Please, I need advice - I'm concerned about Cody's sleep.

[WannaBeAParrot]

I need to figure out the best sleeping solution so that Cody gets enough sleep. She's in large great room in an open floor plan, high ceiling house. Since she goes up to sleep perch on her own about 5:30pm nightly and snuggles in with her fuzzy buddy, I know she hears noise from kitchen, or tv area, or talking. No way is she getting 8 or more hours sleep per day. Thanks for your valued advice.

• -Cody: 5 1/2 month-old Blue-Crowned Conure. "Her" sex is unknown.
• -Adopted 4 weeks ago from a local wildlife center. There since shortly after hatching. Hand fed.
• -NEVER sleeps during the day.
• -Cage is in front of large window at one end of large living room/great room wand doesn't to sleep.
• -I close doors, cover her on three sides, put a free-standing room screen to further block from the rest of the big room. Dim and lower lights and sounds and lately shut down the main rooms in house, but I can't shut my house down at 5:30pm every night.

??? Move her cage into the Den (which is actually a bedroom 15' x 12') with big window??? How long to transition her for cage moving?
??? Set up a sleeping cage in the quiet guest bedroom, which is currently empty of furniture??? Size? What's in it? How do I transition her?
??? Let her get used to the sounds -- I hate this idea because I don't want her sleep deprived since is so young and still adjusting to her new home and notices all the sounds. I hear her awake in there.

She misses the other birds alot, I think. She was raised in the nursery at the wildlife center They said there were about 8 babies at the same time.

 

[veimar]

I'm not sure if it's a problem. We have our 5 birds in the dining-living room area, and they go to bed around 8-9:30pm. I cover their cages completely with thick dark covers. We walk around, talk and cook there, even practice piano or viola, but they don't seem really bothered by this. Jungle is not quiet at night, and birds just sleep through the familiar noises that don't pose a danger. The only thing that actually bothers my birds (they sometimes start chirping) is when the forced air heater goes on, but we cannot help this. I had them for a while, and they are very healthy and active - so I don't think walking around or talking is bothering the birds too much unless it's really loud.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

and birds just sleep through the familiar noises that don't pose a danger.

Thanks for the input. Did you do that with your birdies when they were babies? Or did it just happen over time? That would be my preference, so she can rest if there's stuff going on. That's how it was with Pritti, but Cody has only been here 1 month and is under 6 months and still gets that "high alert" look and posture with every little sound. I can hear her awake every time there's any sound, creak, etc.

I'm just concerned that she's not getting enough sleep for her age and energy level. She eats soooooo much but is also highly active all the time.

 

[JellyBean]

I had a problem with my little conure JellyBean trying to get him to sleep - he needs 12 hours per night! We had his cage in the main open-plan room in the house and covered it at nigh... just didnt work. Finally, the vet recommend a small (canary size) cage is another room that is completely covered.. has worked wonders; JellyBean goes to "bed" at 8pm at night into his sleeping tent in the cage... there is not a peep out of him until 7.30am next morning! He had zero problem adjusting. I once looked in on him and saw him at the bottom of the tent all snuggled up... was too cute for words!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

I had a problem with my little conure JellyBean trying to get him to sleep - he needs 12 hours per night! We had his cage in the main open-plan room in the house and covered it at nigh... just didnt work. Finally, the vet recommend a small (canary size) cage is another room that is completely covered.. has worked wonders; JellyBean goes to "bed" at 8pm at night into his sleeping tent in the cage... there is not a peep out of him until 7.30am next morning! He had zero problem adjusting. I once looked in on him and saw him at the bottom of the tent all snuggled up... was too cute for words!

Thanks for sharing. How did you start JellyBean off in the new sleep cage? Did you introduce the cage and room over time, or just bring her into the new room/cage one night and cover her and say g'nite?

 

[veimar]

I can hear her awake every time there's any sound, creak, etc.

I'm just concerned that she's not getting enough sleep for her age and energy level. She eats soooooo much but is also highly active all the time.

