First cockatiel: morning troubles

[Jadey678]

Hello! I'm new to the forum so please forgive me if I make any mistakes!

This might be a bit long!
I have a male cockatiel named Sheldon. I am not too sure how old he is. My housemate bought him on a whim in September and, after some dual-care, I took him home with me for Christmas and became very attached!

When we came back to London, Sheldon moved into my room and I bought him a new cage, toys and treats. I began clicker training him and he got into a routine. He has gotten used to me but isnt completely trusting. If i catch him on a good day, he lets me stroke his head, but generally I am limited to stroking his beak. He is still weary on hands but he has improved massively compared to the beginning. His wings aren't clipped but he is very good at flying back to the cage and he loves to sit outside it or on top of it.

The only issue I have is in the mornings. When Sheldon first came into my room, I would cover him at night, leaving a gap at the front of the cage and a mirror light on as a nightlight. Trouble is, my curtains are cream and thin, so they let the light in very easily. Sheldon proceeds to chirp or scream when he knows it's morning and as much as I am proud how far he's come (he used to just scream!), it is getting earlier and earlier. I'll let him out of the cage and he'll stop for a few minutes then start whistling away.

When I house sat nearby a few weeks ago, I would come and spend some time with Sheldon in the day but my housemates cared for Sheldon at night. They didn't put the towel over the cage and left it open, and apparently he was quiet until somebody came in the room.

I have realised that when I sleep in the same room, Sheldon likes to wake me up. Sometimes I ignore him and he is quiet for 15 minutes, but then he'll start whistling with the odd screech. But it has now gotten to the point where he will scream if I don't move from my bed. I understand he wants attention but I feel a bit too under his control!

I have tried leaving his cage uncovered (sometimes I feel as if he knows I'm going to be putting him to bed and will come out of his cage just as I'm clearing away to go to bed), but he'll continue to wake me up - just with less screaming and more pleasant noises.

I understand cockatiels are noisy and I am fine with this, I just feel as though I have lost a little control over him and I also feel bad that my housemates are being woken up earlier and earlier, especially as one works late into the night.
I love Sheldon and am pleased he feels happy enough to sit there on one leg, whistling away, but I need some advice!

Unfortunately I am unable to buy blinds or move him into a different room due to the fact this is a student house and there is a lack of room (luckily I have a big bedroom!) I do think shutting the light out would be beneficial.

I also get worried he may be bored, but I have tried lots of different toys and perches and he seems to ignore them all an prefers to just sit on one particular perch. I thought about getting him a play pen type thing for him to entertain himself, but I'm not sure he would use it

Sorry this is so long. Any advice would be appreciated!

[marie83]

Change the curtains to thicker ones and then change them back when you move, the landlord can't really do anything about that tbh.
Or hang an old blanket over the top of them.
Or cover your birds cage with a thicker cover if it isn't prone to night fright.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Agreed a landlord probably won't care. Get a cheap black bed sheet or sew two together if the cage is large like mine for our tiel. That will cover the entire cage and he won't detect the light through the black cover. Alternatively get some black sugar paper or card. Take blue tack and stick these to the windows overnight. Cheap reuse able and not changing per enact fixtures

[cml]

Ive got these in the parrot room, in grey color.
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80130663/
They dont let through any light, and you just put them over your window. With them we're able to control the day cycle, as all lights in the parrot room is run on timers.

[Eurycerus]

I can't put up blinds because I have two enormous sliding glass doors in my room (as big as normal walls). I bought a black queen sized sheet, folded over, and use that to cover Nika's cage. She'll sleep till 9 am, otherwise she wakes with the sun, 7:30 am or so.