Parrot Sleep area

[applegirl]

Okay, so my house is very noisy. I've tried to keep one room in the basement for my parrot to sleep in his cage covered and everything dark but it is not working. My only option is to move him to another room. I cannot keep him in the basement because he can hear people moving around on the first floor above him. Especially in the early hours in the day people are doing stuff in the kitchen, and then my brother doesn't sleep until like 2 in the morning so he's constantly coming to the kitchen. Not to mention he can hear footsteps going up and down the stairs. I can't do the living room since it's the same problem. My mom watches t.v. in there and basically I feel that place also has too much disturbance for him. Sometimes (more frequently in the summer, it seems) my dog who sleeps in the living room barks at outside noise. He goes on for more than 5 minutes at times. Generally I can ignore him (my dog) since my room on the second floor is the furthest away from the stairs that go to the first floor. I would say, yes, my room is by far the quietest because no one needs to pass by my room to go downstairs. The only route to my room is the route of if and when someone needs to go there. The big issue is there's not one room besides my room that is positively near silent at night. My dad has insomnia and many times he just gets out of bed at like 3 a.m. and goes downstairs. How can my bird sleep if there's clearly movement that early in the morning??
Yesterday night I brought my bird upstairs with me to my room. I put him on my chair top with a towel underneath him. He perched but he seemed confused by his surroundings. I closed my shades and tried to make the room as dark as possible. Usually when he's about to sleep he makes that cracking noise with his beak and tongue and his eyes start closing. I was so worried he wasn't going to sleep at all cause for the time i was awake lying in bed i didn't hear him do anything at all. When i was playing around with my laptop watching something he kind of did the cracking sound, and later i was so desperate i started reading to him out loud and then he really started acting sleepy but then he stopped and got all fussy wanting to go on my shoulder... I don't know if he did sleep because I fell asleep and the next time I wake up it's 5 minutes past 7 a.m. and my bird has just let out a shriek/scream. The sun was barely up but the light was beginning to creep in. Yes, for the entire night I kept him on the top of my chair (not the part where someone would sit on the chair. i mean the top part where someone's back would rest against the chair back). i think he wasn't used to sleeping like that. I dunno what i should do. I was thinking about getting some sort of dog or cat carrier so i could use that as his sleeping cage. I think he is more accustomed to sleeping with a cover over him. The petstore i live near by (petco) only sells dog and cat carriers. I can't order a bird carrier now because I need a solution asap as in now not later.

[Michael]

You can buy a cheap wire cage meant for smaller birds (as long as it can fit through the door) and just use that a sleep cage in your room.

Here area few possible options:





Use this exclusively for sleeping at night and use a black bed sheet to cover it. Please don't keep the parrot in this for anything more than night sleep. If you get the one on top, you can use it as a carrier as well. Be sure to put a comfortable perch inside.

[Rue]

Sounds like your bedroom is the best option for your bird.

I think birds can easily handle a lot more night-time 'disturbance' than what many give them credit for. Think what night-time is like in the wild. I know when we're camping, night-time is not a quiet, insulated environment.

Having said that...constant disturbance, noise, lights-on isn't good either.

A sleep cage doesn't need to be expensive or fancy. Just large enough for the bird to sleep comfortably and stretch a wing.

Have you tried the classifieds? I'm sure you can find something really inexpensive. Just make sure it's sanitary.

I'm also not a fan of covering bird cages at all - UNLESS there's a possible draft. In fact, I now make sure there's some sort of light in the room so the birds can see. I believe that cuts down on the stress of night-time activity dramatically.

Our birds are all in the family room - in the hub of the activity. We sometimes stay up to watch a movie...and they're fine with that. Normally we're all in bed by 11 p.m. (We're early to bed, early to rise people). But they do handle the kids coming home late or a mid-night snack without issue...and I believe it's because they can open an eye and 'see' who it is and what' they're doing.

It's also mostly quiet here during the day...they also nap then. I see no evidence of sleep deprivation.

[Michael]

What's wrong with covering the cage? That gives some protection from noise, light, and draft. I have a blue LED night light near my parrots cage that comes on when the lights go off. I know that even with the black sheet enough light gets in for minimum sight cause I hear her climbing around inside in darkness sometimes.

The important thing is not to make any startling noises at night moreso than a little sound. Walking into the cage or dropping something loudly are the big no-nos cause they send the parrot flying/crashing in its cage.

[Rue]

I'm speaking based on my own experiences. I also covered cages way back when, taking conventional advice...and that's when we've had the most problems (night-frights, broken wings, broken beak - all happened at night in covered cages).

Since I stopped? Not one issue (in ~ 20 years).

But yes, as I said, the bird needs to be protected from drafts. The cage shouldn't be in a drafty place to start with...but sometimes it is. If that's the case, a cover is important. But even so, I would leave one side open for light and viewing.

Think about it... a covered cage is like a cave. Bats sleep in caves...birds do not. Not unless they're nesting at least.

[lzver]

Lights get dimmed around 9:30pm at our place which signals for Lucy and Jessie to settle down.
Their cages get covered around 10:00pm - not completely - about 3/4 of the way down their cages. By the time I go to cover them, they are both settled into their 'Night Night' spots. Usually a bit later on weekends/holidays. The only time there is a night light near them is if we are at the trailer. Doesn't seem to bother them - except for the odd night fright they have and start flapping around in their cages - but that only happens two, maybe 3 times per year.

I'm downstairs by 6:00am and both Lucy and Jessie come down to their lowest perches to hello in the morning. I always come over and give scratches and say good morning. Once I'm done, I can hear them climb back up and go back to their 'Night Night' spot until my husband gets up - I've checked a few times. Once he gets up, they are up for good and start making noise.

[Natacha]

I absolutely love my birdroom for this purpose - I can put them in for the night and don't need to worry about them being disrupted too much. We normally don't have many lights on in the evening anyways and don't do that much noise either (at that point, we are probably in front of the TV and I don't like it too loud).

I do cover them since my curtains in that room aren't terribly dark and do let some ambient light in. I've been covering bird cages for 5 years and never had any issues. If I ever do think of getting darker curtains (which I probably won't bother doing until having a house and putting in better window treatments), I might stop covering the cages for sheer convenience of it.

[applegirl]

Well, I guess a small wire cage is my best bet. It'll be interesting going into the pet store to ask about this. I can just imagine the strange look I'm going to get when I ask for a small wire cage for my parrot. Should I get a wire cage with enough room for my parrot to be able to stretch his wings inside?

[Rue]

I would. I think they should be able to stretch.

Just tell them you're looking for a sleep cage. If they know anything about birds, they'll have an idea of what you're looking for.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

A cat carrier could be used as a sleep cage, too, as long as the holes/bar spacing are small enough. You could fix a perch through one of the holes.