But you guys sleep too, right? Why wouldn't you adjust her sleeping time to yours (+2-3 hours before/after). The reason we put our birds to sleep pretty late (they never want to go to sleep!) is that we want them to sleep as much as possible the same hours we sleep. I don't know your schedule, but 5:30 sounds way too early to me - she must be up around 4-5am. Maybe it could be adjusted to 8-9pm so she gets better sleep when you sleep as well. And thick dark breathable covers are really helpful (and warm).

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Veimar, I would love for Cody to be on the same sleep schedule as me, but my sleep schedule is kind of crazy. Also, because she is a baby, am wondering if it would be healthy for me to make her stay up for a few hours longer than when she is ready to sleep. It's si awkward for me trying to figure out what's right for a baby conure. Pritti was 33 when he went to fly forever in Rainbow heaven, so babyhoid wasn't an issue.

Even 8 or 9 pm would still mean Cody would be exposed to any activity in great room, entry, kitchen. Today I brought her in to the guest bedroom and had her hanging out on top and inside the cage I would like to try as a sleeping cage. She seemed content hanging out there. I guess I should just try bringing her in there when it gets dark out, but that is already later than when she usually heads up to her sleeping perch.

a friend in the same area of FL said 3 of her 4 birds also get themselves in sleep mode around 5-5:30 this time of year. Her CAG stays up til about 7:30, but the Too and B&G Mac early. Maybe it's our sun.

 

[veimar]

Oh, it must get dark faster there - here 5-6 pm is a top of activity! Are you sure they go to sleep for the whole night and not for a nap? My fids have naps anytime during the day. There is a dark corner with a curtain on the end of their play stand (it takes the whole dining room wall) where anybody can go and sleep during the day, and they like to do that, but no longer that half an hour or so.
My green cheek conure slept less than 8 h when he was a baby. He was in the same room with me and we went to sleep together, but he always woke me up in the morning. If you are worried about your baby being disturbed by noise why won't you put her in a guest room as you mentioned? or in the bedroom with you - people usually don't enter the bedroom much before they go to sleep.

 

[Kiwibird]

Just let her be and she will eventually adjust to the noises and activities. Try covering on all 4 sides too. The rainforest isn't silent and still at night! It's perfectly natural for them to be hearing stuff "after the sun sets".

And on a personal note, Kiwi usually rests from about 4-5pm, before dinner. His bedtime is 9pm. We are up far later than him, and he's fast asleep when we're talking and lights are on It took him a few months to get into that routine after we got him, and he's been fine since.

 

[drj130]

When I brought Pat home, I was working the graveyard shift (11-7). I would sleep on and off during the day, and spend time with Pat during the times I would get up. I'd start getting ready for work around 9:30pm (If I didn't have school that night) and be out the door around 10:15pm. I let Pat stay up/uncovered until 10p and let him out/uncover him around 8am. Not working right now, but I'm still following the same times and Pat is 7 months old.

 

[Anansi]

I've got two angles for you on this. On one hand, in my experience parrots definitely adjust to background noise levels. Just like human babies. When my sons were first born, I made it a point not to have everyone whispering or turning down the volume on the television every time they took a nap. The result? My children can sleep through a marching band at need. (Not that I've ever had the need to host a marching band in my home, but just saying!)

I did the same thing with my birds. As long as the lights are completely off in their area, they'll go right off to sleep. They are only disturbed by noise in their immediate vicinity. (The family room)

That said, however, I also often employ night cages for both of them. Not because they are necessary for them to get a good night's sleep, but because it's good for them to feel comfortable with a smaller, carrier type cage. That way, there's no battle when it's time to go to the vet. Or when we're going somewhere else for a visit. Or if there are a ton of people over until late at night (as there are limits to even their acclimation to noise levels) and they need to be put in another room to sleep.

As for your question about how to transition them to a sleep cage, I've always just done it. No fuss. No fanfare. I find that birds often stress over the things that we make a big fuss over. They're very sensitive to what we're feeling. So I just put them in like it's no big deal, and they respond accordingly. As long as you take her out once she's awake the next morning so she doesn't view it as a confinement, it should be just fine. And once it becomes routine, she may even exhibit an eagerness to go into the travel cage when she's feeling sleepy.

Hope that helps.

 

[Terry57]

I think I would try a sleep cage as well and see how that works for Cody. Stephen made some wonderful points as well about a travel cage, and that getting them used to trips to the vet, etc.