What are signs of abuse in birds?

[Gigglemug]

The bird I adopted this past week, Mickey , has recently moved into his newer and bigger cage. Just a few minutes ago I was sitting next to him doing schoolwork and he was puffed up, which is typically a good thing from my understanding. Then he started moving around the cage and eventually started screaming. I put a towel over the side of the cage I was sitting at and now he seems to be fine enough. Any reason why he suddenly started jostling around and screaming? It isn't cold and as far as I'm aware he wasn't showing any signs of aggression or fear. Also, generally, from what I've gathered he was stuck at the previous breeder for about two years and they said he was hard to work with because of his anxiousness towards them, could they have potentially abused him or neglected him in some way to make him more fearful of people? What are some signs I should watch out for to make sure he's comfortable, and what are some ways I can get him comfier?

 

[Barbs]

Puffing up can be a sign that he's not well, but when this is the case the puffing is almost constant; is the cage in a corner or against a wall? They don't feel safe when all sides are exposed, that's why round cages are a bad idea.
One week is really a short time for an anxious boy to make fast friends, he will probably need more time and patience.
My Freddie was manhandled by owners who didn't know what they were doing, and as a result, after a year with us only now he's starting to get more relaxed around hands.
You did such a great thing to give this boy a chance, he will reward you in time
PS beak grinding (we call it "gumming" in my home, hehe) is a sure sign of being content and relaxed.

 

[Gigglemug]

Puffing up can be a sign that he's not well, but when this is the case the puffing is almost constant; is the cage in a corner or against a wall? They don't feel safe when all sides are exposed, that's why round cages are a bad idea.
One week is really a short time for an anxious boy to make fast friends, he will probably need more time and patience.
My Freddie was manhandled by owners who didn't know what they were doing, and as a result, after a year with us only now he's starting to get more relaxed around hands.
You did such a great thing to give this boy a chance, he will reward you in time

What do you mean when you say the cage is round? Also yes, one side of the cage is against the wall, though not touching.

 

[Barbs]

What do you mean when you say the cage is round?

Sorry I should have said "cylindrical": a cage that has no corners, and this kind of cage is usually kept away from walls. Cockatiels need at least a corner or one side of the cage to be against a wall, otherwise they feel too exposed. It would make an anxious bird very very unhappy.

 

[Gigglemug]

Sorry I should have said "cylindrical": a cage that has no corners, and this kind of cage is usually kept away from walls. Cockatiels need at least a corner or one side of the cage to be against a wall, otherwise they feel too exposed.

He's in a square cage, one side against the wall. I'm still generally curious about signs of birds being mishandled: what ways was your Freddie mishandled and what signs did he show?

 

[Mizzely]

Screaming is communication. If he was around a lot of other birds before, he may feel a little lonely. Screaming is a good way to see if there are some neighbors he just can't see!

 

[Gigglemug]

Screaming is communication. If he was around a lot of other birds before, he may feel a little lonely. Screaming is a good way to see if there are some neighbors he just can't see!

He was around other birds whenever he was at the breeders, but they told me he was aggressive towards them and couldn't be around any other birds. Are you sure he was calling for other birds instead of screaming with fear? Also, how would I get him used to being around another bird?

 

[Mizzely]

I mean no, I can't promise for sure he isn't screaming out of fear because I didn't hear it and don't know your bird. But all of my birds yell for various reasons:

I'm hungry
I can't see you
I want out
I'm bored

They also have different screams for being scared. So it may take some time for you know what kind of screech you are hearing.


My bird (Gizmo) that had been mistreated you could not mistake her fear for anything else. She cowered, screeched, breathed heavily, and clung to the cage bars with the pupils of her eyes wide.

 

[Barbs]

Freddie came to us through an ad, didn't look happy so we went to see him.
The family who had him had no idea how to treat little birds, they found out it wasn't that much fun because he didn't talk and sing, so he sat in his cage alone, no interactions.
He had a bloody beak so we knew he was in trouble (and £££ for the vet) but no way he could stay there. We found out at the vet that he suffered quite a bad injury to his beak, he basically hooked himself to one of those toys with bells, and split his lower beak. God knows how they unhooked him. It's not meanness, just ignorance.
But birds are incredibly resilient, and now he sings his heart out every day, even though he's scared of hands.
I have had a lot of rescues, every single one has his/her own story.
If they are afraid of humans, usually there is a good reason.
If they bite, usually it's their last resource in a panic situation.
It's a bit of a guessing game to understand why they do such and such thing; a bird could have had the best "childhood" and still be mean... Unless you know their history, you can only guess.

 

[Barbs]

He was around other birds whenever he was at the breeders, but they told me he was aggressive towards them and couldn't be around any other birds. Are you sure he was calling for other birds instead of screaming with fear? Also, how would I get him used to being around another bird?

Do you trust these breeders? I got Freddie because Sam lost his friend and quit eating to the point that he was letting himself die. I can't imagine a cockatiel being happy alone after living with others of his kind, but of course every bird is different.
Get acquainted with him, you'll see by yourself if he needs companions.

