Can being a Night Owl harm your birds sleep cycle?

So I’m sort of a night owl by choice. I work way better at night, with the peace and quiet and no distractions. And when I say night owl...I mean like 3-5 AM to noon night owl
I put a blanket on Jojos cage while he’s sleeping at night so that I don’t keep him up, but I was considering getting blackout curtains for my room so that I could actually get decent sleep in the morning. (Its hard to sleep when it’s bright out and your bird is squawking.)
So, this is a super weird question but, Do yall think it would it be harmful to move his sleep schedule to be the same as mine? As in, keeping the lights on til early morning and using blackout curtains to make it dark til noon? He would be getting the same amount of sleep, but it would be at a..weird time. Im definitely not planning on doing this without getting the O.K from my vet but I don’t want to sound crazy if it’s an absolute no-no haha
I could also put his cage in a different room at night. It’d be inconvenient because I’d have to figure out where to keep him but if it’s better for his health I’ll do it. Or you know..I could actually sleep at Normal People hours. 🤔

The issue with this is the lack of real sunlight. Birds do not absorb vitamin D in the same way that people do, so a "bird light" is helpful but certainly not an ideal substitute for real sun.



Birds ABSOLUTELY need solid sleep in order to regulate hormones etc. My cockatoo requires 12 hours and it isn't easy, but I have headphones etc that I use in the evening and I put a fan on to drown out noise...my family also talks quietly if in the next room over. Some people even have sleep cages and separate/closed rooms that they use.


Your bird definitely needs to interact with you during waking hours (Whenever those may be) but by switching the bird's schedule, you are depriving it of natural light and I imagine that (light issues aside) you will be fighting a pre-established biological clock, which could lead to temporarily undesirable/neurotic/behavior issues...Not to say that it is impossible (if temporary) but certainly not ideal. Do talk to your vet and good luck!

Before you change anything: are you a hardcore nightowl of are you one of the wandering types?


Yes, just like you have larks and owls (morningperson or not) there is actually a third type that wanders with/ against the clock (going more or less hours in the day than there *are* hours in the day (usually a few more more, if I remember correctly).
And I do not mean the reset by daylight we all have to do!
It's people who's peak productivity can one day be in the morning, over the course of a week or more slowly drops towards afternoon (and evening and even the middle of the night), to give the appearence of a being a morning person weeks later again.

If you are one of the people that is a 'clockwanderer' than you should leave your bird alone and let him/her decide the rythm.
(Sorry- most people will have to adjust their natural rythms anyway... with work and all.)
--was looking for the links to an article about it, no luck ---


Sometimes it has to be the human adapting to the birds needs (or even wishes)

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My previous grey D. was on an 'old folk scedule' when I got her and we never changed it: she was *not* a morning person! (I sort of am).
So any interaction before ten in the morning was met with a "you are probably very nice, but come back later plze" -> she adored the shower...at ten-thirty!
(She was raised by a very old lady with a lot of other things to do, so she was used to this scedule or she jus was not a morning-parrot)

The one I was holliday-sitting was the opposite: he started demanding attention at five o clock ... (You probably guessed it: working household with 2 small children)

(I hate having to get up to pee at night because I know all the birds will be awake the moment I move around ... and feel guilty because of the 'uninterrupted sleep' dogma it's not easy catering to the needs of your parrot sometimes ! )
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They do adapt- but noodles made a good point: it's not about activity hours, it's about interaction as well.

My parrot used to be on my other half's cycle.......he was up til midnight or 1....they would share a late meal then bed time for Baby......she would then get up about 11 am or noon....this only changed when my other half was sick then passed away but it can be done.

Now I get up at 7...but leave Baby covered til 8ish in her sleeping cage. She will demand to go to bed at 8 or 8:30pm.......it's a matter of paying attention to what they want too.....

I work in the evenings and my Timneh loves to stay up late with me. But she is super flexible in this manner she loves napping and actually stays totally quiet till she hears me wake up and make noise. She moves out of her toy she uses for a bed but keeps on sleeping after a drink or a bite to eat. Both I think are kind of not the norm. So she manages to get her 12 hours or more of sleep each day as I think she sleeps a lot while I'm working. I usually put her to bed and then move upstairs to watch a little tv or whatever. But she will fight to not go to bed before shes ready. hope this helps.

We have glass sliding doors the width of the family room where Birdie's cage is located and where she sits with me to watch TV. As soon as it gets dark outside, she is ready for bed. We cover her up and move to the bedroom to watch TV or read until we're ready to turn out the lights. We are up at the crack of dawn and so is she....pacing at the bottom of her cage where she can peek through the cover....ready to come out and start her day.

happycat said:

So I’m sort of a night owl by choice. I work way better at night, with the peace and quiet and no distractions. And when I say night owl...I mean like 3-5 AM to noon night owl
I put a blanket on Jojos cage while he’s sleeping at night so that I don’t keep him up, but I was considering getting blackout curtains for my room so that I could actually get decent sleep in the morning. (Its hard to sleep when it’s bright out and your bird is squawking.)
So, this is a super weird question but, Do yall think it would it be harmful to move his sleep schedule to be the same as mine? As in, keeping the lights on til early morning and using blackout curtains to make it dark til noon? He would be getting the same amount of sleep, but it would be at a..weird time. Im definitely not planning on doing this without getting the O.K from my vet but I don’t want to sound crazy if it’s an absolute no-no haha
I could also put his cage in a different room at night. It’d be inconvenient because I’d have to figure out where to keep him but if it’s better for his health I’ll do it. Or you know..I could actually sleep at Normal People hours. [emoji848]

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Thank you for your replies and insight!
So do yall recommend slowly transitioning him to stay up later by covering him later in the night and uncovering him later in the morning? I always feel too bad to leave the lights on at night because I feel like he can't sleep well like that. (but using the computer in the dark makes my eyes hurt :0)

I thought that birds had circadian rhythms that make them sleep when the sun goes down and wake when the sun comes up. Can that be replicated with human lights and blackout curtains, you think? As long as he gets just as much time out of the cage and a lot of sunlight?

I don’t have too much experience but I kind of feel it depends on the bird. I’ve been sick with a wicked sinus infection and fell asleep on my couch for about 3 hours and Timneh just curls up in one of her spots and sleeps with me. I feel very lucky cause I don’t think all parrots could do this. Especially without getting into trouble. You’ll have to see if he’s able to get enough sleep and not have his health compromised. He may ask to be put to bed. Hope my own situation helps.