The Fourth of July is one of the most important times of the year. That is when the entire nation lights the sky up with fireworks to celebrate one of the momentous moments in history. Of course, it is also perfectly normal for any family to be lighting up fireworks on other days, such as when the clock strikes midnight to signal the new year.
Fireworks are simply a regular part of how we celebrate some of the most important and historic moments life has to offer. However, as happy as we are watching fireworks light the night sky up, your pet bird won’t be able to say the same.
Birds, due to their natural makeup to stay as alert as possible as one of their ways to survive in the wild, are easily startled by loud noises. A slamming door, a sudden sound of an alarm, and any other unexpected and loud noise can easily startle and stress out your pet bird. And when it comes to loud sounds, fireworks are up there at the top of the list. Simply put, your pet bird will not enjoy fireworks as much as you would during holidays.
But the thing here is that fireworks are almost too unavoidable even if you do care so much about your bird’s health. Sure enough, your neighbors will also be lighting up fireworks even if you won’t. In that sense, the best way to make sure that your birds stay calm in the middle of a fireworks show is to follow these following methods:
Minimize fireworks use
Your neighbors will be lighting fireworks, and so will the other people in nearby neighborhoods. You do not necessarily have to compete with them when it comes to who can light up more fireworks. In other words, what you need to do here is to minimize your use of fireworks and just go simple. Don’t use a lot of them and go for the smaller one so that you will be minimizing the noise you will be making. And while there will still be fireworks around your neighborhood, the least you could do is to lessen the noise made in your pet bird’s immediate vicinity so that it won’t end up getting startled and stressed as much as it would have had you used more fireworks.
Do not bring your pet bird outdoors
If you want to make sure that your bird stays calm in the middle of a fireworks show, the simplest way to do so is to make sure that you keep it indoors. Do not bring your pet outdoors where the night sky will seem like daytime because of how many fireworks are up there, lighting the neighborhood. This makes a lot of noise and will certainly stress your pet bird out. In that case, keep it indoors. On top of that, keep it in another room, close any windows and doors, and try to muffle the sounds with pillows to make sure that your bird won’t be able to hear the loud bangs and see the flashes of light that will surely startle it and stress it out to the detriment of its health.
Turn the television on or put on some music to try to cover the sounds made by fireworks
As mentioned, what stresses birds out are loud and sudden sounds that will not allow them to prepare themselves. Think of it in the same way as a normal person would not enjoy hearing a sudden bang coming from a bursting balloon in the middle of a quiet moment but would not mind constant loud sounds coming from cars in the middle of a busy street in a large city. Many people prepare to be an environment where there are plenty of constant sounds combing with one another instead of staying in a quiet place where there would suddenly be loud noises that can startle them.
In the same way, you can prepare your pet bird for the loud sound of fireworks by keeping them in a room while the television is turned on and some music is playing. This does not only allow the bird to get used to hearing sounds in its immediate environment but will also muffle the sounds coming from the fireworks outside. If your bird is too focused on the sounds it hears from the television or from the music, it won’t be as startled when it hears the sound of fireworks that are muffled by the constant sounds reverberating in the entire room.
Get them used to sleep with the cage covered
Birds prefer a routine kind of lifestyle instead of getting exposed to new things every single day. In that case, simply covering their cage before the fireworks show in an attempt to keep them calm and to muffle the sounds is not going to help that much. Instead, try getting them used to such a routine so that they will be able to handle sleeping at night with their cages covered.
About a month leading up to the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve, cover their cages at night when they are about to sleep so that they will get used to sleeping under such conditions. When the fireworks come, they will be able to withstand the noises better and avoid seeing the bright lights since they are already used to spending the night in darkness inside their covered cages.
Talk to your birds
There is evidence that suggests that birds can actually understand us if we try hard enough and do it constantly. Some birds, such as parrots, are too intelligent for their own good and will be able to not only pick up sounds and words but also actually understand what those sounds and words mean so long as they constantly hear them. In other words, repetition is the key here.
If that is the case, talking to your birds will help keep them calm when the fireworks come. Make them understand that there will be fireworks soon and that they should not get as startled as they should be. To do so, simulate the sounds that fireworks do but in a calm manner. Making the “bang” sound every day will help them get used to the sound. Also, you can even show them fireworks videos you downloaded online to make them understand that they should not be too afraid of fireworks.
Stay calm
Pet birds are very empathic. They can understand how their owners feel and will also pick up personality traits from their owners. Birds can be reflections of their owners and will try to mimic how their owners react to certain situations. In that case, try to remain as calm as possible at all times to make sure that your bird will also pick up the same calm personality. When your bird sees that you are calm, even in the middle of a tough and stressful situation, it might also be able to stay calm in the middle of fireworks.
Seek professional help
If none of the methods work, there must be something wrong with your bird’s health. If that is the case, the best move you can do is to take it to the vet and seek professional help to try to diagnose any sort of health or medical problems your pet might have.
