Stress in parrots and canaries

Birds are prone to stress, and stress has an extremely negative effect on their health. Unfortunately, situations where parrots or canaries become seriously ill or even die from stress are not uncommon. At the same time, many novice bird owners do not even have time to understand what happened, and shrug their hands in disappointment: after all, just a couple of hours ago, the pet was healthy and cheerful!

And only with a more detailed examination of the situation a sad picture emerges: the parrot died as soon as it was transplanted into a new cage, but before that the owner had to catch his pet for a long time. Or, for example, a bright light suddenly fell on the cage from the window (suppose, from the headlights of a car), and the canary, peacefully sitting on the perch, fell and began to convulse. In both the first and second cases, the cause of the sad outcome is the strongest stress in response to a sharp stimulus, which the fragile organism of the bird simply could not cope with.

However, it is in the power of each of us to protect our pet from various irritants and, therefore, from stress. To do this, you must be guided by a number of recommendations for care and maintenance. But before moving on to them, let’s look at the most common causes of stress in a bird.

Causes of Bird Stress

• Starvation.

• Sudden change in diet.

• Close cage (aviary).

• Unfriendly (or potentially unfriendly) cage or apartment neighbors (for example, a cat constantly watching a bird, but not causing it any harm, may well cause extreme stress).

• Sharp noise.

• Violent movements near the cell.

• Frequent movement of the cell to a new location.

• Frequent catching of birds.

• Frequent contact with the bird (attempts to pick it up).

• Violation of the daily routine.

• High temperature in the room where the bird is kept.

• Too bright light; direct sunlight falling on the cell, etc.

The list turned out to be quite impressive, especially since it included only the main causes of stress, in practice there can be much more. However, keeping your pets stress-free is easy with bird guidelines!

Stress prevention

It is advisable to install the cage in a bright corner of the room (but not in direct sunlight), away from heaters, TV, computer, music center and other sources of harsh light and noise. You can not put the cage too low or too high. The best solution would be to install at the level of human growth. It is categorically not recommended to move the cage often.

As for transplanting to another cage, it is better not to catch the parrot and transfer it, but simply lean two cages with open doors close to each other so that the bird itself moves from one cage to another.  

Often the cause of constant stress is unsuitable neighbors, a cramped cage, loneliness. Many birds are by nature real lone wolves and you should not plant a company with them. Sociable birds, on the contrary, will be very bored without a pleasant neighborhood. But even the most friendly, cheerful company will feel bad in a cramped cage or aviary: due to the lack of territory, the birds will begin to conflict and no longer feel safe.

All family members (it is very important to explain this to children) should make it a rule not to make sudden movements, not to wave their arms or make noise near the cage. Do not disturb the bird often and take it in your hands. Do not forget that canaries and parrots are pets that need to be admired from the side.

An unbalanced diet is also the cause of severe stress. It will be joined by other serious ailments, because it is on high-quality feeding that the pet’s health is built.

Of course, at the first stages it seems that it is almost impossible to understand all the intricacies of keeping birds, but the advice of professionals and experienced owners will always come to the rescue. And the most important assistant in your business will be your love for pets and the desire to make their life truly happy!