Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/26/2008

Question
I recently got an adult cockatiel who had settled in nicely with our family, his new surrounding and all. He sang, spoke and whistled... and was even learning new things that we were teaching him.   He likes to sit on top of his cage but would fly around the house on occasion, and finally hit a wall so I clipped his wings. I clipped them three weeks after he hit the wall, and he presented no injuries or odd behavior after the wall. Now he is not singing, talking or interacting with us in much of any way. This started immediatly after the clipping.  If he were a dog Id say he was pouting and angry at us!  Will he get over this?  Its been going on for about 5 days (he is eating normally). The clipping went off without any glitches.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi, Teresa,

Your bird could have sustained an injury when it hit the wall.  I've seen tiels hit a wall during flight and break their necks immediately and fall down the wall dead.  In addition, when you trimmed the bird's flight feathers, you took away some of its "freedom" so, yes, your bird could be angry with you!  And, yes, this will pass, provided your bird didn't injure itself when it hit the wall.  Often times, just the process of trimming the flight feathers can be very stressful, in addition to limiting your bird's freedom.  Both of these can result in a bird behaving like you describe.  I'm an advocate of trimming flight feathers versus allowing bird's to have free roam in our homes, which are filled with many dangers for birds.  Give your bird some more time to get over all this.  However, be mindful that when your bird hit the wall, it could have sustained some injury that may not be visible to you.  Watch him carefully and if you have any concerns, get your bird to a certified avian vet for a checkup.

Chrys