hey everyone, well i took ross to the vet for his checkup and he's one healthy bird! my vet, said that he needs at least 10-12hrs of sleep, and i thought there was a post on here bout everybody's bird sleep schedule but i can't find it, so ill make a new post....heres my problem...ross is a light sleeper, (very light) and we only have one cage, and he stays in the living room w/us...at bout 8pm he starts getting sleepy, but as long as were up, he wont go to bed...he'll doze off a half a dozen times, but thats it, and were night owls! the vet suggest putting him in a dark room away from everything and everyone and all we would need is a small pet carrier, or even his little travel cage (which to me is small) and allow him is sleep....so we tried this last night, and needless to say, he was scared to death being alone! which made us not able to sleep..he just sat on his perch (we moved his entire cage upstairs till we get him something else) and stared at the night light....does anyone have any suggestions for this? or what you guys use...i feel bad putting him in something small but if thats what works then so be it...any input would be greatful! thank you

We put a blanket or dark sheet over our birds cages when it is their bed time. You might want to try that.

We probably keep Clyde up too late, too, but he starts making a particular sort of sound when he's ready to go night-night, and I put him in his cage and put his towel over the top, which makes it dark up where his favorite perch is while still letting air circulate, and he'll get up there and be quiet and rest, even if he's not really asleep (which I discovered he wasn't last night, the little faker ). Around 10 p.m. is when the dogs flop somewhere and go to sleep, even if we're still up, and that's about the same time Clyde starts making his "mawwwww" sound in a sort of grumbling, whiny tone that means he wants to be put to bed. His cage is too big to move into the bedroom, like we used to do with his smaller cage, but he objects if we take him out of his new big cage and put him in the smaller one to sleep, so the towel is the compromise and so far it seems to be working. Clyde will remain quiet during the night and if we don't uncover him immediately upon getting up, he'll make quiet little sounds to remind us to uncover him until we do and then ALL bets are off and we get a few very loud morning SQUAWKS to make sure everyone's on full alert.

I think if you pay attention, your bird is probably letting you know when it's bed time, and if you try the towel -- be sure to leave some uncovered so air can get in -- that might work for yours, too. You can put the cage in a darker corner of the room and turn down the lights and turn down the TV so he can go to sleep, without putting him in another room.

we went through something like this a couple months ago. we got a cat carrier and added a perch, and even covered it with a blanket, she was not thrilled for a couple days. Now when it is bed time she makes sad noises until we carry her up to put her in her carrier. Once she knows it is bed time and we are going to put her to bed, she will make chirpy noises. Once she gets into the carrier she climbs on her perch, then does the possive dance (rubs her beak on both sides and top to show us it is hers, anybody who sticks a hand is guaranteed to get bitten). Yeah, a night cage is tiny, compared to their regular cage but they like that it feels like a nest to them, the safer they feel the better they sleep.

This is the carrier we use (small, so it can fit in the small car for trips, while her big cage is folded flat)
http://www.petco.com/product/7397/Petmate-...t-Carriers.aspx

Yeah they are very light sleepers, tv, talking, anything will keep them up. they need a really quiet dark room. then they can ignore the background noise of the tv and such, because it is not in the same room.

If you can see Ross sitting staring at the night light, it is probably too bright. Quakers don't seem to be suceptible to night frights the way tiels are, so they can have it much darker. I would cover the cage even in the darkened room and possible turn off the night light. also if you keep checking on Ross, he probably will not fall asleep. Give him some time to get used to the new setup I bet you will see a difference soon.

--Rebecca

I really dislike the idea of sleeping cages, but they do seem to work really well for some people. I've just heard so many negative stories about them. To some birds the small sleeping quarters in the complete dark to them is a nest... which can cause many negative, agressive behaviours. My friend adopted/resuced a Grey from a couple who had been putting the bird in a dog carrier in the laundry room each night for the "complete 12 hours of darkness" which most people recommend. It got to the point where they couldn't even get her out of the carrier in the morning without getting attacked. Now in her new home without a sleeping carrier she is the most amazing Grey! If you do decide to use the carrier for him to sleep at night, just watch his behaviour and if it starts to change for the worse, stop using it and go back to the regular cage. But for now if you'd rather use the big cage, I'd suggest covering the cage at night and keeping it somewhat dark and see if that works.

