Does anyone use "Sleep Cages?"

Hi All,

I've recently posted this on another forum, so sorry if it's a repeat to some. But I have a concern that I really want opinions on. My gcc, Roxy, gets about 9-10 hrs of covered sleep a night. But on occasion, I'll have a roommate come home late from work (late as in her cage is all covered up) and make little to moderate noise. Given that her cage is in the corner in the dining room, I'm pretty sure she can hear the noise/ see the light on (even w/the cage cover on).

Should I be concerned enough to get her a seperate sleep cage to have in my room? I understand how crucial it is for birds to have plenty of sleep, and I'm concerned that this may be interrupting her sleep.

Does anyone use seperate sleep cages? And why? Does it seem to help/work?

I'm very open to opinions/ suggestions, so any input will help!!

Thanks!!

I bought a cage cover, its called a cozzy cover, some people like to just use a sheet or a towel. Which is fine but i find my sun conure sleep more soundly with it over his cage, before i bought the cover i used a blanket, and anytime he heard a creek or any sound he would wake up. The cozzy cover is like a black out curtain but it dose let light in if you were to use a night light.
The cover was around $60 but it works for me and him so it was well worth it. im not sure how soundly they sleep i just don't know, im sure others will be along shortly. good luck. Erik

Hi there
My AG Mishka sleeps in my bedroom, in his night cage, where he gets approximately 10 hours of un-interrupted sleep
I am sure he still hears slight noises, but that is normal. It is the quietest room in our apartment. It would be virtually impossible to keep it sound proof, unless the room is sound proof.
I would keep the bird in your bedroom, at least you will be assured he will be well rested. Birds not getting enough sleep, could get grumpy and behavior problems may occur.
Below is a link pertaining the importance of a bird getting sleep etc

Good Bird: The Importance of Sleep for Your Companion Bird

My girl's cage is in the lounge and there is hopelessly too much noise in that area so I do use a separate sleep cage that I cover with a sheet.

The other reason why a sleep cage is a good idea is to help suppress breeding season. In general birds sleep anywhere but in breeding season they sleep in the same spot every night. So it helps when you do not allow him to sleep in his big cage.

Thank you all for such quick responses. I think I'm leaning towards the sleep cage option given that the dining room does tend to get more "action," unfortunately, during night hours as well.

More opionions and suggestions are gladly welcomed.

How large is your home or apartment? Unless you have a seperate enclosed room, which has a secure door, I'm not sure how much benefit a sleep cage would do. If your thinking about putting him in an ajoining room to the kitchen that is basically open to the kitchen area like most homes and apartments are these days, I don't see the benefit in it. A black out cover would probably work better if the above is the case.

Mike

how big/small should a sleep cage be? I have been thinking Oliver needs one, as his big cage is in a not so quiet area in the morning, he doesn't get enough uninterrupted sleep.

mtdoramike: We (roommates & I) live in a 2 story house, and her "day cage" is downstairs in the dining room. With the sleep cage, I would be placing that upstairs, in my room, where the other bedrooms are located. In my household, given that the bedrooms are the only thing upstairs, it is the much quieter section of the house. The only traffic upstairs is when someone is going to/from their room or to sleep.
Does this help open up any opinions?

On a side note, after talking to the breeder, she believes that a sleep cage is a great idea for my situation. Along with being a sleep cage, it can also be used if I for some reason need to transport her, or just need a temporary cage for whatever reason. I ended up purchasing a 16"x16"x23" cage that was on sale, in case I decide to go w/the idea. If not, I'll have a temp/travel cage. I know it's not big, compared to her day cage (22"x24"x34"), but if it's strictly for sleeping, I feel it'll do fine.

Anything else?...

Hi, my vet recommended a sleep cage due to a feather picking problem. As someone mentioned, birds sleep in different places each night when they are not breeding so it helps to calm the hormones down if that is an issue (or to keep it from being an issue). It is also helpful in that our GCC can be put into a quieter room so that we don't disturb him when we are cleaning, working, watching TV or visiting with friends. He gets all the sleep he needs and we can actually live in our house.

As for size, his isn't too big. A sleep cage should be enough that they can move a little bit (so that if they are up before you they don't feel cramped) but it doesn't need to be very big. We use our travel cage for Charlie to sleep in (he also has a really small transport cage to go to the vet in) and put in a toy in case he is up in the morning as well as a little bit of food and water but that's about it. We also cover it as that is a symbol that its bedtime. My parrotlet would cheep for us to cover her when she was sleepy. She loved bedtime! Not the conure, though, he would be up 24 hours if we were too.

Printer Bird: Good suggestion. I know exactly what you mean about conures wanting to stay up 24/7! It seems like she never wants to go to sleep. And like I said, she doesn't get the 10-12 hrs some recommend, and seems fine w/that. I just want to take the precaution so that no behavior issues occur...

Tonight I am trying out her sleep cage.. So far she is climbing around and not sleeping yet, but I'm sure it's because of the change of scenery.. I added a cozy corner to it, but might need to place a birdie hut in there as well, because I think she started using it in her regular cage... We'll see!!

In general birds sleep anywhere but in breeding season they sleep in the same spot every night. So it helps when you do not allow him to sleep in his big cage.

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So, I have to say, I've never done any research on sleep for parrots (other than that more sleep hours means less breeding behavior). But does that really work? A different place to sleep discourages breeding behavior?
My pionus is 9 years old from February and he loves to "nest". I haven't done much to discourage this behavior as he has never been agressive about it. But sometimes its exasperating when he gets all excited about an open cupboard door.... lol! He jumps right into the cupboard and hides behind the mugs making the most obnoxious noises.

My GCC Tori gets SOOOOO Cranky when he doesn't get enough sleep. I cover his cage with a towel or bring him in my room to sleep.

Good Bird: The Importance of Sleep for Your Companion Bird

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Informative artical! I was wondering myself about Mondo taking "Power Naps" during the evening when we are all together. Now I know it is normal.

hi i am susy i have 2 white cap pianos parrots i have cages up and down in the house both birds know when we go upstairs it is bedtime. we usually watch a couple sitcoms then they assume the sleep positions and i don't hear a sound till i get out of bed. noise does not seem to interrupt their sleep so i guess i would say it would be your own preference i just like having them near