Birds must sleep at dark?

[Maxo]

I am a reporter at a newspaper. I'm going to get a parrot soon. I have plenty of time during the day to take him out, but there are times when I get home late because of work and I stay up for a couple hours at night.

Is it unhealthy to wake the bird up and take him out to pay more attention to him, or should I always let him sleep? For example, I'm working on my laptop now for the next hour. If I had my choice, my future parrot would be playing on his stand next to me while I work. Should I keep his cage covered instead, though? What do you guys think about this?

 

[Mimsy01]

I don't know about all parrots. However, Ms Foofany is not to be awoken before she gets her beauty sleep.

My sweet girl who gives sweet kisses and says nice things to me will make me want to find a priest for an exorcism when awoken early.

First she gives violent kisses to her sleep hut. Loud kissy sounds, that yes sound like you don't want them. Then if I haven't gotten the picture she will come out and bang her beak on the side of the cage while saying eff u over and over again. If I still somehow have not gotten the point she charges me bent over like a linebacker and tells me bad things.

If her sleep is interrupted for any length of time that she missed sleep during the night, she will be super unpleasant the next day, all day. She will do things like pretend to still love me and even offer her little foot for an up...but she didn't really want that she just wanted to bait me in so she could bite me and say more bad things to me. All food will be tossed to the floor in a fit of temper.

If other parrots are like her, I would say it's definitely a bad idea to interrupt sleep for fear your fingers and perhaps your feelings.

 

[LeaKP]

Peep our GCC goes inside his cage (he is free whenever we are home so he has hours of free time) and begins to make "I'm ready to sleep" noises. If we make the mistake to neglect him, he goes full-on crazy squawk. This happens every evening between 7:30 - 8:00

 

[Newbsi]

You do NOT keep Gollum up past 7pm.... or things could get ugly. I get her up between 5am and 730am. She is out of the cage about 9-10 hours of the day (sometimes more).

 

[Flboy]

Ditto on what everyone said goes for JoJo and Bongo. Add a bit of cayenne!
Having said that, I am guilty of keeping JoJo up till 10:30 many nights. When I see her running around as if she is on a sugar high, I realize the time and put her in. Same room as the Royal TV, but with a 3/4 cover till lights out! She just zones out and does her quiet talking/singing.

 

[Anansi]

I think, within reasonable limits and depending on your particular bird, a fid can be kept up a little late. But this should be done with consideration for the next day and the amount of sleep they're getting overall. My ekkies, for instance, rarely go to sleep before 10. But they catch up the next day. And you have to watch for signs as well. In their own way, they'll let you know if they are ready for bed.

My Jolly, for instance, who would usually love nothing more than to cling to me like one of those face-huggers from the Aliens movies, will simply fly down to his cage. Maya, on the other hand, who isn't quite so proficient a flier, will grip my finger or thumb a little more tightly than usual. They do communicate their wants. We just need to pay attention.

Optimally, though, you're aiming for between 10 & 12 hours of sleep.

Oh, one other thing to keep in mind. Increased daylight hours can trigger hormonal behavior. So if this starts happening, you may have to stick with an earlier bedtime hour. Just something to watch out for.

 

[Kiwibird]

Birds will adapt to your schedule pretty easily even if it's not by the sun, especially if it's consistent. If she goes to bed later though, you'll need to wake her later. Parrots need about 10 hours of sleep a night, and some may need more.

 

[Jayyj]

Alice has adapted very well to my schedule - on a week day I'm out during the day, so we have our time together in the evenings and she catches up on sleep during the day. When I'm home during the day she's usually pretty lively up to early afternoon but will cat nap throughout the afternoon and she'll still run out of steam a little earlier in the evening. It's the ideal scenario really, I don't feel so bad about leaving her during the day and I get loads of time with her when I am home.

Neither of us are particularly enthusiastic early risers so she generally gets the best part of ten hours uninterrupted overnight, plus naps.

 

[chris-md]

I'm in the late night camp. My partner and I work for the same company so have the same schedule. This means that were out of the house for about 11 hrs a day (home by usually 7-730). We keep my male eclectus up until about 11pm so he can get out of cage time and personal attention. If he went to bed at 7 or 8 like others here, he would never get any attention or get out of the cage.

 

[veimar]

I'm a night owl and I used to have my fids to stay up late with me. But after my flock increased to 7 birds they have pretty strict schedule, 10:00pm time to go to bed. I think they really benefit from this routine. We come home late once in a while, but if it's past 10 I just cover the cages and let them keep sleeping. It depends on how late you come, but I don't think it's a good idea to wake up your bird that's already fallen asleep and let it play with you.

