Common Signs of Stress in Birds

While it is often difficult for bird owners to tell whether their pet is sick, as birds commonly hide signs of illness, it is even harder for most bird owners to tell if their pets are unhappy or stressed. Birds can certainly feel these emotions and hide them until these feelings become so extreme that they are manifested either physically or through behavioral changes. Birds can express unhappiness and stress in several different ways.

How can a bird owner tell that their bird is stressed or unhappy? Here are some common signs of stress and unhappiness in their pet birds:

1 - Biting

While many bird owners misinterpret birds’ biting as an act of aggression, this behavior is often a sign of stress and fear. Birds will frequently bite and lunge to try to protect themselves when they are afraid. Since biting also may be a sign of pain or discomfort in birds, a bird that suddenly starts biting a lot should have a complete veterinary examination to ensure there is no underlying medical problem for this new behavior.

2 - Screaming

Depending on their species, a bird will make loud noises. However, a sudden increase in screaming and screeching may indicate that a bird is stressed, unhappy, or bored. Just as biting can be indicative of pain or discomfort, so can screaming. Thus, any bird that suddenly starts screaming should be checked out by a veterinarian to ensure there is no underlying medical issue for this behavior.

3 - Decreased vocalization

While screaming can indicate underlying stress or unhappiness in birds, so can decreased vocalization. Birds that suddenly start to vocalize less may be stressed, unhappy, bored, or ill. It is imperative that any bird who suddenly vocalizes less be examined as soon as possible to make sure that there is no medical cause for this change in behavior.

4 - Feather picking

Feather picking is a very common outward manifestation of stress and boredom, particularly in larger species, such as Eclectus parrots, cockatoos, and African gray parrots, but this is also seen in smaller birds, including Quakers parrots and lovebirds. Some birds will start picking as a result of an initiating cause, such as loud noise or the occurrence of construction in the house. They may even continue to pick even when that initiating stimulus is gone. Feather-picking birds should have a thorough medical examination by a veterinarian that includes blood work to help rule out other causes of illness.

5 - Self-mutilation

Some very stressed or unhappy birds will go beyond feather-picking to the more extreme manifestation of chewing on their skin or even dig deeper into muscle and bone, causing severe trauma. These birds must not only be examined by a veterinarian immediately, but also be started on anti-psychotic medication and/or fitted with an Elizabethan collar (the “cones” that dogs wear) to prevent them from doing further damage while the owner and veterinarian try to figure out what’s going on.

6 - Stereotypical behaviors

Some species, but especially cockatoos, manifest stress as stereotypical behaviors such as pacing, toe-tapping, and head swinging. Often, birds perform these behaviors to stimulate themselves because they are bored. While these behaviors may be harmless, they can be a sign that the bird is unhappy, and owners should pay attention to these actions before they progress to more destructive activities such as feather-picking or self-mutilation.

7 - Decreased appetite

Birds that are so stressed that they are depressed may eat less and ultimately may lose weight. Since decreased appetite can also be a sign of medical disease, birds whose appetites change should be thoroughly examined by a veterinarian to make sure they aren’t hiding an underlying illness.

Related articles: 5 Steps to a Better Bird Welfare for ideas

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5 Steps to Better Bird Welfare

#1 Fresh Food

Provide a healthy and varied diet—not just seeds, but grains, beans, vegetables (cooked and raw), formulated pellets, and some fruit. Harmful foods for birds include chocolate, avocado, highly processed or overly salted foods, human junk food, and caffeine.

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#2 Flight

Think outside the cage. Provide your bird with daily exercise and ample out-of-cage time, preferably in a safe, supervised environment. For day-to-day life, give your bird the largest enclosure possible.

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#3 Fun

Provide toys and enriching activities. No more boring, barren cages. Birds love toys that can be chewed up, so this means buying or making bird toys frequently.

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#4 Flock

Provide plenty of socialization with other birds and/or human caretakers. Birds are social flock animals. In the wild, they are rarely—if ever— alone.

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#5 Freshen Up

Birds need access to water for bathing. Some birds prefer to bathe in a shallow dish while others will enjoy being misted with a water bottle. There are also some that may enjoy perching in a cool human shower.

