As the popularity of keeping a pet cockatiel continues to increase with each year that goes by, the number of questions that we see from the cockatiel keeping community also increases too.
Over the last couple of months, we have noticed a spike in the number of people asking about their pet cockatiel yawning so much so we have decided to publish this article in the hope that we are able to help as many of our readers as possible who notice their pet cockatiel keeps yawning.
There are a number of different reasons that your pet cockatiel may yawn so much.
The most common reasons are due to your cockatiel adjusting its crop due to having something stuck in their throat or your cockatiel having a respiratory issue.
Less common reasons that your cockatiel may be yawning include the bird being stressed or anxious, being happy, or being tired.
Thankfully, the majority of the time, your cockatiel will be yawning due to adjusting its crop, being tired or being happy so there is nothing that you have to really do to help your bird as it is yawning due to natural, normal reasons.
If your cockatiel keeps yawning so much due to a respiratory infection then you will probably have to get professional advice and treatment from a veterinarian and if your cockatiel is yawning due to stress or anxiety you should probably investigate the potential causes of the stress and anxiety and do your best to remove them.
Do Cockatiels Yawn?
Cockatiels do yawn and most cockatiel will go through periods where they will be yawning over and over again for around half an hour at least once per week with this being considered normal.
This behavior is how your pet cockatiel adjusts the crop in its throat to adjust it if there is something stuck such as a seed husk.
Some cockatiel will make an audible sound when they do this yawning behavior drawing your attention to it but most cockatiel will be silent when doing this.
In some cases, even people who have had their pet cockatiel for many months may randomly find their cockatiel yawning to adjust its crop and get worried thinking that there is a problem due to how frequently their pet cockatiel is yawning.
In the vast majority of cases, if your cockatiel is yawning to adjust its crop rather than any other issue, it will yawn consistently and frequently for an extended period of time that will usually not last longer than 30 minutes.
Most cockatiels who are yawning due to having something stuck in their crop will be able to move the obstruction within minutes and go back to their normal breathing pattern.
Why Is My Cockatiel Yawning So Much?
The most common reasons that a cockatiel will be yawning so much is due to the bird adjusting its crop, the bird being tired, the bird having a respiratory infection, or there being an irritant in the air such as scented candles burning.
If your cockatiel is yawning due to stress, anxiety, being happy, or being sleepy, the frequency of the yawning is usually much slower than other reasons helping you distinguish the cause of the yawning.
Even experienced people who keep pet cockatiels can be surprised by just how quickly something like a scented candle can cause problems with their birds.
We have seen a surprisingly large number of people worry about their pet cockatiel suddenly coughing or yawning lots only to find that it is due to a scented candle in the room or some other type of air diffused product to try and make the room smell nice.
If your pet cockatiel is yawning due to having a respiratory infection then there will almost always be other symptoms that you can use to narrow down the cause.
You may find that there is unusual discharge from your cockatiel’s nose or mouth, a wheezing when the bird breathes or that your cockatiel may make a signing sound about once per minute as it catches its breast amongst other potential symptoms.
Is There Anything I Can Do To Stop My Cockatiel Yawning So Much?
There are a number of steps that you are able to take to try and stop your cockatiel from yawning so much. If you believe that your cockatiel is yawning due to stress or anxiety removing the cause can be enough to stop the yawning.
If you think that your scented candles may be causing your cockatiel to yawn then removing them should be enough to do the trick. Natural causes of yawning such as adjusting the crop, being happy or being tired will usually not need you to do anything.
If your pet cockatiel is yawning so much due to the bird having a respiratory issue then you really should be taking your cockatiel to a veterinarian to get a professional opinion as soon as possible.
You can book a video call with a vet to have them assess your cockatiel via the camera on your smartphone if you wish to get high-quality, professional-level advice quickly.
Be it an upper or lower respiratory infection, it is very unlikely that your pet cockatiel will be able to recover from the problem by itself and you will probably have to get it some form of medication.
Identifying the specific type of infection your cockatiel has is surprisingly difficult as well as assigning the correct medication in the correct dosage so we would always recommend that you seek advice from a veterinarian.
Should I Be Worried If My Cockatiel Keeps Yawning?
There is usually no need to worry if your pet cockatiel is yawning as the most common causes, adjusting its crop, being happy, and being sleepy are natural reasons to yawn and are nothing to worry about.
Even if your pet cockatiel is yawning due to being stressed or anxious there is a high chance that the condition will be temporary and that your cockatiel will be fine given time.
If your cockatiel is yawning due to scented candles or some other type of irritant in the air such as dust or mildew then you really should be doing your best to remove the irritant as quickly as possible.
Not only can these cause yawning in a cockatiel but over as little as a week, they can cause problems with the lungs of your cockatiel due to the bird constantly breathing the irritants in.
As we touched on above, a respiratory infection in your cockatiel is a potentially serious problem and is a reason to get worried as there is a high chance of a fatality in your bird if the condition is left untreated.
Provided you catch a respiratory problem in your pet cockatiel early enough, you should easily be able to treat the condition though with most veterinarians having the required medication on hand as standard.
What Should I Do If My Cockatiel Continues To Yawn?
If your pet cockatiel continues to yawn constantly then taking your cockatiel to an avian veterinarian should be your next course of action.
They will be in a better position to give your cockatiel a full examination and look for other, less common problems that may be causing it to yawn so much that can be difficult to find yourself.
For example, tumors in your bird can prevent the diaphragm from expanding correctly and stop your cockatiel from being able to breathe correctly.
An injury to your cockatiel may also be enough to cause trauma to the chest of the bird and make it difficult for the cockatiel to breathe correctly too.
If you have an older cockatiel then the consistent yawning may just be due to old age setting in and the bird not being able to breathe well.
If this is the case, there is usually very little that you are able to do but this does not mean that the condition is fatal, just that your pet cockatiel will probably continue to randomly yawn for the rest of its life.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over why your cockatiel is yawning to an end. We hope that we have been able to help any of our readers who have been having problems with their pet bird yawning so much and that we have been able to help you better understand that in most cases, there really is no need to worry as the three most common reasons that your pet cockatiel may keep yawning are totally natural. Even then, three of the more serious reasons that your cockatiel may yawn are usually very easy to fix with minimal long term problems too.