Casey's cage is in our main living room and she goes to bed between 9 and 10 pm (whenever she starts saying "Night Night *kiss kiss kiss* Night Night!") the lights go off in the room but the TV and lights are still on downstairs... you can hear the TV from upstairs but it doesn't bother her. The house isn't completely quiet until the last person goes to bed around 11:30/12. She's up anywhere between 7:30 and 9am depending on the day. I think each bird is different, so just judge his behaviour, if he seems cranky and agressive try to get him more sleep, but if it's not negatively impacting him I wouldn't worry too much... in the wild they don't have complete darkness and complete quiet!

We ended up getting another cage for Wallace because we wanted one with a playtop for him, but because of his reaction to the new cage, (pure terror) we kept his old cage for bedtime. We put his old cage in a room that is quiet at night, and started to put him in it for nighttime only. He took to this immediately, and now gets a full 12 hours of sleep (he now uses the new cage for daytime). Maybe using Ross's old cage for bedtime would help keep him from being so afraid of being alone. I would also recommend checking a local bird fair for a good price on a new cage. I hope this helps your baby get some more sleep!
Good Luck!

Yeah, I can certainly see that being true. I know though in our case that using a sleeping cage has decreased the protecting of her regular cage. The reason we switched to a sleep cage is she was so possesive of her regular cage in the morning, we could not go near it. So I guess it depends on the bird.

WOW! thanks for the advice!!!! we're very lucky w/ross b/c he has not shown any signs of aggressive behavior inregards to his cage...he's a very lovable, sociable bird. i only used the night light b/c i had heard of birds getting night fright and i was scared he would too but now i know that its different w/quakers! im in the process of buying him a new cage, and was going to put his old one in the room where he'll be sleeping. also, ever since we bought him (from petco) we never covered his cage b/c he seemed to do just fine w/out it..not to mention, the store doesn't cover their cages, so i was afraid to start..but if you think this would be better for him then im all about giving it a try...im always going to invest in a happy hut, to see if he'll take to that...for right now, he has his fav. perch with his fav. toy, that he hides in between when its time for nite nite. he's really cute, i took a pic of him, so ill be posting soon, but i can't thank everyone enough for all the terrific advice!!!!!!!!!!!!

Show him the Happy Hut before you put it in his cage. Clyde is terrified of his and won't go near it. He also used to object strenuously to having a cover on his cage, but has come to accept that.

Mollie's cage is in the family room, I usually watch T.V. in there durning the summer until 9:30-10:00 and even earlier durning the school year. Mollie has a happy hut and goes into it about 8:00 sometimes earlier durning the winter, she stays in there and is quiet. I always look in the end and say night, night before I turn the lights off. She is so cute, she makes that cracking kind of purr noise as if she is content and comfortable. Generally she sleeps until about 8a.m. The T.V. and even if the dogs bark does not seem to bother her, I guess I am lucky, she goes to sleep without a problem. I think they get used to our family routines.

i will put it beside his cage for a few days, like i do w/most of his new toys, and hopefully he'll take to it...im going to try the cover thing tonight, so we'll see....ill post an update...thanks again

Dinners at 6:00 and bed time (covered) at 8:00. Not a peep out of anyone.

let me ask you... if you go to bed late does that mean you sleep late? maybe ross IS getting enough sleep? also, i'm not sure how old ross is but as cricket got older he started staying awake longer.

during the week i go to bed around 10pm but on the weekends i stay up past 1am. cricket will tell me he's tired by saying "are you ready?" which is what i say during the week when its time for bed. so i will put him in his cage and cover it. most weekends he lets me sleep in too because he's catching up.

during the week cricket only gets around 8 hours of sleep because i get up at 6am and he starts growling when he hears me getting ready for work but i know he naps during the day because on the weekends he takes a nap when i do!

i would say if ross isn't grumpy i wouldn't worry about it.

Ross is 16 months old...and yes, we do sleep late. we don't hear a peep from him until he hears us in the morning. which is good...but he literally stays up as long as were up and we always feel bad...but he's just as energetic as ever..but sometimes, he just sits on his perch, fluffed, one foot, and beak grinding but his eyes are still open..well we put him n the bedroom upstairs but im just worried that he won't sleep b/c hes scared...argh!

