Do you cover the cage at night?

[B.B.]

Hello All!

I was wondering what is most common. I cover B.B.'s cage because it helps him to stay calmer when I am still sleeping in the morning. Though if I wait too long to uncover him he gets very vocal or just seems pissed off when I do finally remove it. But anyways, I figure it will keep him from catching a draft overnight. :cold

I do give him a corner that is open so he can see out.

The thing is, he really hates it when I put the sheet over his cage! He will snap at it like an alligator:rofl: pretty much every night as I am lowering it on. It seems like lovebirds really don't like having anything foreign on their cage in general. I figure, it's for his own good though, right?

xoxo,
angela and b.b.

[linda040899]

Hi Angela,
Covering the cage seems to be a personal preference. Yes, you will get more sleep early in the morning, as birds in uncovered cages seem to want to let us know when the sun comes up! Hey, in the wild, they are already out foraging for food so the entire world needs to be awake, as well.

I have a few birds that prefer to be covered (with Tiels a cover is mandatory!) but most don't. If B.B. is OK without it, you may want to try it and see what happens.

[Sweetpeaches]

i cover peaches at nite also. but she seems to look forward to it. as soon as i get her cover and say nite-nite she hops right up on her cozy. in the morning when i remove it she hops down. we also turn our thermostat down a couple degrees at nite, don't know if it really makes a big difference but hope it keeps her cage a little warmer. btw does anyone know how cold is too cold for a lovie?

[linda040899]

Lovebirds can tolerate a wide range of temperatures from very hot to cold. When keeping lovebirds outside, rule of thumb is that they need a heat source when temperatures go below 45F (as long as a nest box is provided). Inside, 55F is my own personal limit but they can do quite well if the temp is in the 40s and they are not in drafts.

[Janie]

When I adopted Oliver, his former owner told me he'd not been covered at night.....mainly because they sometimes left him for several days, even a week at a time, with no one checking on him, feeding him fresh food/water or there to uncover the cage so, he wasn't covered. I covered his cage (leaving half the front uncovered and a night light on) from the very first week. I guess that could have freaked him out but he seemed to adapt to it immediately and now, four years later, I don't think the boy could sleep unless his cage was covered!

Big Boi and Shy sleep in the same cage at night and I did try covering it several times soon after I got them and they let me know that they did not like being covered so that was the end of that. They each sleep in a cozy and are very quiet just as soon as the lights go out. :)

Oliver, covered! :D
Big Boi and Shy, not covered! :D

[Mummieeva]

My bird is not covered at night. he does not like it at all and freaks out. Of all my birds I think only one was covered at night. Most of them either did not like it..or the cage was to big to cover.lol.




Steph

[butterfly1061]

All my birds are covered at night. I love to uncover them in the morning. It's a nice routine we have. I lift up the cover on the babies cage and I see two little heads peek out of the cozy as if to say "Is it really time to get up?". Then I uncover Molly & Piper and they get so excited. Then it's Daise & Olivia. Olivia is always ready to get out and play. As I lift up each cover, I always say good morning sweetie and call each by their names. I get a chirp from each one. It just makes my day :clap

[beckyg]

When I adopted Oliver, his former owner told me he'd not been covered at night.....mainly because they sometimes left him for several days, even a week at a time, with no one checking on him, feeding him fresh food/water or there to uncover the cage so, he wasn't covered.

:D

:omg: Wow, Janie, I didn't know that about Oliver, I think I may have read somewhere that you said he wasn't living in clean conditions when you got him, but I had no idea. That is so sad that people care so little for their animals. It really makes me want to cry.:very_sad:


I too cover Luna at night, our house gets very cold and she seems to like being covered. I put her in her cage and she hops into her little hut. In the morning I uncover her and she hops out (slowly, I don't think she is much of a morning birdie :D) and stretches on her perch. Then she hops onto my finger for transportation to her day cage.

[Sweetpeaches]

it was good to know about the temps! we usually keep our thermostat around 68-70 in the winter and the air on 74-76 in the summer so now i know peaches should be fine. i had a parakeet die once when i was a little girl and was told it was from our drafty cold house, so i guess i've carried that with me through the years and wouldn't want that to happen to peaches!

[Janie]

:omg: Wow, Janie, I didn't know that about Oliver, I think I may have read somewhere that you said he wasn't living in clean conditions when you got him, but I had no idea. That is so sad that people care so little for their animals. It really makes me want to cry.:very_sad:



Becky, his former owner was only about 10 when she got Oliver and she certainly didn't know better. I blame her parents for not helping her find the right information regarding bird care and believe me, I've told both of them that! :D Laura (former momma) is a very caring young woman and would like to have gone to vet school but couldn't get in so...she's going to medical school instead. Amazing that it's easier to become a human doctor than a vet!

