Weird discovery

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
So, I have always left Noodles' food in at night and I hear her in there eating it (so I have always assumed she needed it, as her weight is healthy).
Anyway, last night, I took away a large portion of her dried food and just left enough to barely cover the bottom of her metal dish (normally, I would leave it 1-1/2 inches from the brim).

I did this because she hates her antibiotic and I didn't know how I would get her to eat her medicine-laced oatmeal in under 2 hours on a work morning.

I ended up staying home sick, but I digress.

The point is, 1.) she seemed to sleep better with less food in her cage (I heard her moving very little -if any, at all, I couldn't sleep, so I had nothing to do but listen. 2.). She ate her tablespoon of nasty antibiotic oatmeal within 10 minutes this morning (as opposed to 3-4 HOURS).

I know it is simple, but she must eat a lot at night and the most unexpected thing was that her food might actually be keeping her up!

Just thought that was odd and wanted to share (especially the part about sleep). So, if you ever have to feed your "baby" a nasty drug, consider removing other options ahead of time (without totally cutting them off, if possible ) :) and know that they will be okay.

Anyone else find that food is a distraction to sleep? If she had been awake, I would have heard her doing things (dropping pellets, climbing etc) but she wasn't and her infection is very mild, so it isn't like she slept better because she was so sick lol.
 
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Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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My Penny is s night eater. A long ago habit? She never eats breakfast like the others..
Glad Noodles is taking medicine! Hope you feel better soon.
I had to break down and get antibiotics to finally kick my chest thing. All my neighbors are sick too....
 

GaleriaGila

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May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
That is weird!
The Rb eats all night. Patagonians are one of the few partially-nocturnal species, so no surprise, I guess. I don't see that it makes any problems.
Oh, and get better, you two!
 
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noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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Thanks- I always felt like she would do her thing and it wouldn't make a difference as long as she was healthy, but to think that she was perhaps sleeping less due to food is kind of crazy to me....dk...
 

ChristaNL

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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
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All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
Interesting observation -no idea what to say about it ;) sorry
I also hear them climb down for a quick munch at times they should be asleep.

(My house/block is covered in anti-burglar-lights, so even with all the black-out curtains it is never really dark. Really annoying...but yea...rental...)
 

EllenD

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Yep, that's why "sleeping cages", when used, need to be as scant and empty as possible. No toys, no food, just a bowl of fresh water and a perch/swing for them to sleep on, and that's it...If it's there they'll eat it, play with it, chew on it, etc. If it's not there, nothing else to do but go to sleep...
 

Scott

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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Haven't noticed difficulties with sleep and potential distractions of food/toys, but might be species dependent.

I have a sleeping cage near my bed and have a goffins spend the night. Typically Gabby, as he is not accepted by most of his family. Two wooden toys and pellets are available. They are good about sleeping, and begin to eat a bit after sunrise. I often naturally wake to the sounds of crunching. At times they'll chew some wood.
 
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noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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It isn't like she ever slept poorly in my mind---I just figured all this time that the occasional shuffle or crunch was normal for her-- it's what she does (PS- pretty sure she sleeps with a pellet in her mouth, because if I walk by at night, I always hear one drop without fail LOL..so she does like food)

I just can't get over the fact that she is nearly silent (even when I move around) if the food supply is limited. I haven't taken it all out, but she picks out her favorites early on and then doesn't appear to much more (except in the early morning). She acts ravenous when I feed her breakfast, which must be psychological, as she has uneaten food in there (just less than normal).

This morning at like 4 am , I half convinced myself she was dead because, despite outside noise, I couldn't hear her in there. Then I made a very slight clicking sound and heard a bunch of cockatoo mumbles lol! What a weirdo.


Another fun fact: I pulled her food out the other afternoon before I discovered the nighttime trick....I wanted her to eat her antibiotic oatmeal.
Anyway, she tried to pull out all the stops and then I heard pellets falling! Apparently, she had like 3 of them stashed away in her feathers (dang hormones)!
 
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