More questions....

[aubs1220]

My newest member (my first cockatoo) is in our kitchen currently (biggest room in the house) and was previously in his old owners spare bedroom with their other bird. So when it got dark their room was super dark. We have a ton of windows in our kitchen so I doubt it gets dark enough for Kasper. I have been covering him because of this. I've never had a bird that needed covering, so what (if anything) is better than a bed sheet? And how long should I keep him covered? The past 2 nights I did 9pm to 6am. Is that too long?
Also since he is now in the busiest room of the house, where previously he was not, is that too stressful of a change? After perusing through other threads I'm afraid I may have overstimulated him causing his screaming problem, which I was assured by the old owner was not a habit of his (insert skepticism here). I have a spare room I could use (after a good spring cleaning) to put him in, but I had read its better for parrots to have the extra social time and interaction, especially umbrellas who are super bond-y (maybe not such a real word, but whatever).
Any insights would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

[pennyandrocky]

he should get between 10-12 hours of uninterupted sleep. mine go to bed at 7pm and get up at 7am if they don't go to sleep long enough mya screams more.

[aubs1220]

Sounds like me too....lol good to know though. I will adjust his schedule. Thank you!

[aubs1220]

Would it be a good idea to maybe have a sleep cage in our spare bedroom and then have him out in his regular cage in the kitchen?

[pennyandrocky]

anywhere it's quiet for 10-12 hours is good.

[janetafloat]

Yes, it's a really good idea to have a sleep cage in a quiet room. Also something like a black or dark sheet doubled over or duvet cover (quilt cover? I know you don't have Duvet's in the US ) to cover him. He needs 12 hours of quiet/sleep.

[Pajarita]

Well, for one thing, you should never have a bird in the kitchen unless you never, ever cook. Have you seen the oily film that covers the cabinets after a couple of months of not scrubbing them? That crap goes into the bird's lungs when he is housed in the kitchen (remember the canaries in the mines? they used them because they died way before humans noticed anything themselves).

For another, the 12L/12D schedule for birds is antiquated and let me explain why it's no good. The only birds that live at 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night are the ones that live smack on the Equator because that's the only region in the world that has that schedule. But even on the Equator there is a 20 minute difference between one season and the other (can't call it summer and winter -they are usually call dry and rainy) and, believe it or not, there are studies that show that their bodies register this 20 minute difference and adjust their endocrine system accordingly! Plus, because of the very small difference in lighthours, tropical birds' primary breeding trigger is not photoperiodism (although they ARE photoperiodic, same as all other birds on earth and readily revert to using it as primary trigger in captivity -there are studies that tell us this) but food availability and weather. Not enough food and bad weather = no breeding = no sexual hormone production. But, in captivity, the weather is always propitious for breeding and the food is always available and VERY rich so the only way we have of preventing a screwed up endocrine system is to keep them at a solar schedule - up with sunrise and dinner and bed with sunset (think of the chickens and the birds outside).

Now, the problem with not keeping them to a solar schedule is that they produce sexual hormones all year round -something which doesn't sound too bad to us, humans, because that is the way we are and we are just fine with it, right? Wrong. The birds reproductive system is not like ours. They don't choose when to have sex or when to have babies. They are controlled by hormonal changes and these changes are seasonal. Their sexual organs are small and dormant all throughout the resting season (this is the way the non-breeding season is usually called) and only become active and start growing when the bird's endocrine system sends the signal that it's time to breed but, if the endocrine system continues sending the signal and the bird continues producing sexual hormones all the time, the bird does not only become terribly sexually frustrated (imagine been highly aroused all the time with no relief in sight), it becomes physically uncomfortable due to the over-enlargement of the sexual organs which, sometimes, displace other organs and become painful (I know of a male Senegal which peed blood because of this) - Not good, right? Thankfully, the solution is easy and completely free: uncover the cage at sunrise and cover it (with something thicker than a sheet) when it's already dark in the room (you need to keep the artificial lights off for the twilight because it's the change in spectrum that turns on and off the pineal gland).

But don't take my word for it, do some research about it (which doesn't mean ask in birdsites go to science and nature) and you'll see.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I have to agree with Parajita I noticed a biiiig change in my already healthy birds once I adjusted to her schedule. Their plumage was better, they ate better, their poops were better, their hormones were managed.... I cannot explain the amount of different in it!

[blackrose]

Sounds like me too....lol good to know though. I will adjust his schedule. Thank you!