Where do you keep your bird's cage?

[inge]

Hello,
I recently (about a month ago) "inherited" a dusky conure. I think she is around 5 years old, but that is just a guess. I have never had a bird in my life, so I am trying to learn on the job!
I have read in several places that conures need 12 hours of sleep per night. So I placed her cage in my guest bedroom as it is quiet and unused most of the time. I have a cover for her cage but have not been using it, as it is naturally dark in that room when the sun sets.
She spends a good amount of time outside of her cage with us when we are home. We have two dogs also, who live indoors.
I have also read, however, that the cage should be in the center of activity (e.g. the living room) so that she can hang out with us, even when we are not actively engaged with her.
Should I move her cage? Will it be too loud if she is trying to sleep with the cover on? We go to bed at around 10 pm and get up at 5 am, and I sometimes have to get up to let our puppy outside during the night.
This is the first of many questions!
Thank you!

 

[Kiwibird]

It is ok to keep her in a quieter room until she settles in, but for the long term, a bird should be in the center of the activity during the day, and often the living room or family room is the best place. They are flock animals, and want to be around their "flocks" (your family). I would say so long as she's comfortable in your home, move her out to the busiest room in the house. You may also want to get her a play stand so she has somewhere else to be besides her cage during the day where she won't be getting into trouble.

Now our bird could sleep through a hurricane once he's covered because he got used to noise and lights after he was to bed. We had no other option when we got him, so he learned to deal with it. since you do have the option, if she's a little more sensitive to noise at night, you could just have her sleep in the guest room. Lots of people have birds who will not get good sleep in the living room because of noise or lights past the time the bird goes to bed. The most common solution is having a smaller cage in a quieter part of the house just for sleeping. Best of luck.

 

[Frumpydumple]

Cookie doesn't have a cage. Her play-stand is in the corner in my bedroom, because I spend most of my time in there.

Parrots should normally be in a busy room like Kiwibird said.

 

[inge]

Thanks for the replies.
She does have a play stand, which is on casters, but typically we keep it in the living room.
Today was the first day she actually flew over to it on her own (from my shoulder when I was sitting in a nearby chair), rather than one of us placing her on it.
She definitely needs a cage because of the dogs. The dogs are crated in their own room when we are not home, but they have the run of the house otherwise. She has no fear of them, either!
I tried having her in the living room one night, but it was when we had just brought her home, and even with the cover, I could hear little tiny chirps.
I may try it again now that she is getting more settled.

 

[veimar]

I also got my first conure (GCC) about 6 weeks ago, and we put his cage into my husbands room/office. This room opens to the main hallway and it is the busiest location - we always walk by his cage. But my parrot NEVER sleeps even 10 hours! It must be individual… He usually sleeps 8-9 h at night and he is doing great - very active, happy and playful. He sometimes gets short naps on my shoulder during the day when I work on my computer. But he just won't go to sleep at night - he screams and protests when I cover the cage at 10-11pm and I still hear him moving around the cage at 12am although we try to be very quiet. Around 8-9 am he starts to chirp asking us to remove the cover.
I'm in no position for any advice, just letting you know how we manage our first ever bird. I was paranoid about 12 h sleep at first, but now I just let him go the way he wants.

 

[riddick07]

All mine are caged in my room. It doesn't necessarily get a lot of traffic but they can hear us when we are home since we live in a fairly small place. My cockatoo has full view of the living room from my room so he can see the going ons. I also have 8 though so they don't really need me to talk to them when they can complain to each other. Plus, someone or another is usually out when I'm home. Sometimes all of them which can make for interesting air activity when they startle.

My mothers cockatoo and budgie are in the living room where the major activity is. Ivory, my mothers cockatoo, spends most of her time out of the cage and is usually in the middle of whatever we are doing.

 

[Kiwibird]

It is normal for them to take 10-15 minutes to fall asleep after their covers go on. Kiwi usually eats a little snack before he goes to bed. Some parrots also make noises in their sleep. Not unlike how some dogs whimper while they sleep. And keep in mind they don't naturally live in a dead-silent suburban home. They live in the jungle, which certainly isn't quiet at night.

