# Night terrors?



## mountainstorm (May 3, 2006)

My little diamond dove, Honeydew, seems to have night terrors. Anywhere from between two to five times a night, she frantically flutters around in the cage for about ten seconds.

Does anyone know what could be causing this? 

It doesn't bother me, sleepwise; but I do worry about her hurting herself. Does anyone have a remedy? There is no apparent reason for these night terrors.

Rach


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Don't know why your dove is having these episodes, Rach...however, LADY TARHEEL (Maggie) can give you great suggestions for injury proofing her home.

Sure hope she will be OK!!

Sending Love, and gentle hugs and scritches

Shi


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Rach,




How big...and how high is the Cage?




Phil
l v


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Mine used to do the same thing when I had them inside. They were in a good sized parakeet/cockatiel cage. Scared the stuffing out of my mom when she'd hear it randomly in the night  I found giving them a little night light helped


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Cover the cage.


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## rainbows (Aug 19, 2008)

Night frights are caused by many factors, usually depends on the bird feeling secure. Usually the main causes are ---light---noise---or movement.
Light-- If the bird's cage is covered with a heavy cloth, and it is totally dark inside the cage, then try leaving one side of the cage uncovered. If there is light inside the cage, try totally covering so it is totally dark. 
Noise--Any sudden noise might startle the bird---refrigerator motor kicking on--sirens--thunder--neighbor's door slamming--
Movement--breeze or draft might rustle the cage cover.
You will just have to observe and figure what it is that sets the bird off.
I had a couple of cockatiels that nearly drove me batty with their night-frights until i figured they were fussing almost every hour. When that dang coo-coo clock would announce the hour of 10/11/12----
It can be as simple as a neighbor flushing a toilet and the bird can hear it. Maybe you need to move the cage to a different spot.


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## Pete Jasinski (Jan 2, 2005)

My Nanday Guapo used to get scared at night so I cut a small "window" in his cover and put a night light near and he's been fine ever since. It's funny how different birds can be, my little Parrotlet Bloo needs a dark cage to sleep. If there is any light she'll play all night. I hope you can figure out what's bothering Honeydew and get her sleeping through the night.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Those are really great suggestions, guys!
What do you think about giving her a wider perch or a nest, so she can feel more 'supported' at night?
I'd do the night light first, maybe move the cage and look into injury proofing.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

A wider perch or nest sounds worth a try too. My mom was convinced our birds had nightmares, and they were so scared they lost their balance. If that's true, at least a wider perch would prevent them from falling or having to flap as much to stay up. All I know is, birds feel the safest on the highest perch they can comfortably roost on. And covering the cage helps calm them, but I think a little light may help. Cause honestly if I was a bird and something woke me up during the night, I'd like to have a little light to see what the heck it was!


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

philodice said:


> Those are really great suggestions, guys!
> .


I agree with you 100%. That is one of the great things about this great site that you can read and learn from everyones tecniques that are shared.


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Cockatiels are well known for night terrors, we leave a night lite on for all of the parrots. They haven't had any for years now.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

In the book, "Cockatiels for Dummies", they state that Cockatiels, more than other species of birds are prone to night frights. They thrash about in their cage wildly, flying into the bars and potentially hurting themselves. They don't see well in the dark and in their panic aren't paying much attention. A night light near a cockatiel cage is a measure of prevention. It also gives them a chance to find their perch after a fright. They mention keeping them in familiar surroundings; they feel vulnerable and helpless in the dark. They state cockatiels are essentially blind at night and will quieten down, usually, when their cage is covered at night. 

It is important when you hear them thrashing to calmly get up and turn on a light so the bird can see again. Talk softly and they should begin to calm down when they hear your voice.

I expect Diamond Doves' night frights are similar to a Cockatiel's, or any caged bird so the same care would apply. I think you treat each bird individually and try different things to help them.

Our first Cockatiel had them from time to time. What we did was put her in another room that she was familiar with and cover her cage on three sides with a night light near by. It did help. I think it is important to move them to their "bedroom" area early to let them get settled while you're still awake. It also helps them to get enough sleep. When Molly would get a fright, I went to her and talked quietly until she calmed down.

Our current Cockatiel, Dean, has not had any and we are treating him totally the opposite to what we did for Molly. Because he is so high strung anyhow and reacts badly to change, we keep him in the same location all the time, in the family room. His cage is not covered but we do have several night lights in the room and hall so he can see.

The book also says they can have "day frights" and do the same thrashing that they do at night. Little things can trigger them - wearing a cap or different clothes like an outer coat they don't recognize. You treat those the same as night frights by talking to them quietly.

It is also important to check them over when they have a fright to make sure they are not injured or bleeding. When they thrash so badly they can easily break feathers so that is another reason to keep a small container of flour near any of your birds to stop the bleeding. They can break legs/wings so it is important to get them to a vet in that case. You really need to check them carefully.


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## mountainstorm (May 3, 2006)

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. It's great to have so much input.

Well, new locations don't help. She had them before I moved; she had them in the living room of the new place; now she has them in the bedroom. Covered or uncovered doesn't seem to matter. I'll try a nightlight near her cage specifically, although my air filter glows, as does the VCR, and I could read (barely) in these lights.

I'll try a wider perch--that totally makes sense that she might be losing balance in her sleep.

Rach


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## bweaz (Aug 1, 2008)

I definitely agree with covering the cage and the night light. I had a cockatiel that was prone to night frights and that helped him immensely. Also, make sure nothing is moving around your dove's cage at night. If anything would rub against the cockatiel's cage or cover at night, he would have a night fright. I found that if I made sure he slept away from any flow of traffic, that helped a lot!!

I hope the night frights stop!!


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