Sleep covered or uncovered?

[Strawfrawg]

Sorry to post so much my first time logging in, but I have a couple of questions that have been burning in my brain so I thought I'd get them out of the way.

Does anybody here have anything to say about the issue of whether a baby Senegal's cage should be covered for sleep? My cockatiel had a terrible time with night frights when he was young and I found that having a night light and leaving the cage partially uncovered did the trick. Later my vet suggested that a baby bird's cage should not be covered at all if he has enough light to see what's going on in the room. I had never heard this before and I'm not sure I love the idea, but whatever the best approach might be, I want to get it right with this new bird. My cockatiel had a couple of early frights that required a rush to the vet for wing damage and I never want any bird of mine to go through that trauma again!

[lifesazoo33]

If I recall correctly, night frights is fairly common in cockatiels and cockatoos.
I cover my Jardine's parrot at night, so that he can have a better sleep. He is in our living room, so we are usually up later than he is, and earlier than he wakes up (he sleeps from about 10pm - 7 or 8am)
Covering him up allows him more quiet and he is not bothered by the lights or tv around him. He has never had a issue. He was not covered until I got him (1 1/2 years of his life he slept un covered) and he had no issues right off the bat!
Hope this helps

[marie83]

I think this is an individual thing tbh. I don't cover my 'tiel as she is nervous. I do cover my conure as otherwise he wont go to sleep and will call for us in the night if he hears any movement from us. Before I got my GCconure I never bothered covering any of them and it didn't seem to do any harm and I only started covering Ollie on advice from the first vet we saw as he was convinced his illness was a psychological issue.
Now I'm of the opinion to cover the cage at night unless there is a good reason not to, on the first few nights/weeks it might be an idea to only partially cover the cage, then gradually cover it more and more until the bird gets used to the layout of the cage. My two are quite comfortable getting to their roosting spots at lights out time if they havent already made their way there prior to it going dark.

[Eric&Rebecca]

We cover our cockatiel, but he has a small night light. He will tend to spook if a tree or bush moves in the wind and the light gives him reassurance. It's a very soft pinky orange light and we leave one corner near the wall partially uncovered. He has only had 2 night frights since we got him.

However it is an individual thing. You can always try both and see what works best for you.

[Nir]

My budgie hated being fully covered but he likes being half covered. Whenever I half cover his cage, he knows what time it is and will go to his usual spot in his cage and sleep.

[friend2parrots]

i agree with the others above that its an individual thing. I can understand why it might be necessary in some situations. however I've actually never covered my birds cages at night. A friend of mine who also has birds (a greenwing, and a blue and gold macaw, and several conures) puts it this way, and I agree with her: "nobody covers them in the jungle. so why should we?"

basically what she believes (and I agree with her) is that, as flock animals, birds like to be aware of their surroundings when they sleep. they like to still be in touch with their flock, and like to see and hear their flockmates at night, or at least be aware of their flockmates presence, even in the silence of deep sleep. birds have very acute hearing,and it reassures them to be able to see the things they are hearing at night, if they do hear anything.

so for these reasons, i dont cover my cages (each of my two birds has his own cage). my two birds like to watch each other getting ready for bed, and preen, eat, and drink, and pretty much do everything at the same time when theyre caged. they also talk to each other while theyre caged, and get annoyed if they cant see each other (thats why i have a nightlight on in the room, because sometimes they talk to each other in the dark for a few minutes before settling down. their cages are in the sitting room, and we just make sure not to use or go into that room after theyve gone to sleep. i leave a VERY DIM nightlight on for them so they can see each others silhouettes in the darkened room (that seems to be important for them).

so for your baby Senegal, I would just wait and see what the baby seems comfortable with and prefers, and go with that. theres nothing wrong with not covering a cage, as long as you can guarantee that the room is adequately darkened, with a small nightlight. i have heard, however, of some birds that PREFER to be covered. it all depends on the individual bird and the set up of the birds living area, etc. so i'd go with what the bird seems most comfortable with.

[Strawfrawg]

Good suggestions from all.

That's a great point about birds not being covered in the wild. I think I may try providing some tent space where he can go inside and "cover himself" if he so chooses. If he really seems to like doing that at night, I'll consider covering the cage.

[Pricey_boy]

Buy a bird hammock my bird loved it

[Strawfrawg]

I bought one of those triangular snuggle huts. My cockatiel loved his, so hopefully my new baby will like them, too.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Just be sure to disinfect those regularly. They bacterial breeding grounds otherwise.