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Preparing an Anxious Pet For Fireworks

With the fireworks, loud music, shouts and laughter, and in some areas even the banging of pots and pans or gunfire on New Year’s Eve, our normally calm pets may feel that their world is under attack. Some pets will lose all ability to act rationally and go so far as to jump out of windows or bloody their paws trying to escape through locked doors. It is on these nights, in fact, that pets are most likely to run away in a panic and get lost.

1. Confining Your Pet

Many pets have a favorite hiding place where they go when they are frightened. For some, a crate can lend a feeling of safety and security, but this is not true for all pets. If your cat or dog has not grown up using a crate and is not comfortable with it, they may find it more stressful to be confined and may even injure their teeth or nails trying to get through the crate door. Know your pet. If you cannot use a crate, place them in a room where they cannot hurt themselves or damage your belongings.

2. Using Positive Noise to Distract Your Pet

Even if you have not been using noise conditioning before now, you can still try using a distracting noise to help cover up the alarming sounds. Calm classical music can help to relieve many animals’ anxiety. Turn the music up to a comfortable volume; enough to drown out some of the loud party sounds, but not too loud to be disturbing to your pet. Some pets also like to watch TV. If your cat or dog has a favorite show to watch, set it up so that they can enjoy it for several hours at a time.

At other times, get your pet used to hearing loud noises by playing louder types of classical music, with lots of brass and percussion, recordings of thunderstorms. Play the sounds when nothing else is going on. Give your pet treats when they stay calm during the noise, and speak soothingly when they seem a little nervous. Let them know that everything is okay as you go about your normal routine.

3. Natural Calming Therapies for Pets

Lavender oil, which has been found to reduce car anxiety in dogs, can be helpful. Make sure the oil has the name Lavendula augustifolia or Lavendula officinalis. It can be used either on the skin or by letting your dog smell it. Try spraying the lavender oil on your dog’s favorite blanket. ProQuiet, a chewable tryptophan tablet, or in syrup form, can also help in calming dogs and cats. And canine pheromone sprays can be helpful for the mildly affected.

For cats, many owners find that Feliway sprays are very helpful. Feliway is a synthetic copy of the facial pheromone cats use to mark their territory as safe and secure. It can be used as a plug-in room diffuser, or as a spray.

4. Exercise Your Pet to Calmness

A happy, well-behaved pet is a tired pet.
Get your dog outside to a park (or the equivalent) for as much exercise as they can handle.
If you have a cat, plan out your day to spend time with feather wands and laser pointing toys. Keep your cat moving for as long as you can before the evening’s festivities begin.
Hopefully, when the noise starts, your pet will be too tired to get stressed out by it.

5. Distract Your Pet With Toys and Games

Give your dog or cat some food puzzles to play with during the time when there will be a lot of noise, or get a few new toys for them to play with.

If you have a cat, try spritzing catnip spray on the new toy to keep them interested, and for dogs, stuff a puzzle toy with peanut butter to keep their attention focused.

6. Talk to Your Veterinarian

If your veterinarian is already familiar with your issue, you may be able to have your vet call in an anti-anxiety prescription for your pet. This will not be helpful if you have never talked to your vet about your pet’s anxiety before; most veterinarians will not call in a last-minute prescription for a pet they have not previously diagnosed with noise anxiety.

7. Leave Home for the Night

Do you have friends or family who live in a quiet place? If you know for sure that none of the tips here will help your pet’s severe anxiety, pack up the travel crate and all of the other things you will need for an overnight away from home and then hightail it to a quieter neck of the woods.

If you are a dog owner living in one of the warmer Southern states, you may even consider grabbing a tent and “roughing it” in the peace and quiet of nature. Now that’s celebrating the New Year in style.

8. Don’t Hold Back on Comforting Your Pet

Finally, forget everything you have heard about ignoring your pet’s anxiety for fear of encouraging it with attention. Imagine how you would want to be treated if you were feeling that level of anxiety. Would you want to be ignored and brushed aside? Would being comforted by a loved one make you more scared or less scared?

The best thing you can do for your pet when they are anxious is to stay calm – show your pet by example that there is nothing to be afraid of – speak soothingly, show lots of calm affection, and give treats when they are being calm. Some pets will learn from this that as long as you are near they are safe and they may stop being as clingy.

But remember that our pets, like us, can be high strung and may always need to be comforted during noise-filled events.

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How to stop your dog from destructive chewing

One of a dog's favorite way to take in information and explore the world around them is through their mouths. Although they put their vision and sense of smell to work, sooner or later you will return to a home littered with the week's trash, damage inflicted upon your favorite chair, or worse—your dogs teeth.

