Do you need to have a cage cover?

I have heard some controversy over whether or not to use a cage cover. What are the pros and cons, do you really need one?:34:

Birds aren't covered in the wild, so they don't *NEED* one... but if there are shadows or lights or things that move about at night that could startle them, then a cover could potentially be good.


I do not cover my birds. Never have.

I've never covered my birds until recently. I cover my Alexandrine, but not my Mynah. I started because he would very definitely "go to bed" when he was ready and I thought he'd be less disturbed by us moving around if he was covered. Also we have a dog and McCoy was scared of seeing him so leaving a portion of his cage covered allowed me to slowly introduce them because McCoy had a safe part of his cage to look at the dog from.

I just use a dark coloured kingsize duvet cover and put it over the cage!

Parrots need A LOT of sleep, so if their cage is near a window, or somewhere not completely silent and dark, I think you need a cover. I had a cranky YN Amazon whose personality totally changed for the better once I started covering her cage.

I never cover mine, but as others suggested, there can be a need.

If you choose to cover, ensure a sturdy material and check it often. I nearly lost a Goffins years ago because he was housed near an uncovered window, and a hole was chewed through the flimsy material. Fortunately, I happened to pass by and noticed his head stuck in a hole. He was struggling to remove himself, and might have twisted the material further in panic.

What Scott said, plus an added warning to make sure their nails aren't able to get hooked in the material. I used to cover my birds, and I also had a nightlight for them, but now that they're in the aviary I can't really do that. They still have the nightlight, though.

I used to cover Nico’s cage the first few nights he came home, but I don’t anymore. I realized he screams when I cover his cage because we live in the same room and he can’t see me. The only way I can stop the bedtime screaming is by getting into bed at the same time he does. I think he likes to feel like we do everything together.
But yeah, no cover for me. I think it just depends on your bird’s reaction to it.

I agree that this is a "situational" or "case by case basis" kind of thing...There are birds who have night-frights or become suddenly woken by things and need covered...if you keep your birds in your living room/family room/den where you watch TV or talk a lot after their bedtime then they need covered...some birds just don't go to sleep when put inside their cages, even in the dark, if they're not covered...it's just up to the owner and their particular bird...

***If you find that your bird(s) are not going to sleep when they are put to bed inside of their cages, or if you think you may be keeping them up, etc., then you may want to at least try covering them to see if it helps...

Also, keep in-mind that they do need 12 full hours of sleep every night, and having them on a "Natural Light Schedule" is extremely important to controlling hormones, especially in female birds who are continually laying-eggs, so you usually do want their cages near a window or at least in a room WITH a window, so that they can see both the sunrise and the sunset every day, so sometimes covering them with a transparent cover/sheet (so they can still see the sunrise/sunset) is necessary as well...

I have a black "Cozy Cover" that I have used for Nike since I got her. She gets 12 hours+ of dark every night which is especially beneficial during the hormonal periods.

bill_e said:

I have a black "Cozy Cover" that I have used for Nike since I got her. She gets 12 hours+ of dark every night which is especially beneficial during the hormonal periods.

Click to expand...

Levi also on both the cozy cover & 12+ hours!
I didn't initially cover him. His CAV recommended it after our 1st visit.
Now we have a ritual where he anticipates me throwing the cover over him every night. He loves it!!

Nike doesn't fuss either. The cover goes on and she quiets down and goes to sleep. Sometimes I neglect to put on the cover right away and even though the room is dark, I can her chirping her quiet sounds. With the cover on nothing....dead silence.

I agree with all of the above! Something to keep in mind, some birds are terrified by the covers! Our first buddy, Tango, would scream bloody murder if you covered her! For my JoJo, it is instant quiet down and get ready to go to sleep!

Something to think about. Some covers like the Cozy cover are designed so that they can be left on the cage all the time. They have a front flap that you can flip up. While every bird is different, I would think that a number of birds that complain about the cover are actually being frightened by the act of putting the cover on.

If you had a sleep cage with a cover on all the time, front opened up in the morning and the bird taken out, you might find that they do all right with the cover.

Read up on sleep and see how important it is for parrots. If you have a bird room that can be blackened and quiet then that's great. Having a bird even in a computer room where it's quiet but the screen saver is changing the light or where you're quietly browsing this forum, does not meet the requirement of dark and quiet from what I've read.