Cage Placement

[cmillard08]

I have purchased a hand fed green cheek conure. He is still currently being weaned and the breeder is training him in the new cage I have purchased for him so he wont be ready for another week or so. I am currently debating on where to place his cage though. Me and my boyfriend are normally always in our room but, the only thing im worried about is that we also have 2 dogs who are kenneled in our room too. We have a australian shepherd mix who is sweet and a miniature dachshund. My dachshund can be vocal when he hears someone come home and I'm worried that this may freak our new bird out. I dont want to stress him out so what Im wanting to know is if this should be something to worry about.

We will be leaving a radio on during the day while we are away at work and I was planning on covering half of his cage up with a sheet. Probably the side the dogs will be locatde and I will have his sleeping hut located on that side as well so if he wants to hide and not be seen he can.

Like I said Im not wnting to stress him out,we are visiting our new baby every other day now for about an hour to bond with him as much as we can as well. If you also have any other suggestions or tips for me it would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

[Pajarita]

Personally, I would NOT leave a bird, even in a cage, in the same room with dogs when I am not there. A member of another site posted about her dog killing one of her birds (a dachshund, as a matter of fact). Apparently, she did not lock the cage correctly when she fed him in the morning before going to work, the bird got out and the dog thought it was his own personal toy for the day -and she had a bigger bird than a tiny GCC. Dogs don't need to be mean to kill a bird, they can do it just by playing with them.

What I would do in your case is have two cages, a day cage in the living room or the dining room, next to a window (and leave the dogs locked in the bedroom) and a sleeping cage in your bedroom for the evening but, the problem with this is that I doubt you go to sleep with the sunset (especially in the winter when it's completely dark by 5pm) and that's what birds need. You can always buy a black-out curtain and drape it over the cage, covering it completely once it's night (you are supposed to expose the bird to the twilight so he starts producing melatonin) but, if you watch TV at night, you would have to keep it very, very low (or you can get ear thingies). Dogs and cats have no problem living at a human schedule but birds can't, they need a bird schedule and that means up with sunrise and to bed with sunset, just like the birds out in the wild.