FINCHforum

I noticed yesterday, that my Gouldian hen Bella, was looking un-easy and doing a "back-bend" every now and again. This evening I have noticed that this behavior has become more frequent . She appeared to be looking "up" at her cage-mate Luigi on the highest perch above her or possibly at the mirror hanging on the wall above their cage. So I removed the mirror and added another perch next to Luigi's at the same height, in hopes this would stop the back-bends. Initially it seemed to help, but within minutes the back-bending began again . I looked up "twirling" on the internet, but all of the videos I have seen seem to be "heads twirling" and not "back-bending." But maybe the videos are of end stage twirling as one Gouldian actually died during the video . I am worried that Bella may be exhibiting the early stages of twirling, but have NO experience with this. Any and all help is so greatly appreciated...Thanks

Ginene -

I have had similar situations with gouldians where they just get obsessed with something in their environment and will do this. However, when moved to a different environment entirely (usually a smaller cage with nothing directly above them), they stop the behavior immediately. You could try this with Bella and see if it helps.

You always read on the Internet that taking a bird from a small cage to a large cage can cause this - I've always found it to be the opposite. Have never had a case that persisted though if I move the bird to a new environment. Even in my tiered cages, I always make sure to place gouldians on the top tier as middle or bottom tier seems to always produce this sort of behavior. Strange, isn't it?

Lisa
Hey Lisa,
I'm really concerned . Bella has always been the alpha bird between the pair, and it seems this has changed. This makes me worry that she is sick and Luigi can sense it. I moved them 8 days ago into the top cage of the 2 tiered cage. They settled in easily, and haven't shown any sign of distress. Last night I saw Bella doing back bends, but it was infrequent, and I thought she was looking at Luigi above her. There was a wall mirror above their cage too, so I removed it in case this was part of the distraction. I will keep a CLOSE eye on her over the next few days, but am very concerned. Have you ever had a bird that suffered from twirling? I am wondering what it looks like at the onset??? Oh Lisa...I will be devastated if she has it...it is a horrible neurological disorder and she will need to be euthanized.

Have you ever had a bird that suffered from twirling? I am wondering what it looks like at the onset??? Oh Lisa...I will be devastated if she has it...it is a horrible neurological disorder and she will need to be euthanized.

I've had birds that have exhibited signs of neurological disfunction in new homes but as I said, it's always immediately stopped when I rehomed the bird to a new environment. I had a yellow hen that I put into the aviary, she was fine the first few days but then got obsessed with going back and forth between the swing and wall. When other birds landed on the top of the swing, it seemed to be what set her off. She seemed like she was suffering from extreme vertigo. Although it upset my plans, I moved her to a smaller temporary cage and she immediately stopped all strange behavior. I later moved her into a breeding cage with a mate and she has been fine ever since.

I also had a new bird that I recently got that was doing back bends in his quarantine cage. I realized there was a hanging lamp right above him and maybe it was freaking him out. I moved him to a different room away from the overhead lamp/lights and his behavior immediately stopped. Now he's in my aviary and he's always been fine.

I have no doubt that if I had kept either bird in the same scenario, they would have continued to deteriorate. I find that gouldians especially seem more than likely to adopt this sort of behavior when anything is above them. I have close to 40 gouldians and have seen this behavior about 4 times - 3 times with gouldians (all were cleared up with a change of cage/location), and once with green singers when I moved them to the bottom tier - I ended up adding foliage to the top of the cage and that seemed to curb the behavior in them rather quickly.

Lisa
Thanks for the info. I will keep a close eye on her tomorrow morning and move her if this behavior continues. I wont wait too long to decide, as I love her and would never put her at risk. Heckle and Jeckle are doing great! Flying and singing up a storm . I added the multi- tiered perch to their cage and they sleep on it every night. I love having them in my home. They make me smile all the time. Such sweet boys .

Heckle and Jeckle are doing great! Flying and singing up a storm . I added the multi- tiered perch to their cage and they sleep on it every night. I love having them in my home. They make me smile all the time. Such sweet boys .

That's great to hear! Sounds like they have settled in very well. I miss them but know you will give them a great home! Please post a pic from time to time so I can see how they're doing

Lisa
I will post a pic asap! I have the hardest time getting photos that will upload on the forum. Even using my crappy blackberry doesn't work most of the time.
I think Bella is "Stargazing"...I did more research on the internet and read that this behavior happens with change of environment. Before bringing Heckle and Jeckle home, I had a cage stacked on top of Bella and Luigi. Then I removed it because I didn't want anyone except my Gouldians in close proximity to Heckle and Jeckle (to keep your boys safe). I think she is adjusting to that and also maybe the mirror on the wall. I will not put the mirror back up. I'm going to give it a few more hours today and see if there's a change in her behavior. The web suggested putting something back on top of the cage and gradually sliding it further and further off until there is nothing left on top. As a behaviorist, I should have figured this strategy out myself, Lol! But then again, I treat kids...not birds . I am just grateful that it isn't twirling...

Sounds more like stargazing, which is kind of a temporary thing usually from a bird going from a larger cage to smaller cage.
Twirling would be a neurological disorder and is usually not something that can be cured.

Here's a video of a gouldian I had with twirling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdpc_9mjO8

Ginene,

My oldest female does that from time to time as well. When I first saw it, I too thought it might be twirling. After I saw a few videos about it, I realized my bird did not have that. I've noticed she only does it if she sits at the highest perch of her cage, which is not far from the top.

birdclaws@Toddmin
I am so thankful that Bella does not have twirling!!! She scared the hell out of me!!!! Thank God this behavior is usually temporary . So far today, she hasn't done any back-bends... I never realized that stacking cages could make a bird neurotic. I don't think I will EVER stack again. Thanks for the support...