Cockatiels need good sleep, about 10-12 hours a day. They usually wake up before sunrise and fall asleep around sunset. Because cockatiels spend so much time sleeping, it is easy to wonder if cockatiels have nightmares.
Can Cockatiels Have Nightmares? A cockatiel can have nightmares. This usually happens when they enter the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep. Here they lower their heads and remain calm as their brain enters a state of rest. Some research suggests that cockatiels probably dream about their songs. However, there is a way to have nightmares, especially in young or stressful cockatiels.
Dreams occur in both cockatiels and humans to consolidate memories and learn new behaviors. However, some stressors such as other nearby pets, loud noises, or sudden lights can disturb the cockatiel. For example, if he is scared while sleeping, the cockatiel may start having nightmares. This can even escalate into night terror or night fright, causing your cockatiel to wake up shaking.
Can A Cockatiel Have Nightmares?
Because cockatiels dream, they can also have nightmares. These are just scary versions of dreams. Many owners say that their cockatiel moves, jerks, or makes noises while sleeping. All of these signs of nightmares are common in cockatiels.
Many studies support the following anecdotes. Cockatiels dream because they experience REM sleep. According to Frontiers in Neuroscience, cockatiels have two stages of sleep: REM sleep, Non-REM (NREM).
NREM sleep is characterized by slow waves in the brain and is a stage in which the body repairs itself. Rem is characterized by rest and low muscle tone, which means the muscles are relaxed or loose. However, cockatiels have a high muscle tone while sleeping. This allows them to sit and sleep at the same time.
What Do Cockatiels Have Nightmares About?
Although research shows that cockatiels can dream, it is still harder to discover what they desire and has nightmares about. Some cockatiels dream of songs they sang during the day. This helps to:
- Improve their memory.
- Learn from their experiences.
- Sing good songs in the future.
Dreaming of sounds they hear during the day helps cockatiels recall those sounds later on. Cockatiels are also knowledgeable pets with the capacity for knowledge, similar to a small child. Because of this, it is reasonable to assume that cockatiels use dreaming to improve their performance in the waking world.
No meticulous research has been done on the content of cockatiel nightmares. However, they often have nightmares about predators because cockatiels are prey animals. In such scary and unpleasant dreams, cockatiels may run away from predators to increase their daily senses.
How Often Do Cockatiels Have Nightmares?
There is no official research on how often cockatiels have nightmares. Also, this usually varies from bird to bird depending on:
- Individuality. Some may be more inclined to dream than others.
- Life situation. Stress often comes with nightmares so the more uncomfortable your cockatiel is the more likely is it to have nightmares.
In any case, cockatiels should not have nightmares very often. But if your cockatiel is constantly upset while you sleep, it may be the result of:
- Something in its environment has changed that causes stress in cockatiel.
- A person, whether a new roommate or visiting friend, may accidentally scare your cockatiel.
- Sounds disturb your cockatiel sleep, causing it to cause disturbing dreams.
- Any other pet or animal that threatens or frightens your cockatiel.
The best approach is to evaluate the environment of your cockatiel. If you can not detect stress, try moving your bird to a quieter, less crowded room. This can make it easier not to disturb your cockatiel so much at night.
3 Signs That A Cockatiel Is Having A Nightmare
It may be hard to figure out when your cockatiel has a nightmare. Your cockatiel may not look upset, even if it moves a little and makes noise. The good news is that you can still find out if it’s dreaming in general.
1. Drooping Head
In Rem sleep, the muscles of the cockatiel neck relax, which can cause its head to droop. However, when he returns to NREM, it raises his head suddenly without waking up. This is a sign that it is no longer dreaming.
When you notice your cockatiel dreaming with a drooping head, then you may be looking for other signs. These will help you identify the type of dream it is having.
2. Distressed Noises
To notice a nightmare, you need to hear some of the specific sounds that your cockatiel makes. For example, many owners have seen that their cockatiels chirp or even talk while they sleep. If the sounds or words are peaceful, then your cockatiel probably has a pleasant sleep. But if it starts screaming or squawking, then these are signs of a nightmare.
However, these more obvious signs will wake up the cockatiel without your intervention.
3. Disturbed movement
Your cockatiel can also have a nightmare if it suddenly jerks, shifts from side to side, or flutters its wings. As with distressed sounds, this wakes the cockatiel all on its own.
If the dream was intense or your cockatiel is still partially asleep, it could become a night terror. These are known as night frights. They cause your cockatiel to flutter around the cage. Unfortunately, the clearest sign of knowing if your cockatiel had a nightmare is when it escalates into night fright.
Potential for Night Fright
Cockatiels experience feeling or fright just like any other pet. The things that alarm these birds the most include loud noises and voices, and sudden movements. When they are frightened, these birds may react aggressively. They tend to bite, hiss or scream. Some birds may turn away instead, like turn their beak towards you or any other source of its fear.
It’s also not rare to find a scared cockatiel hiding at the bottom part of a cage.
