Night terrors/Nightmares/???

[JawzX]

so, I was woken this morning just before 5am by the sound of flapping and rattling in the cage, I immediately turned on the bedside lamp and went to check on Ms. Beak. She was clinging to the side of her cage flapping, I stuck my hand in and she immediately got on it, then as soon as she was clear of the bars, flew for the upper corner of the room that was illuminated by the spill-light from the top of the lamp. She crashed into the ceiling/wall corner and fluttered down to the bed, I ran over and picked her up again, and she flew for the window (illuminated by the street-lights outside) at this point I figured she was scaed of the dark for some reason and was trying to get to the light, so I collected her off the blinds, put her on my shoulder and turned on the overhead light. She immediately pressed against my cheek and gripped my shoulder like she would never let go. She was constantly looking around like she was afraid something would pop up behind her and try to attack. She was breathing hard and shaking, but not trying to fly away again...

I sat in bed with her and petted her and talked to her for a while, then figured I might try to put her back to sleep and get a few more hours myself, so I turned off the overhead light... She immediately took off again, this time I held up my hand and she did a short circuit of the room and landed back on my hand.

In the end it took almost an hour of petting and soft talking before I got a feather ruffle and a calm stance out of her. She then immediately went into her mating posture *sigh* by then I had nearly fallen asleep myself and we ended up snuggled together on the bed... I turned out the overhead and she practically ran under the covers and started shaking again! Now it's getting light out and she's peaking out from under the covers cautiously, and I've spent the last 2.5 hours being bird comfort.

as it stands she still seems a little on guard, though she has made a few noises, and done the mating posture several times (again, *sigh*). Something must have really terrified her in the dark. I've never seen her this scared of anything, even the Vet isn't this scary and doesn't take this long to recover from emotionally.

she seems to be OK physically after her crashes (she's still growing back wing feathers and flys very slowly right now), but I worry about her mental state, and how she'll behave when it gets dark again tonight while I'm at work.

Any one else have an experience like this with their bird? Any suggestions? Thoughts?

 

[nofearengineer]

I only had that happen with Gandalf maybe once or twice in his first couple of years (though he didn't fly...he would just walk across the floor and perch on something). I'm not sure if he got scared or just fell, since he was young and clumsy. He never took long to settle back in for the night, though like Miss Beak, he definitely took advantage of the situation and enjoyed a short snuggle first.

I don't think it's anything serious. I just think like any child, they get scared from time to time, and it takes them a while to let it go. Kind of like a kid and their fear of the bogeyman in the closet unless you shut the door. Tomorrow night, she may not even remember it.

If you want to be cautious, you could just leave on a small light in an adjacent room so that she can see should she wake up. It won't hurt her...they have eyelids for a reason. I think quiet is more important than darkness for good sleep, at least in the short term.

 

[SharonC]

I actually use a very dim nightlight in the sleep room. That might be a good idea...unless you want company in your bed! LOL!

 

[JawzX]

I live right at an intersection, and even with all the lights off the street lamps outside make it light enough to see shapes pretty well... I may try a nightlight though. Today I left a small lamp on so it'll still be a little light even after the sun goes down before I get home. For the next week and a half I'm working the day shift, so our schedles are all messed up too. I'm sure that's a contributing factor. I have just never seen her this worked up, and it was obviously the dark that had her scared. As long as lights were on she was ok, if still nervous. When I tried to turn them out she went into flight for life mode nearly instantly. Poor girl. Poor my sleep schedule