Cockatiel Night Frights?

I think our cockatiel Yoshi gets night frights pretty easily, because I hear him frantically flap his wings when I try putting the cage cover on. I see him hyperventilate when I take it off, and I'm worried about his safety when he freaks out like that. I just want him to get decent sleep because I completely cover Tootsie's cage and she has no problem with it, but Yoshi won't rest when I try completely covering his cage (I read that cockatiels are easily frightened sometimes). Now I just leave the cage cover partially open.

The cage is in my work area in the house so I don't sleep till late and the lights are on; our house is still pretty busy at night. I've seen suggestions on WikiHow where we could put him in a smaller cage during the night in a quiet and dim room, but I don't think we have the right space for that (my dad also wouldn't like it).

If I completely cover him will that be absolutely terrible or would he eventually get used to it? Or will it be fine to just leave the cage cover partially open to the light (will he get sleep)? I'm not really well read up on night frights, sorry this might be an ignorant or silly question.....

I know some people leave it partially open, and if that works for Yoshi, then go for it. Alternatively, I'd read that others use a little night light. Now that's in terms of sight.

In terms of sound, which might also be triggering him, have you tried soothing ambient sounds? Some white noise or water sounds? That way sudden sounds (of people walking or talking) won't be disruptive to the silence.

One thing that helped Cairo (who isn't a cockatiel) was slowly putting him to sleep. Some people can dim their lights, but for us, I just put on a thin cloth first and leave his food box open so he can still see outside but it's slightly darker inside his cage. Then I cover it with a heavier towel that blacks out the light. I also give him a cue, "Night night," which I reiterate when he calls out sometimes as he's going to sleep.

charmedbyekkie said:

I know some people leave it partially open, and if that works for Yoshi, then go for it. Alternatively, I'd read that others use a little night light. Now that's in terms of sight.

In terms of sound, which might also be triggering him, have you tried soothing ambient sounds? Some white noise or water sounds? That way sudden sounds (of people walking or talking) won't be disruptive to the silence.

One thing that helped Cairo (who isn't a cockatiel) was slowly putting him to sleep. Some people can dim their lights, but for us, I just put on a thin cloth first and leave his food box open so he can still see outside but it's slightly darker inside his cage. Then I cover it with a heavier towel that blacks out the light. I also give him a cue, "Night night," which I reiterate when he calls out sometimes as he's going to sleep.

Click to expand...

Oh, we haven't tried the white noise thing yet! But we do have a lot of finches that constantly chirp (which probably isn't very soothing, so we probably should). Cairo sounds like a cutie though! I will be sure try these helpful techniques, thank you so much! :60:

Hi there!

Berry my 'tiel, gets night frights too. I have various ways of helping her to rest easily.

Firstly, I make sure that all curtains are completely closed in the room, so no lights from outside can cause anxiety for her. It also helps to block out any noise from the road or surrounds. The cage is not covered with a blanket, but a light sheet, so that it is not completely dark. She also has a night light, so that she can see in the cage if she wakes up at any point.

All of this has helped her, she has them far less frequently nowadays. I think the nightlight in particular has made a world of difference for her! Hope this helps!

BB gets covered partially. He is in the living room and I'm up late watching tv. Sometimes if I sneeze or cough he freaks out and flaps around where I have to turn on the lights and calm him down. it sux




Jim

Great suggestions above!

It *IS* awful isn't it, that sound of wings flapping against bars??!!

The Rb had occasional nightfrights when he was younger. If the problem persists, there's this: Sometime around age 8-10 (I just can't recall exactly) they just stopped.

Good luck!

This isn't uncommon in cockatiels, but there is risk involved, as they can fly into the cage and injure themselves.
You will have to feel it out, but I wouldn't just assume that these night frights are harmless. Do whatever you have to do to minimize them.
My Cockatoo gets them sometimes, but she doesn't fly (she just flaps while holding onto her perch). That having been said, many of the smaller bird varieties will actually fly into things within their cages.


Some people advise against covers for birds with serious night frights.

Then again, sleep is essential to solid immune function and mood, so staying up is not an option (10 hours of solid sleep is pretty much the minimum).
If you do continue covering, you might consider saying the same thing every time you uncover or cover so that the bird isn't startled and starts to associate your phrase with the action....I tell my cockatoo when I am going to uncover her, and I always make sure she is awake before I start.

reeb said:

Hi there!

Berry my 'tiel, gets night frights too. I have various ways of helping her to rest easily.

Firstly, I make sure that all curtains are completely closed in the room, so no lights from outside can cause anxiety for her. It also helps to block out any noise from the road or surrounds. The cage is not covered with a blanket, but a light sheet, so that it is not completely dark. She also has a night light, so that she can see in the cage if she wakes up at any point.

All of this has helped her, she has them far less frequently nowadays. I think the nightlight in particular has made a world of difference for her! Hope this helps!

Click to expand...

Hi! Yoshi's cover doesn't let much light in since it's thicker, but it has a flap that i do leave open for him to let light in. I shall try your techniques also, thank you so much!

AmyMyBlueFront said:

BB gets covered partially. He is in the living room and I'm up late watching tv. Sometimes if I sneeze or cough he freaks out and flaps around where I have to turn on the lights and calm him down. it sux




Jim

Click to expand...

Yeah, it really does suck! Scary when they start frantically flapping; thank you very much for your response!

GaleriaGila said:

Great suggestions above!

It *IS* awful isn't it, that sound of wings flapping against bars??!!

The Rb had occasional nightfrights when he was younger. If the problem persists, there's this: Sometime around age 8-10 (I just can't recall exactly) they just stopped.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

It truly is terrifying! Oh wow, I guess he eventually got used to it Thank you for the response!

noodles123 said:

This isn't uncommon in cockatiels, but there is risk involved, as they can fly into the cage and injure themselves.
You will have to feel it out, but I wouldn't just assume that these night frights are harmless. Do whatever you have to do to minimize them.
My Cockatoo gets them sometimes, but she doesn't fly (she just flaps while holding onto her perch). That having been said, many of the smaller bird varieties will actually fly into things within their cages.


Some people advise against covers for birds with serious night frights.

Then again, sleep is essential to solid immune function and mood, so staying up is not an option (10 hours of solid sleep is pretty much the minimum).
If you do continue covering, you might consider saying the same thing every time you uncover or cover so that the bird isn't startled and starts to associate your phrase with the action....I tell my cockatoo when I am going to uncover her, and I always make sure she is awake before I start.

Click to expand...

Yoshi does the same thing too, where he just flaps a ton while standing on the perch; but one time he actually fell and flapped down (thankfully he is fine), which worried me a lot. You're completely right about the possibility of the bird getting hurt! Thanks a bunch for the helpful response!

I DO cover my cockatoo or she would never sleep. I use headphones when listening to music or tv at night.. Certain sounds get to her more than others...E.G., shuffling paper. It actually seems that louder noises bother her LESS (like flushing the toilet, or doing dishes).