Funny Perching

[stephend]

When I am putting Bob in his cage, if I set him near food he will place one foot on the closest perch and start snacking while leaving his other foot on my finger. I have to encourage him to leave it; I am uncomfortable with just pulling my finger away.

Not saying anything imporant; I just found Bob's behavior interesting and wanted to share.

 

[suebee]

awww bless bob, he just wants you to be near i'd just roll my finger towards perch or you could find yourself to be stood with your hand in his cage, while watchin the tv lol

 

[mrob]

ha bob loves you. My merv does that, shes very emotionally attached. sometimes she has nightmares, where she falls off her perch and goes nutty flapping and schreeching - when i get up to calm her down she latches on to my finger with her feet so tight i cant move her come hell or highwater!!
Once she had one of her nightmares and I ignores her schreeching for about 10 minutes thinking she would calm down eventually - never again i tell you - talk about the bird who cried wolf - when i eventually got up there was a mangy, half shaven (im not kidding. half its fur was shaved off, the back end) cat, in my house, sitting on top of the birdcage trying to get in!!! Came through the catdoor (I dont have a cat but ive since boarded up the catdoor!)
Poor merv nearly had a heart attack - I felt so guilty! So now when she has nightmares im up like a shot!!

 

[Nakiska]

Awwww...isn't it soo sweet that Bob wants to be with you, makes bird ownership much more enjoyable that's for sure. Our 'tiels sometimes take their own sweet time going back in their cages too...but our Franklin, our little conure...well that little stinker bites my finger as I try to put him in the cage he wants to stay out and play THAT bad. I sure hope he outgrows this phase.

@mrob - I read that cockatiels can suffer from night terrors or frights, I had never had a problem with either of our tiels at night, then about a month ago, I'm startled awake by one of our tiels freaking out, screaming and flapping about the cage...I spoke up, but didn't get up...I said, it's okay, it's okay, are you okay?

I sure wish I'd have gotten up, I didn't think of it being a big deal at the time, I was just so darn tired and he stopped within a few moments.

The next morning, I didn't even think about it, I go about talking to our birds, cleaning their water, I see a big flight feather in the bottom of the cage that didn't look quite right...then I noticed blood drops and more blood drops and MORE blood drops, then it hit me, THAT'S RIGHT! The night terror...I look at Chicken Little and on both wings he'd busted blood feathers! He had them all taken care of, what ever it is that birds do, they seem to know. And he was happy and content, acted like nothing ever happened.

He lost quite a bit of blood, and I know that birds can't loose too much or it's fatal and from what I saw...I'm sure he's one lucky boy!

Like you...now if I'm ever startled awake again by a freaked out bird, the lights are immediately going on and I'll be right there.

Toni

 

[stephend]

Thankfully I have never noticed Bob have nightmares, but I will try the finger rolling next time Bob decides to perch halfway on my finger and halfway on an inanimate perch.

 

[mrob]

thanks for that Toni its nice to know it happens to other teils aswell and my bird doesnt just have mental problems!
Its amazing how panicked they get that they will actually hurt themselves! Im glad chicken little was ok!
Marie

 

[Nakiska]

thanks for that Toni its nice to know it happens to other teils aswell and my bird doesnt just have mental problems!
Its amazing how panicked they get that they will actually hurt themselves! Im glad chicken little was ok!
Marie

Oh, I'm so glad too..once I discovered how "bad" the terror was for him, i took him out of his cage and lavished him with lovin's and telling him how sorry I was and how greatful I was that he was alive! (I thought it was a lot of blood)...and I kept thinking of how horrified I would have been to find him dead, slowly bled to death all because he got scared.

Interestingly it hasn't happened since, one recommendation in a book I read about tiels said that leaving a night light on helps reduce the chances and instances of the night terrors, because apparently birds can't see very good in the dark and if something startles them, they go into a panic because they can't see.

And supposedly, according to the book I read, it's fairly common for tiels to have night terrors and they don't know exactly why or what causes them.

Take care,

Toni

ROFLOLOL!!! Wow, we took this thread completely off topic! Hahahaha!!