We had a bad night

[tweetiepiesmom]

Somewhere around 3 am I woke up to a strange noise which I didn't identify right away (you know how that is when you abruptly come awake) but I heard the cage bars rattle so I jumped out of bed to find out what was happening. I didn't hear any flapping of wings or bird calls. When I got to their cage and opened the front cover, Buddy was sitting on a lower perch at the front of the cage. It took me a moment to locate Tweetie Pie and he was hanging onto the front door - hence the sound of the cage bars rattling. I turned the overhead lights on low and put a night light on across from the cage. I sat down in the chair beside them and talked to them for a bit. Here's what they looked like - poor little guys.





After a bit I  went back to bed. About 30 minutes later I heard the cage bars rattle again and went to check it out. Tweetie Pie had climbed up a little so that the door latch wasn't in his way (he has the latch in his mouth in the picture). I went back to bed and didn't hear anything more. This morning Buddy was still on the same perch but Tweetie Pie had climbed up to his normal sleeping perch at the top front of the cage. They are a bit subdued but acting in general normally. In retrospect I think the noise that woke me and upset the guys was the yowling of two cats doing what comes natural outside my windows, some of which were open to let the cool night air in. Hmmm, does Buddy have bad bird instincts because he went lower in the cage instead of up? Or maybe he was going down to look from under the cover? Ever since putting them together, Tweetie Pie follows Buddy's lead. When he's scared, he does clutch to the bars on the cage although he goes up, not down. I think he was just following Buddy's lead.

I on the other hand am hurting. Jumping out of bed with my very bad back was extremely painful. I couldn't get to sleep again - dozed for about an hour. My back is still painful today. I'll take it easy today. Fortunately there is nothing very active that I have to do today. 

[ffiscool]

What a shock for you and them, abruptly.

I hope your back eases and tonight is peaceful

[blue48]

I hope you all have a better night tonight tweetiepiesmom and that your back pain eases.

I sleep so deeply I don't know if I would wake up if BertieB was making a noise.

[tweetiepiesmom]

blue48 I've always been alert in my sleep for strange noises. Before I got my two guys, if I woke up to a strange noise, I'd listen for few seconds, then roll over and go back to sleep. Now, if that strange noise is combined with chirps or a cage rattle, I'll get up. Fortunately this has only happened once before and then I woke up to bird chirps nothing else. I got out of bed slowly and then when I checked on them I decided that Buddy was talking in his sleep.

[jellybean]

Night frights are horrible, it seems to take them ages to settle, then when you think they're ok and put the cover back down, you go back to bed still worried ☹

Sorry about your sore back TPM, I can sympathise.

[willowsmum]

That's been a nasty shock for you all TPM. I hope you managed to take it easy today, that your back pain has eased and that you can all catch up on your sleep tonight.

[Marianne Marlow]

Poor guy and poor you. Night frights are horrible.

These days I tend to leave the cover off when mine have one, as putting it down sets them all off again bouncing about.

[yellowfacedviolet]

Goodness, that was a rough night. Hope they've settled and you're feeling better.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Thank you everyone. Buddy and Tweetie Pie were a bit off yesterday. I let them out of their cage but they didn't come out as much, just a couple of time for a fly around. We all went to bed earlier than normal. Buddy is usually the first one awake and he starts to chirp to let me know he wants the cover off. This morning he slept in and didn't chirp until almost 8am. Both are now chirping quietly and Tweetie Pie is napping. They seem to be their normal selves.

[samwiseg]

Night frights are awful and you might experience this again as sometimes they do happen a couple of times. But rest assured just doing what you did will reassure them.
Are they in moult at the moment as that can slow them down with their "out time" as sometimes they dont feel secure enough to fly about if they are missing a couple feathers

[tweetiepiesmom]

They both just finished a big molt samwiseg although I noticed a couple of days ago Tweetie Pie dropped a long tail feather. I have been moving some furniture around. I put my favorite chair next to their cage and have been sitting there all day long. They have been coming out for a fly around throughout the day. Yesterday I was having a lazy morning and came out of my shower with a towel on my head. I sat in the chair next to them while I went through my email and visited on the forum for a spell. They didn't act scared but I realized yesterday evening that they didn't come out except Buddy who came on my hand to get millet and then went back in. Were they waiting for the scary thing to take over mom's head again? Buddy must have been dreaming last night. He woke me up chirping. It was a normal soft chirp, not the "I'm scared" chirp. He stopped after a minute or so and we all went to sleep. This morning he's chirping his head off.

[criswell]

Poor boys. I hope they've not had any more frights. How is your back now?

[tweetiepiesmom]

Thank you criswell, everything is back to my "normal". I deal with back issues daily but I manage. No more occurrences of night frights. Buddy is very hormonal and really scared Tweetie Pie this morning when he jumped him. They got it sorted out and are back to being best buds. Buddy's cere is now a deep dark blue. They both are so cute and I'm enjoying watching them play.

[tweetiepiesmom]

We had a night fright again last night. I woke up hearing one of my guys calling out and both flapping around in the cage. I went to check on them and both were clinging to the cage bars and took off a couple more times. I could tell Buddy was the one who was upset. Tweetie Pie usually follows Buddy's lead and gets upset if Buddy is upset. If something upsets Tweetie Pie, he stays upset a while. He settled down first last night and Buddy stayed upset. They finally went back to a perch. I left the cover open in front and put a night light on. When I went back into my bedroom I noticed it was almost midnight. This morning I heard on the news that we had an earthquake at 11:35pm last night. I didn't feel it but it was fairly close to where I live. Could Buddy be sensitive enough to feel it and get scared?

[Deleted]

It's possible the quake was enough to shake things about in the cage and give them a spook.