Flight? Sleep? Confused

[Zooey]

I keep hearing about flight cages and sleeping cages. 'This is his sleep cage' or 'this is a good flight cage.' Is there some difference to them?

[lwis]

I am pretty sure a sleep cage would typically be a smaller cage that is just meant for sleeping, and is perhaps in a separate room or area that is quieter at night.
A flight cage would basically be the opposite - a larger cage that a bird could fly around in and get exercise.
Neither of these cages are necessary if the main cage is big enough for the bird to get some exercise in (and/or that the bird gets a lot of flight time out of the cage), and it is set up and placed in an area where the bird could get enough quiet time for a good sleep.
This is my understanding at least.

[Shelby]

Most of the people I know/read about having sleeping cages have birds that are prone to night frights, like cockatiels or a bird who has had night frights in the past. Mostly those sleeping cages are pretty small and only have a few perches and a water dish - and no toys to get hung up on or bash into.

[Grey_Moon]

I would disagree and say that although a sleep cage (which again, is a small cage specifically for the bird to sleep in, can also double as a travel cage/carrier) isn't required physically if the main cage is somewhere appropriate to sleep I say it is necessary.

My timneh actually sleeps in her travel carrier at the head of my bed every night. In my mind it is both necessary for her, and a safety issue for me. I know that, in the event of a fire or some other emergency in the middle of the night---she is *NOT* going to come out of her main cage quickly and easily in that situation. So she sleeps in her carrier, so that if need be, I can jump out of bed, grab her and go.

I feel it is necessary for her because parrots travel many miles everyday---they do not eat and sleep in the same place. The only time she would would be in a nesting hole----and I don't want to encourage that. Furthermore, its been my observation that parrots dislike sleeping in a large, exposed open space, a cage for example. They like to sleep in small, enclosed spaces where they don't feel exposed (under heavy tree cover, in nest cavity)...so for my grey, she sleeps in her birdie backpack with the side flaps rolled down (the front flap is left up so she can see out) on a table surrounded by my housecoats...creating a sort of bush for her to retreat into to sleep.
Lastly, birds do not sleep alone. It makes no sense to me why a bird would be left to sleep by themselves in a living room at night, in the quiet dark (which makes birds nervous). So she sleeps close to my partner and I so she feels she is not alone. This had made a dramatic difference in how much (if at all) she plucks at night.

As I feel that it is our duty to respond to and actively nurture the wild needs of our birds, no bird should sleep alone and no bird should sleep in an uncovered cage, and preferably never sleep and live in the same cage.

A flight cage is pretty much an aviary.

[Michael]

A flight cage is pretty much an aviary.

"Flight cage" usually refers to a cage that little birds (like budgies) can fly around in. Basically it's the size of a cage for a larger parrot but it has finer spacing. Usually it's made of cheap/thin wire rather than cage bars.



They don't really make "flight cages" for larger parrots cause obviously then you're getting into an aviary and then some. Kili's flight cage is the backyard aviary (12'x8'x7'). Truman's flight cage is the whole apartment (18'x60'x13'). Truman can barely fly in the aviary, not enough room for him. So the size goes up really quickly so flight cages are only practical for parakeets.

[cml]

We have a big indoor aviary/cage I built which they can and do fly around in, if not long distances, but really as with Michael their "flight cage" is our appartment =)!

[liz]

When I was moving my birdies to larger cages Rambo claimed a small cockatiel cage for his "nite nite" cage. I put it on top of his big cage and that is where he sleeps every night.

Myrtle will not go into a little cage so she sleeps on her tree outside his cage.

[kittyhazelton]

My timneh actually sleeps in her travel carrier at the head of my bed every night. In my mind it is both necessary for her, and a safety issue for me. I know that, in the event of a fire or some other emergency in the middle of the night---she is *NOT* going to come out of her main cage quickly and easily in that situation. So she sleeps in her carrier, so that if need be, I can jump out of bed, grab her and go.

I really like this idea! And would implement it if not for the fact that our bedroom is probably the coldest room in the house (we heat in winter via wood stove, and it's nice and cozy for the birds in the living room where their cages are.

I've been considering putting a pet carrier up next to chicas cage for her to climb into to sleep. She does however go in/out of her cage as she pleases and the corner of her cage where she sleeps is covered on two sides so she has a little quiet spot. The other points you mentioned about the need for security are very good points. If not a pet carrier, I think I'm going to make a big macaw sized "sleepy hut" out of fleece so she can climb into and have a quiet place to snuggle.

[Peyton]

I have two big cages and one is kept in the extra bedroom. This is intended to give sufficient quiet time to sleep and the second cage is in the family room. Is this an unlikely event? I have not received my bird yet, but I am trying to make an ideal situation not a confusing one.

[Pajarita]

It sounds like a perfect arrangement to me, Peyton.