Sooner or later every dog lover returns home to find some unexpected damage inflicted by their or their dog; or, more specifically, that dog's teeth. Although dogs make great use of their vision and sense of smell to explore the world, one of their favorite ways to take in new information is to put their mouths to work.

Redirecting their attention to more appropriate items will limit or end your dog from destroying things you value or putting themselves in harm's way. This requires you to play helicopter-parent until they start to understand, which means it is your responsibility to monitor the situation as much as possible so that they don't have the opportunity for destruction.

Understand your dog

Much like infants and toddlers, puppies explore their world by their mouths. And, like babies, they teethe for about six months, which usually creates some discomfort. Chewing not only facilitates teething but also makes sore gums feel better.

Adult dogs may engage in destructive chewing for any number of reasons. In order to deal with the behavior, you must first determine why your dog is chewing—and remember, they are not doing it to spite you. Possible reasons for destructive chewing include:

• As a puppy, they weren't taught what to chew and what not to chew.

• They're bored.

• They suffer from separation anxiety.

• Their behavior is fear-related.

• They want attention.

Please note: You may need to consult further help for both separation anxiety and fear-related behaviors.

Teach what to chew

Take responsibility for your own belongings. If you don't want it in your dog's mouth, don't make it available. Keep clothing, shoes, books, trash, eyeglasses, and remote controls out of your dog's reach.

Give your dog toys that are clearly distinguishable from household goods. Don't confuse them by offering shoes and socks as toys and then expecting them to distinguish between their shoe and yours.

Supervise your dog until they learn the house rules. Keep them with you on their leash in the house so they can't make a mistake out of your sight. Confine them when you're unable to keep an eye on them. Choose a "safe place" that's dog-proof, and provide fresh water and "safe" toys. If your dog is crate trained, you may also place them in their crate for short periods of time or consider a play-pen style gating.

Give your dog plenty of people-time. Your dog won't know how to behave if you don't teach them alternatives to inappropriate behavior, and they can't learn these when they are in the yard by themself.

Give your dog plenty of physical and mental exercise. If your dog is bored, they'll find something to do to amuse themself and you probably won't like the choices they make. On the other hand, a tired dog is a good dog, so make sure they get lots of physical and mental activity. The amount of exercise should be based on their age, health, and breed characteristics.

If you catch your dog chewing on something they shouldn't, interrupt the behavior with a loud noise. Offer them an acceptable chew toy instead, and praise them lavishly when they take the toy in their mouth.

Build a toy obsession in your dog. Use their toys to feed them. At mealtimes, fill a Kong-type toy with their kibble.

If your puppy is teething, try freezing a wet washcloth for them to chew on. The cold cloth will soothe their gums. Supervise your puppy so they don't chew and swallow any pieces of the washcloth.

Make items unpleasant to your dog. Furniture and other items can be coated with a taste deterrent (such as Bitter Apple®, available at our clinic) to make them unappealing.

Caution: Supervise your dog when you first try one of these deterrents. Some dogs will chew an object even if it's coated with a taste deterrent. Also be aware that you must reapply some of these deterrents to maintain their effectiveness.

Offer your dog a treat in exchange for the item in their mouth. As your dog catches on to this idea, you can add the command "Give" as their cue to release the object in exchange for the yummy treat.

Don't chase your dog if they grab an object and run. If you chase them, you are only giving your dog what they want. Being chased by their human is fun! Instead call them to you or offer them a treat.

Have realistic expectations. At some point your dog will inevitably chew up something you value; this is often part of the transition to a new home. Your dog needs time to learn the house rules and you need to remember to take precautions and keep things out of their reach.

Take care with punishment

If you discover a chewed item even minutes after they've chewed it, you're too late.

Animals associate punishment with what they're doing at the time they're being corrected. Your dog can't reason: "I tore up those shoes an hour ago and that's why I'm being scolded now." Some people believe this is what a dog is thinking because they run and hide or because they "look guilty."

In reality, "guilty looks" are actually canine submissive postures that dogs show when they're threatened. When you're angry and upset, your dog feels threatened by your tone of voice, body postures and/or facial expressions, so they may hide or show submissive postures. Punishment after the fact will not only fail to eliminate undesirable behavior, but it could also provoke other undesirable behaviors.

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