Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/5/2008

Question
Hi Charlotte,

I have a budgie named Yorba and he is 3 years old.  He and the other budgie have their own cages but are out all day flying (with full flight feathers).  They are both very healthy.  Yorba is a  very tame bird and he flies to me all the time to play.  Sometimes when he is sleeping at night (not often) he will fall off his perch.  He then gets up and gets back on his perch.  Is this normal?  He's been doing this every once in a while since he was a baby.  It's only and night and when he is sleeping.  Again, it doesn't happen all the time.  What do you think?  I love him very much.  Thanks, Charlotte.  Laura

Answer
Hi, Laura,

I'm not Charlotte, but I'll try to help.  For some reason, Charlotte sent your question to the question pool and I picked it up from there.

There are several things that might be happening with your bird:

1.  The bird might have a neurological problem that you would need to seek certified avian veterinarian assistance for.  However, I think if this were the case, the bird would fall off the perch more often and during the day as well.

2.  The bird may be disturbed by something during the night, which results in the bird becoming disoriented and ends up on the bottom of the cage.  Small parrots often will flap around uncontrollably in their cage in the dark if something disturbs them.

3.  The perch(es) may be the wrong size/type for your bird and he can't hold on sufficiently at night once he's asleep.

Do you actually witness your bird falling off his perch?  You may want to use a nightlight near your bird during the night (if you don't already).  This might help the bird keep his wits about him if/when he becomes disturbed at night.  Disturbances can come from headlights coming in a window, mice in the house, other animals (cat/dog) roaming around at night, people roaming around the house, etc.  Birds have acute hearing, so you may not be aware of something the bird is hearing.

I recommend you investigate further and get the bird to a bird vet if you think necessary.

Chrys