Amount of sleep?

[Iago]

How important is the 12-14 hours covered "sleep" time? I work a lot and in order to spend an hour or two with him each day he is only getting around 8 or 9. Is this ok?

 

[Bobioden]

I guess it depends on how they act after 8 or 9 hours. I know Maxx needs a minimum of 10 hours or he is a total brat. Each bird is different so if yours does OK on 8-9 hours you should be fine. I know if Maxx gets 12 hours he is a much happier bird.

 

[Bird_Mom_to_Coby_the_GW]

I personally don't ever cover Coby's cage for sleep. I always have a cover draped over the back corner of his cage where he always sleeps. He will nap back there during the day at times but his regular night time sleep is with the actual daylight hours. He is always well rested and he has a wonderful temperament so I definitely don't think he's sleep deprived. This being said I think that as long as your feathered friend has a place he feels comfortable napping at if he feels tired then he should be perfectly fine with your schedule.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Ozzie gets about 12+ hours of sleep daily. He is out of his cage at lease 6 hours daily, he gets about 3-4 hours to spend with me, and the rest he would just take naps, play with his toys and play with my dog.

 

[Iago]

He has his own sleeping cage in my room. He usually only gets 1-2 hours with me and I think that may be why he doesn't like anybody else. Today I only saw him for 1/2 hour due to work and other errands I needed to run. I just start to feel bad that I don't think I'm spending the time with him that I should. I'm also thinking about going back to school which wont help things either

 

[nicolee003]

Maybe think about getting a second bird to keep each other company, and if not just make sure your one has plenty of toys and treats in it's cage. My first conure used to sleep 8 hours a night and my current conure sleeps 10 hours

 

[Iago]

Maybe think about getting a second bird to keep each other company, and if not just make sure your one has plenty of toys and treats in it's cage. My first conure used to sleep 8 hours a night and my current conure sleeps 10 hours

I thought about a second conure. My concern with this is still not giving either of them enough time during the day. An odd thing about Iago, he has absolutely no interest in toys. I have no idea why so I'm worried he is just sitting there bored all day when I'm at work.

 

[wenz2712]

I cover Codie at 9pm and get him up at 8.30pm

 

[nicolee003]

Maybe think about getting a second bird to keep each other company, and if not just make sure your one has plenty of toys and treats in it's cage. My first conure used to sleep 8 hours a night and my current conure sleeps 10 hours

I thought about a second conure. My concern with this is still not giving either of them enough time during the day. An odd thing about Iago, he has absolutely no interest in toys. I have no idea why so I'm worried he is just sitting there bored all day when I'm at work.

If you got a second one you wouldn't need to give them as much attention because they would have each other! Do you have different types of toys available for him? Foraging, toys with bells, mirrors etc? Also try putting a small box at the bottom of the cage. My first conure absolutely loved this. He would run in and out and scream while he was inside it (it was too cute).

 

[Grenage]

9pm latest for bed time, with him being woken up at 8am. I may on occasion watch TV late, so I let him hide under a blanket on my lap.

 

[MonicaMc]

Depending on time of year, my birds get 9-14 hours of sleep.


I don't believe that parrots must get 12 hours of sleep year round. In fact, I feel as if providing 12 hours of sleep year round may be setting some birds up for hormonal problems down the road.


But then, I don't necessarily agree to keeping parrots to a strict routine. If a bird becomes accustomed to routine and all of a sudden you change something, the bird might react negatively.... so why not spice things up and try and keep a little variety in their daily lives so that when something *is* different, it wont phase them?

 

[SandyBee]

I agree Monica,
I don't keep ours on a rigid schedule at all. They do get between 8 - 12 hours a sleep.
we have some things that are typical, but our weekday routines alter from our weekend and holiday routines.
Depends on the day and depends on the mood, they seem well adjusted with this.

 

[Bobioden]

I cover Codie at 9pm and get him up at 8.30pm

Wow, 23 1/2 hours is a bit much

 

[nicolee003]

I think you really should just leave it up to your bird. When mine is ready for bed he goes into his happy hut (usually between 9-11) then I roll his cage into the bedroom and cover it. When he's ready to wake up in the morning he yells for me (normally around 8-9:30)

 

[Iago]

I think you really should just leave it up to your bird. When mine is ready for bed he goes into his happy hut (usually between 9-11) then I roll his cage into the bedroom and cover it. When he's ready to wake up in the morning he yells for me (normally around 8-9:30)

That's still quite a bit of time. I tend to wake Iago up in the morning, which has been around 6 lately and still only get to see him for around an hour before I feel he needs to sleep again. This stretch is just getting hard...He has a smaller sleeping cage in my room and a bigger day cage in the family room.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

It is interesting to hear how different habits for our fids develop. Pritti gets about 10 hours average sleep a night. When it is less, he naps ALOT during the day, which is fine because he seems to know when he is ready for a nap. He's a lot like a little kid at night he will be obviously in need of sleep-time, but he will not go off my shoulder and enter his cage. He runs to the other side of shoulder. So I let him hang and usually within 5 to 15 minutes, I try again and he's inevitably gives in.

I don't cover him, but I keep lights and sounds to a minimum wherever he is sleeping (he has places in 2 rooms for that).