New here and new bird owner!

[Virgogoddess]

Hi everyone, I'm so excited to finally have my baby Meyer Parrot home! I've waited for her for months. Her name is Eccho and she is super sweet, the whole family loves her. I'm going to post pics of her daytime cage to see if anyone has suggestions on improvement. She has a night time cage where she sleeps in my little girl's room with a night light. Also can anyone share any experiences with Meyers? I don't see a lot of information about them online.





Lisa

[marie83]

Welcome to the forums

[Pajarita]

Welcome but, please, no night light for birds. They have photoreceptors in the brain that register very small amounts of light and activates their pineal gland so the bird's endocrine system goes out of whack. If your little girl needs one, please cover the cage with a black-out material after it gets dark (no artificial lights on during twilight) and uncover before sunrise (artificial light on only after sky is lit). This schedule might become a bit difficult to comply with if the bird sleeps in a room with a human...

[Virgogoddess]

We have a Cockatiel as well and I thought they needed a night light? Night frights? Not that our bird has had a night fright, but I do cover Eccho's night cage with a dark towel not completely. Is that good? The night light is a Himalayan Salt Rock so it's not super bright but I will put her to sleep in a different room if she needs to be in the complete dark.

[Pajarita]

Well, the thing with parrots is that they not only regulate their endocrine system entirely by light (duration and quality) but also that they have more photoreceptors (cells that react to light and set off the glandular domino effect that ends up affecting sleep, appetite, molt, breeding, etc) than we do. Mammals (including humans) have only photoreceptors in the eyes so, if we close them, even if there is a bit of light in the room, it won't do anything for us because we can't 'sense' it - but birds have photoreceptors inside their brains with skull bones so thin that light actually goes through them to activate these 'light sensitive' cells and there are studies that show that very light light can screw up their circadian (means 'around one day') and circannual (meaning one year) cycles. These are the biorhythmic cycles that determine everything to a bird's body: when to wake up, when to go to sleep, when to eat, when to breed, when to migrated, when to molt, etc. So leaving a light on at night is not recommended. Some people think that a red light is OK because we, humans, don't even register it when it's a low one at night but red light has the ability to travel through tissue more efficiently and faster than any other light so it's not good for birds.

I don't know why people's tiels have night frights . I've had a flock of more than 30 tiels and none of them ever had a single night fright. I used to think it was because they were not caged but the ones I have now are all handicapped and need to live in a cage and still don't.

But, if you cover her cage and no light is shining into it, it's fine -that's what I do with the birds I keep outside the birdroom and they do just fine.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Agreed.

Night lights are not necessary. I have two cockatiels and ever since we got rid of the night light and improved their sleeping routine to a more natural bird rhythm, bought black out blinds and a proper cage cover. No night frights!

[Virgogoddess]

So when you cover the cage, do you cover the entire cage or just part of it to let a little air in? I'm a little concerned about too hot or too cold. I'm in Southern CA and it's been pretty hot. Thanks for everyone's input and I'm moving Eccho out of my daughter's room and no more night light for her. As for Wyld the Cockatiel he will be covered! He has to stay in my daughter's room cause he's her baby!

[michael78888]

Nice surprise about this shorter form. Can you tell us what it is you are talking/writing about?Has any info. about this shorter form been posted before (and i just missed it)?

[Pajarita]

I only cover the cages of the two birds I keep in the human areas. One is in the dining room and has a big cage in an alcove with a window in it so I just cover the top and three sides and leave the side to the window open so she can get the full benefit of dawn (this window in on the side of the house so no street lamp light shines on it). The other is in the living room, smack in the middle of a bay window and that one I cover the top and all the sides but leave a little space open on the left of the side that faces the window so he can get twilight exposure but I cover the right corner because there is a street light across the street and I don't want its light to shine on him and screw up his endocrine system so it depends on where the cage is located and whether you get up before the night start turning to day (in the winter, I cover them completely because it's warmer that way and I get way before there is any light but in the summer, even though I get up at 5am, there is already a bit of light in the sky by then so I leave them a bit open).

[Virgogoddess]

Thanks so much for the information and introductions, I really appreciate it. I really like the idea of a night time cage because it really instills the idea of bed time. Also my downstairs daytime cages are in the family room and the TV is running usually until 11 or midnight. Again thanks for the advice! Lisa