Pet cockatiels are marvelous little parrots, but they do have one little quirk that new parrot owners need to be aware of. More than any other parrot species cockatiels are susceptible to night frights, a nighttime panic attack that can result in badly injured parrots.
Night Frights
To fully understand night frights, it’s important to remember that pet parrots are, in the wild, prey animals. Most people are used to living with dogs and cats, which are predators.
As prey animals, parrots are highly attuned to their surroundings, reacting instinctively to potential threats. When startled, a pet cockatiel’s instinctive reaction is to fly upwards as quickly as possible (wild cockatiels spend most of their time foraging for food on the ground, not in the trees, so their first reaction to any threat is to fly upwards).
In the wild, a cockatiel’s instincts may save its life. In the confines of parrot cages at night, a panicked cockatiel can seriously injure itself as it thrashes around. Cockatiels do not see well at night. Take night frights seriously: cockatiels have died from night fright injuries.
Anything that startles a pet cockatiel can trigger night frights. An unexpected noise, sudden gusts of wind, or strange shadows cast by parrot toys can all trigger a night fright.
Calming Your Cockatiel
If you wake to the sound of screeching and fluttering from the cockatiel cage, the best thing to do is to get the light on quickly so the bird can identify its surroundings. Speak softly and quietly to the bird until it calms down. Don’t try to restrain the cockatiel: already in a panic, the bird may mistake your attempts to help as aggression and thrash even more.
Preventing Night Frights
While you can’t entirely eliminate the possibility of night frights, there are some steps you can take to help cockatiels stay calm at night. Many pet parrot owners keep a low wattage night light on in the room near the cockatiel cage. If you cover the cockatiel cage at night, leave an area open so the cockatiel isn’t in complete darkness.
Once the cockatiel beds down for the night, try to avoid moving around near the cage. If you have to be near the cage, give the bird some warning by talking gently: the cockatiel’s less likely to panic if it knows that’s you on the other side of the cage cover.
Wing clipping lowers the risk of many parrot injuries, but may not protect against night fright injuries. Confined in its cage, a parrot can hurt itself thrashing around whether or not its wings are clipped.
If your cockatiel hurts itself during a night fright, you may need to seek emergency veterinary services. If you already have a relationship with a good avian veterinarian you’re more likely to get help in the middle of the night.
