-- I think part of the confusion here is that you misread what my original post says.

You stated:
"The Original Thread:
The OP of this Thread was implying that the reason his B&G MAC was having behavioral problems was due to the Weather and not the fact that the parrot had been in his home for only three days."

If you take a look back at my first post, I had had my mac for a week and a half and of that week and a half, three of those days had been poor weather (cloudy and rain) and it was only on those three days that my mac went into a 'funk' where there was excessive squawking, pacing, and less eating.

I do appreciate your research on your stance and respect your opinion, however.

Thank-you.

I did catch my typing error regarding the timeline; three days within the first week and a half, but the timeline had past for editing it.

The Amazons that find their way to our home are handicapped by: age, illness and much worst. With luck, we have several years with them. Every day is important beyond belief and to loose even one day is to be avoided.

By never allowing a problem to be anything more than the fault of the human allows for clear adjustment in the process of 'bond' trust development, thereby maximizing the growth in the human / parrot relationship without outside distractions.

Once again, Thank-You!