Because we cant, avoid certain things that scare these birds, such as loud noises, it’s advisable to provide your pet places where it can hide in its cage. One of the best ways to do this is to get a cage with corners so that your cockatiel can be hidden in one of the corners whenever it feels threatened.
Another thing you can do is to tuck the cage in a place far from noise. For example, you can try placing your cockatiel’s cage up against a wall, away from hallways, doors, windows, and the tv.
Cockatiels are prone to experience what’s called night-frights. These frights typically occur when something awakens the bird while sleeping at night, causing it to feel extremely startled. A bird going through one of these episodes will naturally start to flap its wings rapidly to fly away from whatever is causing it to fear.
There is the potential for danger when night frights occur because your pet cockatiel can end up with a damaged wing. As a result, it can hit anything, be it cage bars, toys, or other objects, while the bird vigorously flaps its wings out of fright. One way to help avoid night frights is leaving a soft night-light near your pet’s cage. Turn this light on each day as soon as it gets dark in the room.
What To Do If Your Cockatiel Has Night Fright?
If your cockatiel sometimes experiences night frights due to nightmares or external stimuli, you can help it. The best approach is:
- Turn on the lights and uncover the cage.
- Gently talk to your cockatiel in a controlled tone.
- Please do not reach for his cage until it has calmed down.
- Instead, help it relax with distractions such as treats or toys.
Once the night fright is over, check to see if your cockatiel has any injuries. If you notice anything serious, take it to a veterinarian. Otherwise, you can let your cockatiel go back to sleep.
To reduce the frequency of your cockatiel night frights, you can take the following steps:
Sleeping Cage
Cockatiel cages should not be placed in rooms that are bustling with activity and before sunset. For example, your living room or kitchen may not be a good place for your cockatiel to sleep. In addition, noise and movement can scare your cockatiel and make it think it has a predator nearby.
Instead, it is recommended to place your cockatiel in a dark and quiet room. If you can afford it, you can also have two cages for your cockatiel. It is recommended to place your cockatiel in a dark and quiet room. If you can afford it, you can also have two cages for your cockatiel, one in the main living area, where It will spend the day, and one in a dark and quiet room where he will spend the night.
It will also be helpful if you cover the cage with a blanket. This can help prevent night terrors, as the cockatiel will not see all the activity outside the cage.
White Noise
There is no such thing as complete silence in nature unless danger is near. So if your cockatiel has night frights, it is wise to play:
- Quiet, classical music with a whisper sound.
- The natural sounds are associat of a forest, but without the sharp animal cries.
- Instead, white noise is found online from a large box fan, air purifier, or white noise generator.
This can improve your cockatiel sleep and help prevent nightmares. In addition, the constant noise will drown out all the sudden sounds that might otherwise scare your cockatiel.
Cockatiels do have nightmares. It is difficult to notice when your cockatiel is having, so you will not intervene. Instead, it is wiser to look for signs of incoming night fright or night terror. Once you calm down the cockatiel, you can help create a more relaxing environment.
Lighting
As many new cockatiel owners experience, the middle of the night can bring in some frightening sounds. If you’re unaware or new to the common cockatiel phenomenon known as night frights, then you might be as frightened as your pet. Unfortunately, night frights are very common among these birds.
The cockatiel may start to thrash around and often screech loudly when these episodes occur.
In most cases, something in the dark alarmed the bird and caused it to experience night fright. The trigger can be a shadow or a noise. To protect itself, a cockatiel will attempt to take off in flight only to end up thrashing around its cage out of panic. Unfortunately, plenty of cockatiels sustain injuries due to thrashing about from night frights.
To reduce night frights, place a night light close to your cockatiel’s cage. See how your bird reacts to the light and allow it several nights to get used to the change. Since each bird is different, your pat may require a longer duration to feel less stressed at night. If you find your cockatiel hasn’t adjusted to the night light a week and the night frights haven’t disappeared, perhaps your pet might prefer its cage to be covered in complete darkness. Again, see what works and adjust the lighting situation for your cockatiel according to its reaction.
Lighting Adjustments
If the lighting adjustments don’t reduce the cockatiel’s night frights, you will have to evaluate and figure out your pet’s personal preferences. First, see if you can find and then eliminate the source of the frights. It can be a cat stalking your pet, bright headlights that flash a window at night, or it might be certain sounds that occur only in the evening.
Suppose your pet continues to thrash at night. In that case, you might want to consider setting up another cage just for night-time use-one without toys or perches to lessen the injury the cockatiel might sustain from acting in panic—Line the cage with towels for extra cushion and protection.
And as for the type of light to have during your cockatiels waking hours, a full-spectrum light situated above its cage is an excellent source of Vitamin D. Incandescent full-spectrum bulbs are a good choice and work well if you have free space for a lamp right next to your pet’s cage. Unfortunately, many types of windows filter out natural Vitamin D from the sun, making additional lights necessary. When installing lighting fixtures, keep cords out of your bird’s reach. Remember, birds require approximately 10 to 12 hours of rest daily.
