I have started covering my bird at night thanks to your comments - we BOTH enjoy it. However I wonder what some of you do when you go away for a night or two. I would assume that you leave your bird uncovered. What advice do you have for me?
dave

First off in my situation in the 7 years that I have had Kiwi I have only left him alone 2 nights total.......felt guilty the whole time I was gone. It is generally not a good idea to leave them alone more then 1 night and if you are gone 1 night it is best to leave them uncovered. I use a timer on one of my lamps

I have left my guys over night a few times...any longer then 1 night i have someone come by to check on them. I just let mine rise with the sun and sleep when it sets

I picked a bird instead of a cat so I could leave and not worry. By now, I know how crazy my thinking was!
I can't leave him overnight! Shoot, I feel bad if I go to dinner with friends or go for a cycle ride in the evening. I am not so sure it would be so bad to leave him overnight. I was going to ask my vet about it, but I think the better option is to find a sitter.

I just cover the back of the cage where his hidy hut is.
That way when he goes to bed... the back is covered where his head is. Works out fine. Syd is gonna be by himself this Saturday for the day and then Saturday night... then I'll be home early Sunday afternoon. It's alot easier when we go to see my husbands parents to just leave him here instead of packing him up and dragging him along for such a short period of time.

btw... ask the vet... they will tell you it's fine. Mine told me it's fine.

I think it's ok and maybe even good to leave them overnight once in a blue moon. That way you get a bit more freedom and they learn to be more independent. Any more than a night, though- yeah, I'd get a sitter for sure. But yeah- leave it uncovered and they will just follow the sun.

Oooops... one night max? I was hoping it was okay to leave him/her for a few nights. My cockatiel didn't seem to mind.
dave

I will try it for a night sometime. Though I know I will end up feeling guilty the whole time, but I guess better to get him used to it just in case of unforeseen events!

I have never left my quaker alone overnight. I was in hospital last Friday and they wanted to keep me there overnight - I refused because I was worried about leaving Shah alone. I would love to have just one night off every so often and your replies have given me hope that I can do it. And yes, I will feel guilty but he does misbehave a little bit when we stay overnight with other people - I think he gets a bit unsettled and misses the cockatiels. Thanks everyone.

I definitely wouldn't go a few nights. Birds need fresh food and water daily to stay healthy.

I see that you are from Alberta, where exactly? We might be able to help you find a sitter

Nope. Definately a no-no. Just way too many things they can get into trouble with. As Mrs. Slave pointed out food and water are the #1 concern. Water will get rancid pretty quick if food is dunked in it. I also have a couple of birds who will occasionally dump food or water. That would be a disaster in the making were they left more than overnight.

Thanks for your comments - I live in Lethbridge.

We do a lot of camping during the summer. We have a 24' trailer with heat, of course. What advice do you have for taking them with you? Can they spend some time in a smaller cage?
dave

Absolutely! That would be a great option. Just need to find a slightly smaller cage that your trailer can accomodate. You'll have to be extra cautious for predators, insect bites and the like but it's doable. I think Sandi regularly takes her fids in a motorhome. Another memeber used to take her Quaker on their sailboat. They're pretty adaptable critters.