Is this normal?

[ame="https://youtu.be/3zvOjxDlqJo"]Lucy dances - YouTube[/ame]

I can't seem to upload a video directly onto here so here is a link to a YouTube clip. Lucy, my Senegal, seems to do this dance a lot, especially right before bed. She doesn't do it to anyone in particular, usually it's just kind of at the wall. Is it normal playing behaviour or worrisome?


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Hmm...I've watched it now a couple times and I'm stumped. Is that her water bowl she's hovering over? It seems almost as if she's trying to bathe (the dipping down to the bowl) but is not being successful in 'picking up' any water to distribute around herself. lol. I'm sorry I'm not a huge help on this. Any others care to share their 2 cents??

itzjbean said:

Hmm...I've watched it now a couple times and I'm stumped. Is that her water bowl she's hovering over? It seems almost as if she's trying to bathe (the dipping down to the bowl) but is not being successful in 'picking up' any water to distribute around herself. lol. I'm sorry I'm not a huge help on this. Any others care to share their 2 cents??

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It is her water bowl but it just happens to be where she is at that moment, she does it all over, she'll do it by her food bowl and on various perches... it doesn't seem to matter where she is


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Oh okay, I see. So it happens quite often, then? When did she start doing this? How often does this happen, every night, just at night?

There was actually another thread today, kind of the same 'is this normal?' situation, showing a conure making these strange, almost OCD head movements. Look here if you want to see it. If this just popped up out of the blue and is recurring, it may be a more serious problem. A trip to the Avian vet may be in order, just to be sure

itzjbean said:

Oh okay, I see. So it happens quite often, then? When did she start doing this? How often does this happen, every night, just at night?

There was actually another thread today, kind of the same 'is this normal?' situation, showing a conure making these strange, almost OCD head movements. Look here if you want to see it. If this just popped up out of the blue and is recurring, it may be a more serious problem. A trip to the Avian vet may be in order, just to be sure

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Yeah I saw that other post which is kind of what prompted me to make this one.

She's done it since I brought her and Ricky home ~3 weeks ago. It's pretty much every night, and mostly at night but I've seen her do it at other times as well. But I can count on her dancing every night between 9-9:30 lol


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This is very alarming. It reminds me very much of "wing-flipping". It's definitely not normal at all...Is she actually pulling any feathers out of the area of her back that her head/beak keeps touching? If she is actually pulling feathers out it's a better situation because it means that her movements are voluntary, but it's still a problem that needs to be addressed by an avian vet immediately. If she's not actually pulling any feathers out of that area, which I suspect she is not, this means that this movement is not voluntary and this is what I think. It does look like an involuntary movement, like "wing-flipping" or "toe-tapping", and these are signs of a very serious problem.

What is her daily diet? And is her cage at all old, rusting, have peeling paint, or does she chew paint off of her cage or anything else? Has she gotten into anything lately or eaten anything lately that could have made her sick?

She definitely needs to see a certified avian vet ASAP, involuntary movements like this are not typically just "dancing". I don't mean to alarm you, but I want to make sure you understand that she needs to see an avian ASAP.

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mstarr93 said:

itzjbean said:

Oh okay, I see. So it happens quite often, then? When did she start doing this? How often does this happen, every night, just at night?

There was actually another thread today, kind of the same 'is this normal?' situation, showing a conure making these strange, almost OCD head movements. Look here if you want to see it. If this just popped up out of the blue and is recurring, it may be a more serious problem. A trip to the Avian vet may be in order, just to be sure

Click to expand...

Yeah I saw that other post which is kind of what prompted me to make this one.

She's done it since I brought her and Ricky home ~3 weeks ago. It's pretty much every night, and mostly at night but I've seen her do it at other times as well. But I can count on her dancing every night between 9-9:30 lol


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I apologize, I got your video mixed up with the other one...Same answer though, less the pulling of feathers, as your Senegal is definitely not pulling anything, it looks to be involuntary as well. Please get her to a vet ASAP.

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Both birds should be taken to your Avian vet for a checkup, especially if you only got the two of them a few weeks ago. They will be able to determine what is making her do this strange behavior, as it seems to have been going on for some time. Hope she gets the help she needs!

Any update on this one?


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Also wondering if these brids are ok!

Our Amazon used to make some frantic head-whipping-in-a-circle moves when he was anxious. Not when he was afraid, then he would freeze. Not when he was mad, then he would stalk and attack. It had to be something where he wanted to react but didn't know how, as if it were out of his genetic repertoire. Is there anything odd happens at the time? TV show, noise, blinds being closed, any common thread?

I was hoping for an update on this bird as well, being a Senegal owner and lover I'm interested to see what an experienced avian vet says about this. It's always good to see things like this, especially within specific species, just in case your own bird starts doing it as well.

If you get a chance please update us on how Lucy is doing, and whether or not you took her to the avian vet or if she is still doing this or if she has stopped or possibly developed any new symptoms.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."