 

[itsjoyceduh]

Birds will adapt to your schedule pretty easily even if it's not by the sun, especially if it's consistent. If she goes to bed later though, you'll need to wake her later. Parrots need about 10 hours of sleep a night, and some may need more.

So even if they sleep at 10pm they won't wake up until 7-8 ? Even if the sun is out ? I always thought they would wake up when the suns up! Ahaha oh yeah my vet told me they amazons are super sensitive so even if you put then to sleep at 10 if there are any noises they will not fall asleep and they will wake up when the first person in the house is up. So we put Bella to sleep at 10 and she has her own room downstairs I would make sure what ever me or my parents watching upstairs is not loud enough for her to hear down in her room. My dad wakes up and leave the house at 6.. So I'm thinking she's up at 6..

 

[Ann333]

Pumpkin adapts well to my sleep schedule. My fiance switches back and forth between day and night shifts and while i am on summer break i switch with him. I tried to keep Pumpkins schedule the same, but he wasnt having any of it. If im awake he wants to be up and out of the cage, even if i try to cover it, he just talks and plays with his jingle ball. So i gave up and Pumpkin stays up with us and sleeps while we are sleeping. I cover his cage so the sunlight doesnt bother him during the day. When my college classes start up again in a week both of us will have a more solid routine again.

I would say listen to your bird either way. If he/ she wants to sleep, then obviously let them. But if they want to be up with you then let them, as long as they still get the recommended 10-12 hours.

 

[jasper19]

I think it just depends on the bird as well.

Angels cage is in the same room as my computer. Sometimes i will stay up a few extra hours until say 11 or 12midnight. Instead of the normal 10pm bedtime. I just leave the lights dim, and she usually will just hang out, then eventually go into her cage to her sleep spot and chill there and seemingly nod off to sleep here and there. She is always awake when i finally leave the room. But it doesn't seem to bug her much, or have ill effects.

 

[SailBoat]

Ten to Twelve Hours of Quiet Sleep and Darkness​

One of the most common problems found in rescued and re-homed Amazons, but also one of the sources for behavioral problems with all parrots is: The Sleep Deprived Parrot.

For a very long time, the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of Parrot Behavior have strongly recommended ten to twelve hours of quiet sleep and darkness, ‘Every Day’, as one of the very first steps in treating and calming stressed parrots.

I have been a strong advocate of this tool and took it as a fundament Fact-Of-Life with an Amazon. Well, from the mouth of a six year old, came a strong retort to that position. As “She” so clearly pointed-out; why does Darby need to sleep so long, has he been bad? All the other birds outside are still up? And, “She” was 100% correct. All the birds outside were still busy taking care of the end-of-the-day and poor Darby was covered for the night!

The fact is; in late spring, here in the Great White North, we are experiencing just short of 15 hours of sun light in early May. And, it will top out at just short of 16 hours of sun light in mid-June. Since, the vast majority of Amazons reside inside of the 45th Parallel in either the North or South Hemisphere; they are all spending part of the year with much greater amounts of day light than ten to twelve hours.

Faced with this reality, what should my answer be? It would have been simple to have provided a quick short Adult style answer. But a Six Year Old, well that’s a very different story, isn’t it! --“BUT, WHY?”—

So Why Do Our Amazons Really Need Ten to Twelve Hours of Quiet Sleep and Darkness?

Unlike us modern Humans, our parrot’s day truly does end with the onset of darkness. During the longer nights of winter, they naturally sleep longer and during the shorter days of summer, they naturally sleep less. OK, so there goes the whole fact based thing of parrots needing ten to twelve hours of quiet sleep and darkness. Or does it?

It is only with the “Light-Up-The-Night” presents of us Humans that problems for our Amazons develop. With the time shifting of most Homes, there is only a “few hours” each night that the home is in fact dark, let alone quiet. Night after night, week after week, and month after month of three-to-six hours of quiet sleep and darkness (and sometimes even less) will have any Amazon IN-YOUR-FACE!

In addition, it is very important to remember that less then ten to twelve hours of darkness in late winter sets the parrot’s hormonal pattern in to motion or keeps it going. The result of keeping your parrot in a World of limited darkness is a never ending hormone season and all the “FUN” that accompanies that environment.

How many hours of quiet sleep and darkness is your Amazon getting? Next time you are faced with a behavioral problem; first check how much “REAL” quiet and dark sleeping time your Amazon is truly getting. You may be very surprised just how little good sleep your Amazon may in fact be getting. It just may be that you deserve to have your Amazon IN-YOUR-FACE!


Amazons can adjust to our world as along as we understand that if problems develop and we are the one's limiting their sleep. It is our responsibility to adjust to meet their needs and allow them greater sleep. Keep the room darker into the morning hours may help, but if you switch your sleep schedule on the weekends, or non-work days. You are very likely to have problems!