Banjo freaked out!

[andielane87]

Last night my bf and I had company, all was well... They held him, played with him, gave him treats, laughed at him constantly shaking his head "yes" lol.... I put him away to get some snacks and he was fine while I prepared the food and stuff then suddenly he starts screaming (never heard this before) and flying and crashing back and forth in his cage, my bf opened the door, he flew out still screaming and went to hide under the couch.

So we had to get him out, I grabbed him and he would not put pressure on his feet at all, he swayed his head side to side and just sort of leaned on my hand and squawked again. So I covered him in a blanket and cuddled him on my chest, I checked his wings and no injuries, no blood, no broken feathers, his face was good, no food in his throat (I thought he might be chocking since he was acting weird) but that was clear too, his feet were clear, he let me touch them and stretch them.

So everything was fine but he still leaned funny, his grip was weak but he did climb my finger. If I would describe it as anything I would say he was acting "paranoid".... He was ok until he would move and scare himself.

After cuddles, petting and a grape he was fine but it took at least 30 minutes before he acted normal.

I almost had a heart attack, all while guests were there and I was going to video tape his weird behavior but we were too occupied trying to keep him from flying and getting injured.

Any idea what happened???

 

[Kiwibird]

Is his cage located near a window? It's possible he saw an animal that frightened him. Or maybe one of the guests had something he was scared of (hat, glasses, purse ext..)? Whatever it was, it sounds like his behavior was some kind of fear reaction. Birds can completely melt down when something frightens them badly, and in turn, that can be very frightening to us (and you may never know what scared him). Next time though, leave him in his cage until he's calmed down. Sooth him through the bars, but don't open the cage until he can step out normally. Letting him zoom out in a panic is a good way for him to get injured or possibly escape. Hopefully it was just a dog passing by the window or something and he doesn't have another fright like that.

 

[andielane87]

We are in an apartment, 2nd floor. Our curtains were closed as well. One of our guests had glasses but so does my bf. He's fine when I run the vacuum, dishwasher, laundry, TV, music so it wasn't a noise. Our neighbors below have a dog, but he barks and has never scared banjo...

The reason he opened the door was because he kept crashing and screaming in his cage where we have branches and toys that in a frantic panic he could get hurt. (His wings are clipped btw, so he can "fly" only low and short distances, more like a glide.)

Just really REALLY freaked me out, I wish vets had a 911 number lol

 

[MikeyTN]

That does happen occasionally especially when they freak out like that. You did the right thing by keeping him calm. When they freak out like that they tend to lose grip a bit and acting out of it. He will recover just fine the next day. But for peace of mind you should have him examined by a avian vet!

 

[andielane87]

Thank you! He's been back to moral about an hour after the fright. Poor guy. A vet visit this morning showed all was well, just a fright I guess.