Stress In Birds: How To Know If Your Bird Is Too Stressed?
Just like humans and other animals, birds also experience stress and anxiety. Birds are very sensitive creatures and they need to be looked out for. Birds commonly hide signs of illness and distress. It is very important for a bird parent to identify what is causing these things and help them.
What Causes Stress?
There could be various reasons that cause stress in birds and make them unhappy. Birds are habitual creatures and when there is an interruption in their routine or environment, it causes them anxiety and stress. Moving to a new house, change in paint colors, being moved to a new room, new people or pets can also upset them.
Parrots such as African grays and cockatoos are very intelligent and seek attention and stimulation. They get bored and stressed whey they do not receive enough of it. Environmental noises such as thunder or vehicle sounds can also be stressors for birds.
Identifying Bird Stress:
Stress Bars: These bars are small streaks of lines seen in the shaft of your bird's feathers. These are an indication to let you know that your bird is experiencing stress.
Screaming And Feather Plucking: This is the most common sign indicating stress. Birds may start to pull out their feathers if they are anxious or stressed. They can also do this due to boredom or insufficient diet. Birds that constantly scream and begin to over pluck themselves should be taken to the vet as soon as possible to rule out any illness or health issues.
Self-mutilation: Some birds may resort to biting themselves due to depression or anxiety. They usually exhibit this type of behavior after plucking themselves too much. Be sure to look out for cuts on your birds skin and take them to the vet to as soon as possible to avoid infection.
Loss of Appetite: Birds might start eating less or in some cases not eat at all. This could be na indicator of stress or a more serious underlying issue.
Stereotypical behaviors: Birds, especially like cockatoos, show obvious actions like toe-tapping, head swinging and pacing when they are bored. This behavior is not harmful but it shows that your bird is unhappy and stressed.
Helping Your Bird:
The first thing you have to do is to remove the external stressing agents. A bird trainer or a vet could help you identify this and combat it.
Provide a lot of interactive bird toys to keep them occupied and entertained. Let them free out of the cage for a while every day and spend time with them. Keeping a TV or radio on also keeps them stimulated. Our Hemp Well Calm Bird drops aid in the relaxation of your bird and can help them stay calm and prevent further stress.
Provide positive reinforcement training to help your bird get accustomed to people or pets. Create a non-crowded environment with nesting areas and multi-level perches. Birds are very smart and social creatures. Keeping them mentally stimulated as much as possible can really help reduce stress levels and keep them healthy and happy.
