enough sleep?

[nutCase]

I have heard for ages that parrots should get 12 hours of dark, silent sleep each night. How many of you actually accomplish this? And how do you do it?
While it may be dark for 12 hours around the equator, I doubt it's very silent in our birds' natural habitat. It's not all that quiet around here, when I go camping! Frogs, crickets, katydids, owls, you name it, all make for a noisy night. Granted, I can sleep through most of it, but a sudden growl or howl would sure startle me awake!
My goffin, Casey, doesn't get anywhere that amount of sleep. Even though we put him to "bed" around 6 PM in the winter, it's hardly dark, or quiet! Lights go on and off in the other rooms and he can hear us talk or the TV running. When we do go to bed very early(doesn't happen often), there are still outside lights from the neighbors and the general noises of the city.This time of year, the furnace runs, and can be heard from any room in the house.
So tell what you do or don't do, and has any change made a big difference in your birds' life? Are there well-adjusted "night owls" out there?

[Maxlovesboating]

Hopefully someone with a bit more experience will add some more insight to this subject. I think that most things that we as humans can sleep thru, they also can sleep thru. We put our fids to bed and cover them up in a seperate room and turn the lights off, but they can also still hear the TV and us talking.

Our Sun is your typical, I'm not ready to go to bed yet Mom. He fights it for about 10 minutes, then we dont hear a peap out of him. Our Amazon is totally different, when he is tired you know it and he goes right down. In so many ways I find them like children when it comes to bed time.

When we first got Max, our Sun we would let him stay up with us and thought he would wake up when we did and get his required amount of sleep, but that didnt happen. Now we put him to bed at "his bed time" and even though there are always other noises he has adapted and getting his amount of sleep time needed.

I hope I have helped in some way, I really don't think there is anyway to give them a totally noise free environment in our world today. Routine is probable more important?

Like I said I am sure someone with more experience will help with this issue.

[saucie]

12 hours uninterrupted is probably ideal, but many parrots are probably fine without it. A vet told me that his birds go to bed around midnight and wake up when he does, and they're in their 30s now. My sun conure sleeps in my room now and I often fall asleep with my TV on. He doesn't have a problem sleeping through the noise or the light. I know he naps throughout the day while I'm at work, so his sleep patterns are not a problem.

[Tinker]

Lucki just has to adjust to my odd work hours, but I think he's alright because he can catch up on any sleep while I'm away at work if he wants, and he always seems hyper so he must be ok. Some evenings when it's getting late and I'm still doing something he will get up on his swing and quieten down a bit, so I put his cover on him and I think that helps him sleep even though I'm in the same room until my bed time.

[sweetpeaches]

i love this topic! it comes up alot. i wish we really knew how our birds sleep, but don't think we really ever will. i cover my birds when it gets dark and uncover them when it gets light. are they sound asleep all nite? i don't know. i do know my lovie will make a peep sometimes when she hears a certain noise, while my caique is usually totally quiet through the whole nite! i do think it's important that they get "enough" sleep. i have heard others saying their birds weren't "the same" when they didn't get enough sleep.
all i know is when i uncover their cages in the morning they are so happy to see me and take on the world!

[flyingfluff]

Most birds will settle in as long as they are covered. Though, if I have the lights on, my budgies will wake up and start chattering.
Also, I am for 12hrs, more realistically, 10hrs... but doesn't always happen. 12hrs is ideal, but unless I have a bird that is getting really hormonal and nesty on me, I don't think it's a real biggie if you don't follow it.

[Sally]

I think it is important for them to get quiet sleep. Just like us. Chipper gets 12 hours in her sleep cage in a separate room.

[jylu97]

This is the first time I've posted but I've been doing a lot of reading! I've had my Yellow-Naped Amazon for over 20 years since she was weaned. I used to have her go to sleep the traditional way--cover over the cage, lights out in a relatively quiet room. She had adapted to my late night hours, but nowadays, after being away from her for a few years (college, etc) and coming back to reclaim her from my parents, I've come to understand what works for her when it comes to bedtime.

She actually prefers not having a cover; in fact, she used to attack the cover (which we thought would make her more secure). I also have learned that slowly turning down the light before bedtime, gives her the signal that it's time to eat and wind down. Simulating dusk has shown such an improvement in her behavior at bedtime. I think it's also more humane. She used to be so anxious when we would suddenly turn the lights out. She goes to bed between 8 to 9 pm and wakes up before 7! I'm sure she sneaks in a nap during the day!

Liz

[Abyssinian1]

Ours get about ten to eleven hours of sleep - this varies according to the sunlight we h ave available. During the winter, they get more, of course. I actaully have to get them up before sunrise to feed them, since I have to give them about an hour to eat before I pull their food bowls and head off for work. they get up about 6:30 am and go to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. Any less than that, and we have three very grumpy, bitey Severes.

[Ashling]

My lory sleeps in my bedroom and usually has a nap while I study from around 8 until 10, then I spend two hours winding down in my room- sometimes she sleeps sometimes she wants nothing more than to play with me. When i start to go to bed, she ALWAYS wakes up and wants to come with me. She snuggles up to my cheek and falls asleep. It's pretty dangerous, though she usually ventures away from me and sleeps on a pillow or on the edge of the bed... does anyine else sleep with their birds, or am I crazy!?
I think that birds should have around 12 hours- as that's natural. I heard that not getting enough sleep can shorten their lifespan?