Do you use sleeping cages?

[Babyblue033]

I've read about having separate sleeping cages for your birds but never gave it much thought until I got Yubi (Ekkie). Miki never had any trouble staying up with us and is always eager to hang out and be in the middle of things. Yubi on the other hand gets sleepy around 9-10pm, and by 10-11pm he's making all sorts of whining noises to let us know that he is ready to go to sleep. At first I didn't even realize that's what he wanted, but after a few days it's become quite clear what he's trying to communicate (such a bad mommy! )

This is my schedule. I wake up around 7 or 7:30am, which is when my fids wake up (god forbid I oversleep for even 5 min! ). I spend about 30 min with them hanging out on my shoulder while I use the computer, then I usually take one of them into the shower with me. Then we all have breakfast and off to work I go.

We get home from work around 7pm usually, and as soon as we're home the birds are out. They go in and out of the cage (play on the playstand, back to the cage for dinner, back out for some TV time, etc) until we go to bed around 11-12pm.

Both birds are in our living room, which is where we spend most of our time in. Sometimes I go to bed a bit early, but usually my bf will stay up later watching TV or whatnot. Miki is always wide awake and makes a huge fuss if anyone is up and he's not out of his cage, but I think Yubi can use a little more sleep. Neither seem to be cranky or anything from lack of sleep, but they're both getting much less sleep than the 12 hours recommended.

So how much sleep do your fids get (do they really get 12 full hours of sleep like everyone seems to recommend??), do you have sleeping cages, and just basically what are your sleeping arrangements for your fids?

[spectre]

I'm by no stretch an expert but I always felt this wasn't true (the 12 hour thing).
The article this guy wrote sort of summarizes why
http://www.waynesparrotstuff.com/ask...arrot_tips.htm

My bird has never gotten 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep, ever (unless we are on vacation?). He has no problems and is very friendly. I've always felt it is more important to have him around me more than in his cage more. Our setup is such that half of his huge cage is next to a wall and half in front of a window. I have a sleep perch blocked from the window so I assume he sleeps during the day, I in fact see him sleep because my computer is next to his cage.

When I go to bed, he goes to bed and I cover the part of the cage exposed to the window.


I think so long as they get enough sleep during the coruse of the day they are fine. Again, this is only my experience/belief.

[Babyblue033]

I read that article also and tend to agree with him. I mean if I have to make sure they sleep 12 hours, that means I have to put them to bed by... 7pm? Even if I put them to bed by 8 or 9pm, that means they'll miss out on most of the "primetime" when I'm home.

But I was thinking if Yubi needs more sleep I can put a sleep cage in the bedroom and put him to bed around 10pm. That'll give him at least 3 hours with me during the evening, and provide 1-2 extra hours of sleep.

I know that would never work for Miki, who'll scream bloody murder if he knew he was going to bed while everyone else was up and having fun

[lvliss_ellie]

Dec. 29/05

Was reading your note about sleeping hours for your fids. What is a fid? We have a budgie or parakeet as they are known in the U.S.A. We live in Canada. We let Joey out (make budgie) at about 10:00 am and he flies around until 4:00 p.m. We then put a mirror on his cage and place him in the bedroom on the dresser where he can see himself on both sides. He stays there until about 11:30 p.m. and then we bring his cage back into the living room where we wrap a cloth around his cage and then he goes to sleep. He eats at night as we can hear him. We have been doing this with him for 7 years now and he's very happy. Good luck with your bird. God bless you †

[Alika]

Uninterrupted sleep is very important. I think 12 hours is a bit extreme, but I wouldn't dream of giving my birds less than 9-10. It can, indeed, cause behavior problems in some birds. I've read articles about birds that started plucking and screaming behaviors which stopped when the birds were given more time to sleep at night. Our SC2 at work once had a plucking bout when the light timers were reset and the lights weren't going off at night. When the problem was discovered and fixed, the plucking stopped.

Okay, so that's a little different than getting 8 hours of sleep vs. 12 hours of sleep, but it does give you something to think about.

As far as special sleep cages, my birds don't have them. But that is because I have adjusted my lifestlye so that when it's birdy bedtime, my husband and I leave the livingroom for the night and turn off all the lights and pull all the blinds and they go right to sleep. That doesn't work for everyone, and for those that it doesn't work for I think sleeping cages are a good idea.

Another option I like is having a room with your bird cages in it and letting the birds play out on playgyms in common rooms when you're home. That way, the birds' regular cages become special sleeping cages, too. I think I will find a way to engineer this when I get my own house.

[Montys Mommy]

my birds have sleep cages b/c we as a family tend to stay up rather late. My fids get at least 8hrs of sleep at night, sometimes more, but no less.

[Vankarhi]

I do not use a sleep cage, but when my baby alex was very little she was in my small travel cage until she was big enough to go into the bigger travel cage and now she is in her big normal cage. All I do is cover her when it is her bedtime. My eclectus on the other hand does not get covered anymore unless she is being too noisy. She is an adult now and likes to be in the thick of things, but we also are not normally awake too late anyway.

[volvobirds]

none of our fids here have sleep cages. maybe we are a bit on the strange side, but we call their cages their houses. our guys get their times out of their "houses", but they will duck in and out, sometimes stopping to nap. Jasper is the real busybody in the house, he likes to be in the thick of things and will stay up till I come home from work at nite. Peaches will DEMAND to go to bed around 9 more or less, she wants covered and then she is happy. Snak and Sylvester are usually put to bed not long after she is, they like covered too.

one thing I will notice, if our guys don't get a good amount of sleep or wake too early, they are CRANKY! they just nap more when they don't get enough sleep. and God help the person who wakes Sylvester too early, he is NOT a morning birdie!

[Eliza]

Originally Posted by lvliss_ellie

Dec. 29/05
Was reading your note about sleeping hours for your fids. What is a fid?

Welcome to the forum!

A fid is an abbreviation for "feathered kid". I supposed you could use it for "furred kid" in the case of dogs, cats, bunnies, etc. or even "finned kid" in the case of fish

But back to the OP's question re: sleeping cages.

For the time being, Beetle is in my computer room. I plan on placing his cage in my living room once I get it straightened up. I tend to have issues with insomnia and what not, so I intend on getting him a smaller cage to use as a sleeping cage. I'll place that one in my bedroom and put him in there at bedtime.

Beetle seems to have adjusted to my schedule; I work 2pm-10pm and I notice upon arriving home in the late evening, he is usually napping. By 11pm he is hopping about, begging for attention. He settles down within an hour or so. I'm rather flattered that I'm worthy of his affection, to be honest

-e-

[cfulhage]

Ollie does not have a sleeping cage, mainly because there is not room for another cage in my apartment. I put her to bed with her cage covered around 10 or 10:30, and she gets up depending on when I have class. She gets no less than 9 and no more than 11.

She usually naps for an hour or so in the afternoons, but other than that she is wide awake and playing and talking constantly.