Sleeping

[Merlee]

My YNA is about 27 years so I have been told and I know they are couch potatoes, but does that mean they do a lot of sleeping throughout the day?

I take my little boy out onto a play stand in the kitchen and he usually eats or sits and talks for a bit. After 45 minutes or so he goes to sleep. This evening I had him on my arm for about 30-45 minutes and he started blinking like he wanted to go to sleep. Is this normal?

He doesn't play much in his cage nor on his play stand. Is this typical behavior of an older bird? I have seen videos of amazons and they are into all kinds of mischief or just more active then mine in comparison. He doesn't show any symptoms of being ill.

What should he be doing at this age?

 

[henpecked]

Alot depends on his former lifestyle. If he was left alone ,no toys, no enrichment, etc, then that's what he's used to. Sometimes you can change things for the better by adding some excitement. Keep him near the center of activity , include him in daily activities, socialize,socialize,socialize. You will have to work at it but he can learn to have "fun". have you discovered a favorite type of toy yet? As far as the amount of sleep he's getting, my aviary zons who go to bed with the sun still take naps during the day. So do the wild amazons, at least they seem to have "quiet hour" after lunchtime.

 

[Merlee]

I don't think he was ever alone and was fully flighted so he could come and go as he pleased. I think he sat a lot on the owner's shoulder because that is his preference with me. When he is out, he is on a play stand in the kitchen because that is where I spend the majority of my time. Actually I have play stands in most of the rooms I use and he ignores the toys on them too. If you go back to the thread "Yellow Nape for Sale", there are pictures of toys hanging from the ceiling so he had access to them. I took his toys with me when I got him so the transition would be easier, but he ignores them too.

The only toys he plays with are made of cardboard and chews on thin rope, but only in his cage. I have cardboard toys and rope toys on the play stand but he ignores them too.

I noticed he will wake up early in the morning around 6:30-7 and he will talk a bit and then go back to sleep around 9. Maybe I should rename him Sleepy. lol.

Richard, your bird is older than mine. What does she do all day?

 

[SandyBee]

Bosley isn't a big toy fan unless I'm playing too. Bosley is happy flying, chatting, preening and foraging. I hide things like treats around the house that he looks for. I've had to birdie proof lots of rooms LOL.
When I'm not home he likes to sleep and watch TV.

 

[henpecked]

She sits,, waiting on me,the dogs, my wife, the mail man. She can see the gate and knows exactly what is going on. It might be i'm gone for weeks, or gone fishing for 3 days, i could leave every day at 6 am and back at dark. OR i might be home around her 24/7 for months at a time. She's very well adjusted,,socialized, her flock is large and then again she can entertain herself for days. I worry she isn't active enough and make up games (physical, rough and tumble) She loves to play rough. She doesn't play with a lot of toys but foot toys are a favorite. The cat balls with the bell inside or the little soccer balls with the bell. She'll throw them off the cage if your around to pick them up. or she'll flip on her back and play by herself if you aren't. A well adjusted bird ,especially an amazon, can adapt and be happy in if given a good foundation . When they've been socialized (like your bird sounds like) they just need to feel comfortable and safe. A active,interactive flock will let their personality blossom. Stay involved, i think things will improve . Only happy/healthy birds play.Don't expect miracles , a couple of years from now things will be so different. Jakiepoo and i have been putting up with each other for a long time, LOL.

 

[Merlee]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I see improvement but it is like two steps forward, one step back. I try daily to interact with him with a toy of some sort. I think he feels comfortable because he seeks me out if I am in another room. The sleeping bothers me because he is not active enough to warrant the amount of sleeping he does. They are catnaps and when he wakes up, he is a little chatterbox. I wish I could video tape what he does when I am not home for my peace of mind.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hunter plays like the Capt's Jackiepoo. She LOVES it rough. And once she is all riled up, she attacks her toys like there's no tomorrow. But she takes naps during the day as well....unless someone is visiting, then she has a WHOLE lot to say.

 

[SandyBee]

Bosley Likes rough play too, that is the one time he will attack toys. Also his favorites are foot toys!!!

 

[Pajarita]

In my personal experience, a parrot that sleeps after breakfast is a parrot that is not feeling well. Has he been given a complete physical: visual exam, complete blood work (CBC, chemistry, bile acids), choanal and anal swabs, fecal and full body X-ray?

 

[Merlee]

He had been to the vet when I brought him home and everything came back fine.

I do not know what his activity level was like at his previous home and I am not going to ask because it will just open a bad can of worms. That is why I am wondering what the typical energy level was for an amazon.

What does your bird do and for how long. I need something to compare with so I can decide if I need to see a vet. There is nothing physically wrong that I can see. Maybe that's just his temperament. Animal temperments are different so I am not ready to contact the vet yet. I know at the previous home he stayed up late with the owner so it's possible that his body adapted to sleeping during the day so he could stay up late. I have had him only 7 months so maybe he is still cautious. Also, I was told he was rarely caged so maybe he is still transitioning.

 

[SandyBee]

Bosley is 35, he stays pretty active when I am home. He flies a lot, preens, plays with me, follows me around the house. Not much of a toy guy unless we are playing together, he drops I pick up,or toss, or tug of war.

He has rest times where he likes to cuddle, get preened or just chat.
He pushes himself to stay awake when I am home, If i go out he uses that time to nap or rest quietly waiting for me to return.
I also find the weather plays a huge roll, on sunny days he is more active, on cloudy days he is quieter and on really rainy days he loves to sit and listen to the rain, we open the windows so he can hear it and often makes singing sounds..

 

[Pajarita]

All my birds with the exception of the budgies, which are non-stop, follow the same schedule, they wake up when there begins to be light in the sky, eat breakfast, bathe/interact/fly around - then around noon, they start slowing down and they take a rest/nap for about two hours - they start getting active again and it continues to 'grow' until they start calling for their dinner when the sun is half-way down to the horizon, they eat dinner, start slowing down (some do the evening calls then), go to their favorite roosting spot and chill (some preen, some talk to themselves, some preen their mates, etc) until they fall asleep.