Birds can feel stressed just like humans and other animals. Stress is not only a mere mental condition, but it may lead to some serious problems, including death.
Birds are not able to tell that they are stressed, but there are some symptoms you can observe. Finch is also able to get stressed and you can get the ideas on how to tell that a finch is stressed out.
Why do birds feel stressed? There are some reasons why. Changes to environment, new family members or pets, noises (such as construction, trucks or thunder), paint color and many more can cause stress in birds.
As an owner of a pet bird, you really have to be aware to notice these symptoms. If there is or are any symptoms shown, then you should take the bird to the vet so that you can prevent it from getting worse.
Let’s see each of the symptoms of a stressed bird.
1. Screaming
Birds commonly love singing just like lovebirds. If you have lovebirds at home, make sure you know these steps to teach your lovebirds to talk.
However, birds tend to make loud noises when they are stressed, depending on their species. A sudden increase in screaming or screeching may tell you that a bird is unhappy, bored or even stressed.
When a bird starts screaming, then it should be checked out by a vet. The vet will check if there is any underlying medical issue for this symptom.
2. Biting
Biting is sometimes misinterpreted by some pet owners as an aggressive action. However, biting could often be a sign of stress and fear too. When birds try to protect themselves when they are afraid, they tend to lunge and bite.
Biting is also a symptom of pain or discomfort. When a bird suddenly starts biting, then you should bring it to the vet to be checked. There could also be an underlying medical problem for this behavior.
3. Crouching or Flattening or Trembling
When birds are frightened or anxious, they also tend to flatten their feathers and widen their eyes. They may crouch slightly as if they were about to take a flight.
You can also notice some other symptoms accompanying this, such as trembling, flapping wings and open beak.
4. Loss of Appetite
Loss of appetite may also be a symptom of illness or disease in birds. However, birds that are stressed or depressed may also eat less and lose weight.
When you notice that your bird is eating less or not eating at all, then you should bring it to the vet to make sure that it doesn’t hide any underlying illness.
5. Self-mutilation or Feather-picking
Self-mutilation may sound scary, but really happens to a stressed bird. A stressed bird may take to plucking its own feather or even pick at its skin.
Worse than that, it can even chew on its skin and some will dig even deeper into their muscle or bone! This condition is serious and can cause severe damage, so it is very important to bring it to the vet.
Losing feather can also be a sign of a particular illness in birds. There are some reasons why your bird pets lose their feathers.
6. Repetitive Behavior
Some birds may exhibit repetitive behavior while they are stressed, such as cockatoos. The behavior may include pacing, toe-tapping, and head swinging. Those kinds of behavior stimulate themselves while they feel bored or stressed.
7. Appearance of Stress Bar
What is a stress bar? Stress bar is a small line that runs horizontally across the shafts of a bird’s feathers. It could be difficult to assess stress bar in feathers, however, examining molted feathers can give a quick notice of whether your bird is having issues with a stressor.
The presence of a stress bar in birds won’t tell you the cause of the problem. Instead, it is a red flag which tell you to look for some potential sources of stress that your bird may encounter.
8. Getting Scared or Fearful
Your pet bird is normally happy to be handled. However, when it starts to act fearful of you or any of your family members, then that person could be the cause of the stress.
It may not even be something that the person does, but other simple things, such as brightly-colored shirt, or a new mustache can also be a trigger to a bird’s fearful behavior.
After knowing the symptoms of a stressed bird, then the next question will be “how do I treat them?”. There are some things you can do to curb your bird’s behavior, such as:
- Never yell at your bird. Yelling will make your bird more frightened and scared. Instead of treating, yelling will also startle your bird.
- Move slowly. If you get attacked by your bird because it is stressed or nervous, then move away slowly. Avoid moving away quickly as it will agitate the animal further.
- Give some kinds of stimulation. One of the causes of stress in bird is boredom. Try to challenge your bird with some toys, TV to watch, or something fun that will gain its interest.
To prevent your bird from getting stress, avoid sudden changes to its lifestyle and environment. If your bird seems not like its new environment, try to move it back to slowly acclimate it to a new position.
Be aware of the bird as it is sensitive to changes and you will prevent it from getting stressed. If you keep birds as your pets, then make sure you also know some other information, such as bacterial diseases in birds and ways on how to prevent feather mites in birds.