cover cage?

[skip]

We just returned from a bird expo and was talking to one dealer/breeder who said to not cover the cage, an d leave a night light on. She said that if a strange sound was heard during the night, the bird would be able to see what was going on and not get startled as easily. We have always covered the cage (for over 23 yrs with our last parrot), having read that covering the cage provides a sense of security. We do not have a large enough house to have a separate night-time room for our parrot. Has anyone else heard of this idea of not covering the cage and leaving on a night light?

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

We always cover Casper from 9pm until 8 or 9 in the morning. Even though it is a dark green fleece it does not stop him sneaking down to his food bowls for a midnight snack.
In the afternoon in the garden, in the magnolia tree, he can even sleep through emergency vehicles screaming past his branch and semi-trailers and farm vehicles bouncing over the bad road surface (its like living in a war zone here at times) but if we are chatting after his perch time in the evening he does start muttering and if we come back in to the room after lights out he will fluff his feathers.

[Dragonlady2]

Because all of our birds like to roost near the top of the cage, I cover the back and top of most of them. When I forgot to cover one of them the other evening, he let out a few screeches to remind me. I think there is a feeling of safety for the birds when they sleep under the "canopy"....just like in the wild.

[LesliesBabies]

Glenn, IRN, has a separate night cage that gets covered.
Sherman, WCP, has a night cage but sleeps uncovered in a dark room in her day cage due to disabilities.
Sir, GCC, and Daytona, Sun, share an uncovered night cage in a dark room, but after quarantine, will share a covered night cage.
JoJo and Tommy, Budgies, share a covered cage at night then uncovered for the day.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

It must take for ever to get that lot settled :)

[LesliesBabies]

It must take for ever to get that lot settled :)

Nope, it takes about 30 minutes including emptied chop dishes, clean water and poop tray changes. Everything is down to a science. I keep a Brita pitcher in the fridge for clean water and have two sets of water and chop dishes.
Each cage gets 2 layers of paper in their poop tray for each day. When Saturday ca88ge cleaning happens, each cage is down to 2 layers.
Leftover chop goes onto the poop tray papers with the wipe down napkins. Poop tray papers are rolled up and disposed of, so... voila... a clean cage every day. I sing a bedtime song while this happens.
Night cages have covers attached, so birds go in and get covered in minutes. 3
The babies know that any "settling down" and last snacks must happen before I arrive

[LesliesBabies]

Has anyone else heard of this idea of not covering the cage and leaving on a night light?

Yes and have even recommended it.

When Sherman was having night problems, she had a nightlight. We have a train that goes by every ~45 minutes except 3&4am. When it disturbed her, she'd fall. She's disabled and the night light helped her recover each time.

Glenn has a thinly covered nightcage and gets a nightlight in his room just in case.

Every new bird(s) get quarantined. Covered or uncovered cage, every room gets a nightlight.

Curiously, how does your bird deal with house noise now? Each of my birds either has it's own room or sleeps in a covered nightcage in my bedroom with a motion-activated nightlight

[kendrafitz]

Rosie’s cage is not covered at night. She is in our dining room and there is a nightlight in the hall. It’s the way she has always slept and it works well for us. [emoji4]


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[Lady]

I don't think we should worry about what others state as far as what should or shouldn't be. Like us, each bird is unique and you need to try what you think will be the most comfortable for your bird. How does your bird react when you cover the cage? What if you only cover part of the cage? Why do you cover the cage or why not?

For me covering Lady's cage means she won't get as distracted when I disturb the peace and quiet of the night should I need to get up. Covering the cage in the winter months makes me feel less worried that she would get a draft.

[LesliesBabies]

kendrafitz, your inbox told me it was full, so here's my response:
Sorry to hear about Rosie's APV. :( Glad she isn't showing symptoms. :)

Glenn's the same. Sherman ventured out of her cage a tiny bit. The conures moved in. Did you know that JoJo got a friend named Tommy?
... so gave you an update on all my babies.
Thanks for replying!!!

[kendrafitz]

kendrafitz, your inbox told me it was full, so here's my response:
Sorry to hear about Rosie's APV. :( Glad she isn't showing symptoms. :)

Glenn's the same. Sherman ventured out of her cage a tiny bit. The conures moved in. Did you know that JoJo got a friend named Tommy?
... so gave you an update on all my babies.
Thanks for replying!!!

Oh no, I’m sorry. That darn thing is always full. I always forget to delete messages.

Rosie is as demanding as ever. It’s a good thing she is so cute and has me wrapped around her little claw. :) She has been spoiled this week bc my kids are away and we have had demo going on here. So she has been with me constantly.

Sounds like things are going really well with your crew! So happy to hear it.


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[Quakerella]

Some birds are covered and some aren't. The only ones that I find require a night light are the cockatiels. Even though the night frights are rare, they still happen the odd time.