imon security

[Ollieparrot]

Hi All,

My question for today is.. is it best to cover your bird at night. I have been told that they feel more secure by being covered and with all my previous birds I have covered them however with Ollie (5 month old Senegal) I have left him uncovered. When he goes to sleep at 8pm the tv is sometimes still on however he still falls asleep. When I go to bed I didn't want to disturb him so left him uncovered. He doesn't seem to mind.

Also, during my researches I read many times that parrots need 10 - 12 hours sleep a night and that they should be in a quiet room with no TV. Ollie lives in the lounge and goes to sleep while the TV is still on. Should I be putting him in another room to sleep?? I am buying him a new cage so thought about putting his current cage in another room and using it as a sleeping cage. Good idea or not???

Simon and Ollie

[Michael]

I simply cover my birds at night and have them in a dark/quiet corner. I'm sure they can still hear what's going on but they are used to this. Generally (by the sound of it) they are asleep within 10 minutes of being covered. I think it's the darkness more than anything that incites sleep in them.

[liz]

My birds are all in the sunroom. I don't cover them. They go with the season. On long days they just take more naps.

In the winter I cover them to help keep them warm, but when it gets too cold I bring them into the dining room. I cover the side of the cage that has a nite light only.

[zazanomore]

My guys go to sleep and wake up when I do. I never feel the need to cover them up.

[HungryBird]

I do not cover my birds. They go to sleep with us and wake up with us, semi. My boyfriend usually sleeps a bit later than I do so they often wait for him to get up before they start making noise. I've never covered them for sleep but I have covered the cages for a few other reasons, most recently because it was too cold in my apartment last winter.

[Lokums]

Our B&G is housed in a spare bedroom. We have to close to the west-facing blinds or he will wake us up when the sun rises (yes I know the sun rises in the east). The south facing window can be left blind free. So I guess closing the blinds is kind of like covering up his "cage".

Our senegal we have to cover on weekends/holidays or she will wake us up when the sun rises.

Long story short, we only "cover" when we want to sleep in.

Mike

[Ollieparrot]

Thanks guys,
I have been leaving Ollie uncovered and he seems fine so am going to leave it this way. I think Ollie is always awake before me but never makes a sound until he hears me moving about so all is good.

Every day he is amazing me and we are both learning so much We still have our off days and he certainly lets me know when he doesn;t want cuddles plus he just isn;t interested in training despite his favourite treats but I keep trying lol!!!

cheers for the messages!!

Simon