Is this a bad idea?

[toyaussiemom]

Hi!
My husband and I just bought a Half Moon Conure. He will be arriving on Saturday. This will be our first bird.

We want to use our spare bathroom for our conure to sleep in. His living room cage has wheels on it. Would it be okay to roll the cage from the living room to the bathroom at night so that he can get some rest in the dark? Does he need two cages, one for each room?

I'm worried rolling the cage will confuse him.

Thanks!!

 

[Shoegoo]

Always remove water bowls before rolling a cage from one location to the next.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

It should be fine.

Skittles used to have just one cage and it was NOT on wheels. I had to carry the whole thing into the bedroom at night for him to sleep. It was a pain.

So I bought him a new cage a while back, a bigger one that is on wheels. I used to roll it into the bedroom at night and I think he got a kick out of it. lol.

Eventually, I just got him a separate sleep cage (same exact style as his first cage, so he got used to it really quickly). I only did that cause it was more convenient for me.

But rolling the cage shouldn't be a problem, at least it wasn't for me.

 

[SailBoat]

Can you do it? Yes! Should you do it? Thats more the real question.

Bathrooms are commonly brought into service quickly and when needed, what happens to the Parrot then?

Whatever you define as your Parrot's sleeping room should be the sleeping room!

Wheeling the cage into and out of a sleeping room should not be a great concern for the Parrot. Commonly, they pick-up the change in locations as the fun starts NOW, or time to sleep!

Assure that your cage's wheels roll with ease and whatever will cause a problem is removed. As stated above - remember to remove the water and food prior to the move, unless you are happy to add to your days' effort!

Enjoy!

 

[Birdman666]

The biggest thing I would caution you on there, is make sure that what ever cleaning products you use in the bathroom that strong chemical odor is gone before moving the birds in there.

Inca and Demitre were in our spare bathroom for awhile (when we iived in a smallish apartment (with 11 birds, after I lost my house in the divorce... )

 

[GaleriaGila]

Good for you, for researching and reaching out!
Best of luck to you.

 

[toyaussiemom]

Can you do it? Yes! Should you do it? Thats more the real question.

Bathrooms are commonly brought into service quickly and when needed, what happens to the Parrot then?

Whatever you define as your Parrot's sleeping room should be the sleeping room!

Wheeling the cage into and out of a sleeping room should not be a great concern for the Parrot. Commonly, they pick-up the change in locations as the fun starts NOW, or time to sleep!

Assure that your cage's wheels roll with ease and whatever will cause a problem is removed. As stated above - remember to remove the water and food prior to the move, unless you are happy to add to your days' effort!

Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the advice!!

The bathroom the bird would be in wouldn't be used at night. We would use the master bathroom so we wouldn't disturb him

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

My only concern with the bathroom, is the germs. Studies have actually shown that germs and bacteria from flushing the toilet can travel up to 20ft in the air.

Personally, if it were me and I were using a spare bathroom as a sleep area for my fid- I'd thoroughly disinfect the bathroom and be sure it is then properly ventilated and then put it out of commission. At least the toilet.

 

[toyaussiemom]

I have another question:

My husband has some plants that we know aren't good for the bird. Is it only harmful to eat the plants, or is it harmful to breathe them too?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

In most cases its eating the plants - but I personally wouldn't let the bird be directly exposed to the ability to chew on the plants (ie, allowing him/her free roam near the plants where he/she may likely chew on them.)

 

[Bobioden]

Why not just get a dark sheet and cover the cage at night. Saves you from moving the cage back and forth.

 

[RavensGryf]

Why not just get a dark sheet and cover the cage at night. Saves you from moving the cage back and forth.

I was thinking this too... can you do this? Many of us just leave the cages in their permanent place and cover with a sheet or cover of some kind.

 

[toyaussiemom]

We ended up just getting a second cage. We didn't want to leave him in the living room because we stay up until 10pm and since we wake up at 6am, we're putting the bird to bed at 8pm. We want him to have a peaceful sleep instead of having to listen to us talk and watch TV. So far so good, he's a great bird!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Given your situation- getting the second cage was a smart thing to do.

I ended up having to do that with Skittles. Back when I was having a lot of behavioral issues with him (the first few years) I think a lot of it was because he wasn't getting enough sleep.

I'm a night owl and normally don't go to bed til between 2a-4a and I normally put Skittles to bed between 7p-9p and wake him up around 11a. So when he was in the living room he'd really only get about 7 or 8 hours of 'quiet' per night which is just a little more than half of what suns actually need (11-14 hrs per night).

Plus, I sleep better having him in the bedroom with me. His sleep cage is right next to my bed.

 

[OneHorseRanch]

We started with a small cage for Sheldon. We found that he was just to busy and needed a larger one to move around. We use the smaller one as his sleeping cage. I keep it in the spare room where it's dark and quiet. We have our evening routine around 7pm. He's usually in his room no later than 8.

If he has to stay with the sitter, than we just move his large cage with him. He's comfortable with it and they dont have to handle him. He's got a sleeping cot he hangs out in at night. Works out well.

 

[Shoegoo]

I turn the lights out out and cover the cage with a towel. Anything larger than a towel and she gets upset.

My GCC stays in the dining room. Keeps me on my toes (cleaning) and keeps her where she can be seen and get more attention. :01:

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

When I got Skittles his sleep cage, it was actually exactly the same style cage as the first regular cage I had gotten him- so he took right to it. I was able to get it in blue, to match my bedroom- his first cage was green.

With me being such a night owl, him having quiet during the night is important. I think part of the reason I had such behavior issues with him those first years was because he was grouchy from not getting enough quiet sleep.

I sleep better with him in the bedroom anyways, his cage is right next to my bed. While I do snore, Skittles is a deep sleeper so that doesn't have much of an impact. Plus, I don't go to bed til between 2a-4a and he goes to bed around 8p so he has a good 6-8hrs of total quiet sleep. I actually put him to bed when he wants to go which is usually between 7:15-9:15, depending on when he got up. I don't put him to bed if he isn't tired. He's good at letting me know when he's tired and when he wants to wake up.

I uncover him around 11a and he's out of his cage for the rest of the day. He doesn't get up at 11a, that's just when I uncover him- he's usually already up.

He does get mad if I sleep all day, though. Unless I nap in my bed, in which case he'll go into his sleep cage and play. But if I try to nap in the living room chair, he gets mad.