 

[Sparkles99]

Do you mean abuse by other birds too? If so, I’ve only seen a little of it, but it could be wounds, particularly on the head or wings.

 

[Gigglemug]

Do you trust these breeders? I got Freddie because Sam lost his friend and quit eating to the point that he was letting himself die. I can't imagine a cockatiel being happy alone after living with others of his kind, but of course every bird is different.
Get acquainted with him, you'll see by yourself if he needs companions.

Yes and no. On one hand they were right about his anxiety, but on the other hand they were seemingly not giving me very good advice. Much of the advice from my relative seems to work most of the time while the breeder's advice is less than right (they told me that cockatiels prefer longer rather than taller cages which I've gotten mixed advice about), and they claimed he was handfed despite having several previous owners. I'm unsure what to think of the breeder, but if I needed to get Mickey a new friend and knew he wouldn't become aggressive with them, I would. As well as that I'm not sure I could help him should he mate with any future female cockatiels. If I were to get him a new friend, how would I find more personable cockatiels?

 

[Gigglemug]

Do you mean abuse by other birds too? If so, I’ve only seen a little of it, but it could be wounds, particularly on the head or wings.

No, I mean abuse by breeders. I unfortunately don't have firsthand account of him being aggressive but the breeders told me he was nervous and didn't mingle well with other birds.

 

[Sparkles99]

Hmmm… I think it’s hard to determine the origin of a behaviour unless you were there to witness things.

I’ve noticed many people suspect abuse of a variety of pets when in fact it’s something else (boredom, housing, imprinting, in the case of dogs what a landrace/breed was bred to do, etc.) & many of these problem behaviours are only problems in our homes &, in the case of birds, are normal.

 

[Barbs]

Well, about long cage Vs tall cage I agree with long cage. When I had tall cages my guys were always on the top, so I decided to try long and I have to say they appreciate every corner of it, even go to the bottom to forage (they never did it on the tall cages).
This has much to do with parrot type. Some other parrots would HATE a long short cage. Cockatiels seems to appreciate it more.
But if he likes tall, good for him! I wish mines did because long cages take a lot of room

 

[Mizzely]

Birds fly like a plane, not a helicopter is how I remember tall vs long! Yeah they like to be high up, but they can get that out of the cage much more easily.

In taller cages, my birds don't use most of the bottom part of the cage. Once you add in perches and toys, tall narrow cages get over crowded easily.

Would you rather live in a room that is 12 feet long by 4 foot wide with an 8 foot ceiling, or would you rather live in a room that is 4 foot by 8 foot with a 12 foot ceiling?

A lot more activities are available to you in a wider area vs taller


Birds can be handled and handfed and still be afraid of hands or aggressive. I had a Quaker from 3 months old, handfed and sweetest bird. Then he grew to hate me would fly across the house to attack me and to this day don't know what I did to him

 

[Barbs]

Birds fly like a plane, not a helicopter is how I remember tall vs long! Yeah they like to be high up, but they can get that out of the cage much more easily.

In taller cages, my birds don't use most of the bottom part of the cage. Once you add in perches and toys, tall narrow cages get over crowded easily.

Would you rather live in a room that is 12 feet long by 4 foot wide with an 8 foot ceiling, or would you rather live in a room that is 4 foot by 8 foot with a 12 foot ceiling?

A lot more activities are available to you in a wider area vs taller


Birds can be handled and handfed and still be afraid of hands or aggressive. I had a Quaker from 3 months old, handfed and sweetest bird. Then he grew to hate me would fly across the house to attack me and to this day don't know what I did to him

I'm so sorry! My Bubu hated my partner with a passion, and he would wait for him to pass under a door to attack him hahaha he was a character, but partner wasn't amused... At the end they declared a truce (no idea how or why but it happened).

 

[Gigglemug]

Birds fly like a plane, not a helicopter is how I remember tall vs long! Yeah they like to be high up, but they can get that out of the cage much more easily.

In taller cages, my birds don't use most of the bottom part of the cage. Once you add in perches and toys, tall narrow cages get over crowded easily.

Would you rather live in a room that is 12 feet long by 4 foot wide with an 8 foot ceiling, or would you rather live in a room that is 4 foot by 8 foot with a 12 foot ceiling?

A lot more activities are available to you in a wider area vs taller


Birds can be handled and handfed and still be afraid of hands or aggressive. I had a Quaker from 3 months old, handfed and sweetest bird. Then he grew to hate me would fly across the house to attack me and to this day don't know what I did to him

Did he ever get over his hatred for you?

 

[SunnySandi]

I’ve had Valkyrie since she was just weaned. She routinely will scream for reasons she is sure are important, even right in my ear! Sometimes they just want to hear their own voice as well lol

Not all skittish animals are abused, some are just skittish or hand shy.

 

[Mizzely]

I'm so sorry! My Bubu hated my partner with a passion, and he would wait for him to pass under a door to attack him hahaha he was a character, but partner wasn't amused... At the end they declared a truce (no idea how or why but it happened).

Did he ever get over his hatred for you?

I gave up soon after I found myself hiding under my dining table to escape his wrath. He's living with my mother in law.