Help With Housing Problem

Caitnah

Active member
Mar 24, 2018
267
65
Upstate New York
Parrots
GCC Pineapple
I apologize up front for the lengthy post but was necessary to obtain best possible recommendations.

I am a proud owner of my Pineapple Conure “Buddy”. I’ve had him since a baby and he is now almost four years old.
He is housed in a large cage with an equally large playground next to his cage AND on top.
My current house is three stories and most of my time is spent in an upstairs spare bedroom where my TV and Buddy’s cage is. I have a living room but it is rarely used. This environment has been like this since I’ve had him.
Usually around 7:00p.m. Buddy tells me it’s Nite-Nite time. Even though I may be in the middle of watching a show, he will “insist” that it’s Nite-Nite time. So I shut the TV, give him a treat, cover his cage and shut the bedroom door. This will remain this way until about 7:30 the next morning. This leaves me to do anything else I want in the house without disturbing him.

I may be moving soon to a new ranch house (downsizing) but this time, I WILL be using the living room as the main TV room. Obviously Buddy's cage needs to be in this room also as I do not want him alone in a spare bedroom during the day. The living room is in between the other rooms and this is important to remember.

Here’s the problem… what do I do with him at Nite-Nite time?
Scenario #1 - Leave him in the living room and cover him as usual. But then where do I go? Even if I do things in other rooms, my walking back and forth will keep him awake. Remember, it’s a one-floor rancher and the living room is in the middle of the other rooms.
Scenario #2 - Leave his main cage in a spare bedroom and have him out all day with me. This is not feasible since outside doors will be opened a lot.
Scenario #3 - At night time, roll his cage into a spare bedroom. Again, not feasible due to attached playgrounds and large seed guard getting through doorways.
Scenario #4 - Provide him with a sleep cage in a spare bedroom. This is possible but am concerned that for 4 years he has slept in his regular cage. Worried that this huge change might negatively effect him. I will add this however, when I take him on vacation or a friends house, he is in a decent size travel cage and he has no choice but to spend a lot of time in there…including sleeping.
But transferring him into that sleep cage could be a problem as he might fly off since he likes being out. And being a large one floor, open floor plan house could be problematic in safely getting him back.

Also, I am a senior and sometimes sleeping through the night is a problem. With my current house, I can easily go to other rooms without disturbing Buddy. But a one floor house with the living room in the center poses a problem regarding bothering him if he stays in the living room.

Some may feel I’m being too concerned but his well-being is a priority. And due to all the stress of selling my house and obtaining a new one, my head is in a fog for clear thinking right now.
Would like to hear any recommendations that the members could have.
Thanks.
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,038
8,732
Cleveland area
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
You're not being AT ALL too concerned!

I'm moving, too, with a 37-year-old curmudgeon Rickeybird and my list of worries is endless.
I am voting for #4. I think the history is good, and he's young, and he could get used to this and probably be fine...

Gah!

Good luck, friend.
And good for you for being CONCERNED!
 

T00tsyd

Well-known member
May 8, 2017
1,256
862
UK
Parrots
Green cheek conure - Sydney (Syd) Hatched 2/2017
Go with a sleep cage in a spare room. Syd loves his and like Buddy knows exactly when it's bedtime. The minute I say bedtime he pops on my shoulder ready for the trip to bed. I am also on one floor so his main cage is in the kitchen/diner/living room with plenty of space. It's large on wheels and I tend to position it in different places around the area. His sleep cage is quite small in comparison but then he doesn't move about much in the night. In the morning he jumps on a spare perch to be carried to his day cage or not as is his wish each day but he will go in for breakfast happily.
I feel sorry for you having to govern your day from a bedroom hopefully your new place will give you both a more comfortable lifestyle. When I got the sleep cage it took a few days of him studying it before he was happy to go in but a few treats inside and the opportunity to go in and out at will got him used to it. The same when I moved it to the spare room. I kept returning him to that room with the sleep cage in it for a few days before the first time I put him to bed there, but he was absolutely fine.
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
I have 7 birds, the cages are in my great room. I don't move or cover at night ( 2 really freak/panic if cage is covered, )

I turn down the lights, usually just one on low at night, turn down volume of TV or use those whireless headsets. Mine seem to have done fine with this

Good luck!
 

chris-md

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2010
4,347
2,114
Maryland - USA
Parrots
Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
So I have a #3 arrangement. Parker gets his own room where is main cage is. This has proven an indispensable approach. Parker has smaller cages/stands throughout the house so he can be with us throughout the day. But if we need him out of the way, or it’s bedtime, he goes into his main cage, which is actually a macaw cage.

I don’t like having Parker’s main living quarters on the houses main living area. At bedtime, we stay up later than him which can be disturbing to his sleep (which can have knock on effects for his hormones).

for us, main quarters being his own room has been DiVINE for everyone concerned. Him included.
 

fiddlejen

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2019
1,232
Media
11
1,156
New England
Parrots
Sunny the Sun Conure (sept '18, gotcha 3/'19). Mr Jefferson Budgie & Mrs Calliope Budgie (albino) (nov'18 & jan'19). Summer 2021 Baby Budgies: Riker (Green); Patchouli, Keye, & Tiny (blue greywings).
I would vote for the sleep cage in a more quiet room. If he wants to fly off instead of heading to different room, a sleep cage will be smaller and more portable, you can bring the sleep cage to him at nite-nite time, and then carry him In the cage to the sleep room, and cover the cage etc once it is in the correact location for sleeping.

I would start using the sleep cage / travel cage for sleeping, right away now. BEFORE you actually move. As soon as possible. In your current setup, you might just be placing the sleep cage next to the main cage, or somewhere in the room, a little before bedtime, so for nite-nite time, you place him in the sleep cage. So he will get well used to this routine before you move.

Then in the new space, his routine of using a sleep cage, and the sleep cage itself, will be familiar to him.
 

Cottonoid

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Feb 20, 2022
3,131
10,896
I know this thread is several months old, but I'm rethinking my planned cage/room setup now that I know the bird I'm adopting. It's really helpful to hear what everyone does!
 
OP
Caitnah

Caitnah

Active member
Mar 24, 2018
267
65
Upstate New York
Parrots
GCC Pineapple
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
I started this thread 4 months ago and at that time, I was supposed to move within a few weeks to a new house. Well, due to the ineptness of some realtors and lawyers, that few weeks turned into 4 months before we were able to settle into a new home.
it is a verrrry long story and I will spare you the miserable details suffice it to say that I bought 4 homes in that time Where three fell through due to the above comments.
Buddy and I had to withstand many long car rides, hotel stays, freezing temperatures and living in four different houses until we finally settled in our new home.
The story is long but somewhat interesting and I may post it in its own thread as a tribute to my Buddy. What he had to endure was very difficult and I almost lost him to near freezing temperatures when a propane heater broke down in the middle of the night.
He also had to be carried in his travel cage a quarter mile when it was -5* out in howling wind and snow.
Am happy to say that he came through all this beautifully.
Look for the post in the near future.
 

Cottonoid

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Feb 20, 2022
3,131
10,896
Wow, you and Buddy have been through a lot recently! I'm sorry you had to go through all that housing trouble; I've heard from many friends it can be very difficult to find places where they want to be in the past year.

It must have been so awful having to carry him in that weather - I've had to do it with my small dog after a vehicle breakdown and that was scary enough. Kudos to you for making it through to the other side of all that!
 

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