I think covering him is the best idea.. ...

i guess we are lucky.. i have a terrible rotating schedule but our lil kiwi is great.. when i work midnights he stays quiet and sleeps in cause no ones really talking to him lol.... ours will go into his happy hut and face the wall when he is tired and basically shuts down all communication to us lol we've learned to take a hint lol

we put him in another last night, and covered his cage (just the top half)..we didn't hear him but thats not unusual either b/c he's pretty calm at night...but today when i got him, he's been keeping to himself...he just wants on his cage and not us...i don't know if this is just him being mad, or what...im hoping he'll come outta his shell but im afraid we might be in the process of ruining our bond w/him....hope not

When we first started Wallace on a schedule, he was a bit grumpy at first (I think he was pouting). But after a few days, he adjusted and was better behaved than ever, because he'd had a full nights sleep. We changed to the schedule because he seemed to be in a mating cycle and was very moody, but once he was on the schedule with 12 hours of dark he stopped.

good. hopefully thats all it is...he's going to really be upset b/c i just bought him a new cage, w/tons of new additions, including a full spectrum lighting...so im sure he's going to be "pouty" til he adjusts! hopefully soon tho

i completely agree... your lil one is simply adjusting the a brand new routine and is prolly a lil pouty he was just starting to like things and then you went and covered him lol.. how dare you! he'll adjust and be his happy self in no time at all

We get up during the week at 6:45am and usually sleep in until 8ish on the weekends. Petey doesn't move or make a sound until you uncover his cage, even if we sleep in. We're lucky because we live just barely a mile from my husband's work so he comes home on lunch at noon to eat and lets our dog out. When Ryan leaves to go back to work he covers Petey's cage, shuts off the lights, and the TV (Petey watches cartoons while we're at work). Then I wake him up a about 4:30pm when I get home for work. This way he gets a good, dark, quite nap everyday. We are usually up until about 11pm on weekdays so this way gets Petey some more sleep. Our avian vet strongly recommends a sleeping cage, but Petey's cage is on wheels so we just move it. Don't be discouraged about your bird not accepting your new routine. Petey wanders around his cage at night when I have just rearranged his cage, trying to find a comfy spot. When Joni has Petey, he was up from 5am-5pm and then put to bed which wasn't feasible for us so we changed it. It just takes time. I think they are just like little kids and they get bratty when they aren't getting their rest.

We are night owls, and the bird cages are in the living room (we live in a 1-bedroom half of our duplex, so not much choice there!). Pixie has a happy hut and our living room is quite dim in the evenings (no overhead lights, only lamps). Around 8:30 or so she puts herself to bed in her happy hut. My husband usually gets home from soccer practice around ten or so and she always backs up out of her Happy Hut to say hello to him, putters around for a bit, then back to bed.

She stays in her hut until we get up the next morning - if it's a weekend I cover her cage and she stays quiet if we sleep in. Otherwise it stays uncovered and she wakes herself up around 7 am.

Just be careful the first time you go to put a blanket over your QP's cage. I know Hank (my QP) freaked out the first time I tried to do it. He's since overcome that fear and actually prefers the blanket. At approximately 10:00 every night, he decides that he's done and it's time to go to bed. He flies down the hall, into his room and then lets me know that it's bedtime by shouting out "night night". I then have to go in and cover him up where he sleeps until I take the cover off.

I'm sure you'll find out what works best for your QP. It just takes time.

what is a happy hut, I have a 14yr old quaker i just adopted. he does not have a happy hut..he seems fine sleeping in his cage downstairs. I was surprised to hear people do take them "up to bed" I wanted to try and do that with Kiwi but I know I'm a creature of habit so maybe not start? I just hate the thought of him going to bed "alone" you know? I'd like him in a cage upstairs but am afraid to freak him out.

A happy hut is usually a cloth or fleese material triangle tht hangs in their cage that the fids like to sleep in.
pic of happy hut in post #4 A lot of birds like them, some don't. My sun loves his, one of my tiels sleeps on TOP of his, the rest of them don't have them. I need to try them.

As for having your bird in your bedroom (I'm assuming that's what you are asking) ... if your fid is a light sleeper and you are a restless sleeper, your movements during the night may disturb his rest, and in turn, his chattering or calling upon being disturbed will disturb YOU ... You can try using a small sleep cage in your room if you want, see how it goes. He may love a happy hut, snuggle right down and sleep for the nite, or he may see/hear you in the room and screech just knowing you are near. Give it a try.

Adrian makes some noises at bedtime that I don't hear the rest of the day. I've also caught him stretching his beak open almost like a yawn(do birds even yawn?haha) and that's when I put him in his cage, close the door and pull the towel over the two sides that are facing the rest of the room and the lights...almost every time I do this, he'll say 'Twinkle twinkle' and make his bedtime calls, then next thing I know he's snuggled up in his hammock...



I think if you're a night owl, a good cover is a must. If nothing but to cut the light levels down so the bird thinks the sun's going down...