Edit: As others brought up, they don't all NEED 12 hours at night. Most well adjusted parrots let you know when they're tired: they get cranky, just like a little kid does. Kiwi usually starts getting cranky and makes some loud noises around 8:30/9pm, and we put him to bed. Usually I start to hear him moving around about 7/7:30am and I half uncover his cage to let him wake up and eat his breakfast for about a half hour before I take off the covers and open the cage for the day. He usually takes about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon too. If they're tired, they will sleep during the day too, even if there is a lot going on. They are actually a lot like young children in many aspects, including sleep.

 

[SilverSage]

This has been a topic recently in our house as well. We had our 3 birds in our office with the door open, but we decided they were not getting enough interaction. We had them there for the same reason - sleep. Also, the cage is huge and hard to cover, with the play stand on top where the conure lives (he has a cage - he never uses it. It is kind of just a safety measure for when friends come over with their dogs, or something like that.) I am not sure how covering a cage with a bird living on top would work!

So we moved them to the living room, and they seem much happier here. We try to "tone it down" energy wise about the time it gets dark. We dim the lights and have our relaxation period of the evening. because we get up around 5AM most days, it is not hard to start winding down early. We observe the birds "settling in" for the night about the time it gets dark, and they do not seem too disturbed by the activity that does take place.

I like the idea of the cage in the bedroom and the play stand in the living room. if the dogs are a concern, consider getting a second cage so your bird can be safely contained when necessary, without being isolated from the "flock"

If you are going to put your bird to bed in your room before you get there, I suggest making sure you are ready to crawl straight into bed as soon as you enter the room, or you could end up disrupting her sleep a lot anyway, or even causing a panic if she is startled by light suddenly turning on when she is asleep.

 

[Hotrod]

I keep Hotrod's cage in the guest/computer room, because we have an indoor cat and I like to keep the door shut during the day while we are away at work. But he is out with me every morning before I leave, and every evening until he goes to bed. A lot of times on the weekend and when I am home, I move the cage to the living room. One day when I get him a new, bigger and stronger cage, I will probably move him to the living room full-time.

 

[inge]

I guess I am pretty lucky, Winnie came with a huge cage, an expensive looking tree stand, a travel carrier, and heaps of toys.
Getting a second cage is a good idea, I guess. I never knew how expensive all this bird gear was!
Thanks everyone for the replies. I am going to move her cage today and try it out. She is definitely warming up to us, and I think we will be able to tell if she is less happy out in the living room than in the spare bedroom.

 

[Kiwibird]

Getting a second cage is a good idea, I guess. I never knew how expensive all this bird gear was!
.

Expensive indeed! I just bought mine a little carrier to go on walks, and I think walking may be my main mode of transport for a while:52: Keep your eyes peeled on craigslist and thrift shops for a second hand cage to use as her sleep cage. So long as it's in good condition (no missing bars, sharp edges, rust ext...) you can scrub it down really well and save some money. Plus, a sleep cage doesn't need to be big or fancy like her daytime cage. Just so long as it comfortably fits her (including her tail), if all she will do is sleep in it, no need for huge amounts of movement or lots of toys. It might actually help her sleep better not to have all that stimulus. Plus, a small cage is good for trips to the vet, as a sick cage if she ever gets ill or injured, if you ever go on short trips with her (many people travel with their birds) or emergencies (floods, forest fires, tornados, hurricanes or whatever things may happen in your area where you need to evacuate quickly) where taking a big cage is not an option.

 

[Peeko]

Peeko's cage is in my bedroom/office, which is where I spend my day. He's almost always around me for that reason, whether he's out of his cage or not C:

 

[NandayMom]

My cages are kept in our spare room upstairs. That way I can keep the door closed when I am not home so my dog does not have access to the birds at all.

We also keep our house very cool, so I have a small space heater on a thermostat in that room to keep it at 75 degress (snakes live in that room too).

however, if I am home, Richard is with me, unless I am cooking, then he hangs out in his cage or in the living room on his tree stand until I am done cooking.

 

[inge]

We travel a lot and in fact, cancelled an RV trip when we found out we were taking this bird in. Eventually, a smaller cage for the RV will be in order, along with some kind of backpack carrier, a harness, or something appropriate for being outdoors. I am worried about mosquitoes. Anyway, that's digressing.

I moved Winnie's cage to the living room tonight and she did stay up a little later than usual. Maybe 8 pm. But then she flew over to her cage as if to say "night night" so I covered her up and have only heard a few very soft cheeps...