# Accident Prone



## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*I should have gone with the name "Spook" instead of Chewy (when I was originally deciding between the two!) She is a spaz, she will spook if someone sneezes and flutter across the room (I say flutter because she blows her flight feathers about once a month). Her direction of choice lately is directly across the floor, no matter what part of the room she is in, and straight down the stairs 

she always seems to land ok, but yesterday when hubby came home she was startled by the sound of the door and ended up greeting him with her fright at the front door down the stairs. A little while later I noticed this nick on her face  it doesn't seem to be bothering her and wasn't actively bleeding, I have no idea what she even hit it on. Poor girl, I wish she would just settle down. It's almost like she have nervous anxiety or something.

*


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

Aww poor Chewy.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm so sorry to hear that beautiful little Chewy suffers from anxiety and panics easily. Knowing how stress and fright affects humans, it must be even worse for a small bird when the heart-rate and respiration increase, muscles tense and adrenaline kisks in with the "fight or flight" response. 

It's no wonder Chewy is prone to injure herself when she's frightened. Filled with stress and fear, physically her body won't respond normally and she has the additional problem of frequently losing her flight feathers.

Obviously, Chewy benefits most from a stable and secure environment with minimal loud noises or sudden movements. 
The best you can do is try to calm her when she becomes upset and give her as much reassurance she is safe and well-loved as possible. :hug:*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Poor little girl! I'm so sorry she has these panic attacks. But she is in no better hands than with you, and I'm sure that she'll be fine. 

I agree with what Deb said--just spoil her rotten and reassure her. 
Hoping for the best with little Chewy! :hug:


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*she always gets her snuggles after she has spooks  I have tried to figure out better ways to try and control her reactions but the main thing that triggers her are unexpected sounds, so it is hard for me to prevent them when I don't know they are coming either  she's just our "special" girl *


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## Brienne (Apr 29, 2015)

I sorry I have to say I don't agree with giving Chewy the opportunity to have snuggles/cuddles after a fright...birds are 'prey' and they react like prey...they are conditioned and if they get a scare and you make a big deal out of it then they will focus on it...especially if you reward them for it...with anxiety, try to limit the scares, (I know, not always easy) and reward her for not being scared, ignore the other...this situation is similar to when folk give their dog cuddles, when they are frightened by thunder...the dog is very quick to equate the scare with cuddles and is therefore conditioned to this response...Chewy is very loved - one way you can see this, is with your concern for her, so hoping her anxiety level improves soon.


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

As it is loud sudden noises that are causing this mostly, could you perhaps play some background music to soften the loudness of the unexpected noises? It is obviously part of her makeup and must be very frightening for her poor Chewy.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*A lot of times the TV is on (when I am home) and when I'm not I leave the radio on for them so it's not totally silent*


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## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

My tiel can be like that at times. He will be on my shoulder and the wife walk's into the room and bam....there he goes....


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