When they offered Oliver to me, they were leaving the next day to take Laura for her first year in college. Her parents were going on the the beach and would be away for 7 days! I told them I'd think about adopting him but wanted to learn a little bit about birds first as he was the first lovebird I'd ever laid eyes on. I came home, found this forum, started reading (for three straight days) finally posted and asked about a bird being left alone for that long and I was told to....go get that bird, NOW! :D I called the family, got their garage door code and went in and got MY bird! At that point he'd been alone in the house for five days! Thinking back and knowing how much Oliver likes routine and does not like change, I wonder what in the world he was thinking when I showed up (he'd only seen me one time for five minutes before that) and took him home. I am sure he was scared to death. :(

I like the family but will never understand how people decide to get a pet, any pet, w/o knowing what is necessary for their care and especially because it's so easy to find good information these days. Laura still comes by to see Oliver and the first thing she always says is, "Wow, his cage is soooo clean!" :lol She was never mean to him, she just didn't know any better and didn't have parents to tell her how to care for him. I will be forever grateful to her for asking me to adopt Oliver. She lost two other lovebirds after they ate wall paper glue. :( I am almost positive that Oliver has NINE lives! ;)

[Janie]

i had a parakeet die once when i was a little girl and was told it was from our drafty cold house,

I've read here and been told by my vet that a change in temps, gradually, is OK, long as it's not drastic in either direction, but that drafts are the worst! Cage placement, away from drafts, is important. :)

[beckyg]

Becky, his former owner was only about 10 when she got Oliver and she certainly didn't know better. I blame her parents for not helping her find the right information regarding bird care and believe me, I've told both of them that! :D Laura (former momma) is a very caring young woman and would like to have gone to vet school but couldn't get in so...she's going to medical school instead. Amazing that it's easier to become a human doctor than a vet!

When they offered Oliver to me, they were leaving the next day to take Laura for her first year in college. Her parents were going on the the beach and would be away for 7 days! I told them I'd think about adopting him but wanted to learn a little bit about birds first as he was the first lovebird I'd ever laid eyes on. I came home, found this forum, started reading (for three straight days) finally posted and asked about a bird being left alone for that long and I was told to....go get that bird, NOW! :D I called the family, got their garage door code and went in and got MY bird! At that point he'd been alone in the house for five days! Thinking back and knowing how much Oliver likes routine and does not like change, I wonder what in the world he was thinking when I showed up (he'd only seen me one time for five minutes before that) and took him home. I am sure he was scared to death. :(


Crazy and heart warming all at the same time. You'd think most people at least try to get someone to check on their animals and feed them while they are gone. It is almost as if they were like "Well, we have a bird today, don't know if he will be around tomorrow, but heck, we have one today... lah dee dah..." (I'm sure they are decent people and probably didn't mean to be that way). He would have to be a pretty strong little birdie to go through all of that, of course his story has a very happy ending. I am sure you have made up for all the things he had to endure before he knew you.:) I bet he is extra spoiled now!!

[Jally]

I have a quick question...I'm reading where your lovies hop out of their huts when you uncover them...don't you all wait until you hear them before uncovering or do you uncover them at a certain time each morning? My guys, lovie and 3 budgies get covered up at precisly 9PM but I don't uncover them unless i know that they are awake. Of course though by the time that I get my lovie uncovered, he is one PO'd guy LOL But his adorable little peeps he makes when he knows he is about to be set free for the day is so precious!!

[beckyg]

I have a quick question...I'm reading where your lovies hop out of their huts when you uncover them...don't you all wait until you hear them before uncovering or do you uncover them at a certain time each morning? My guys, lovie and 3 budgies get covered up at precisly 9PM but I don't uncover them unless i know that they are awake. Of course though by the time that I get my lovie uncovered, he is one PO'd guy LOL But his adorable little peeps he makes when he knows he is about to be set free for the day is so precious!!

Well, actually when I get up in the morning on weekdays Luna isn't awake yet. I uncover her to wake her up :D. On the weekends I usually hear her screach a few times and go uncover her and stuff.

[butterfly1061]

Jally,

All 6 of mine wake up before I do. They always get up before the crack of dawn. The lastest I ever get to sleep in is 7am and that's on Saturday. During the week, they get up between 6 & 6:30am. They go to bed at night around 7pm for 12 hours of sleep. If I interrupt them, they yell at me to be quiet :rolleyes:

[Jally]

Ohhhh I see. I'm up at 5:30 but work at home so I don't uncover them until I hear them.

[Janie]

I cover (Oliver) between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. and uncover between 7:00 and 8:00 the next morning.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I cover mine with a dark quilt so that they stay quiet past 5:30am. My birds start chirping first thing in the morning, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're ready to come out of their sleeping cage. They are perfectly content to snuggle up side by side on top of their cozy, and chatter for a while.

So I uncover the front of the cage and turn on the light in the bedroom, we start up the "good morning birdies" routine which consists of me being a human snooze alarm, checking back every 10-15 minutes or so until both birds are ready to come out.

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto demands to be covered at night. When his light goes off just after 10:30 he gives me about 30 seconds to get off the couch. Then it's time to start chirping. If another 30 seconds passes without me getting up, it's scream your head off time. I remove his veggies, give him fresh water and cover him up. He gives his nite nite chirps and settles in.

Fortunately mornings are much quieter. He'll play quietly until he hears me come downstairs then chirps good morning. :happy:

[Sweetpeaches]

i cover peaches up around 6:30 - 7 and uncover her at about the same time in the morning. she ususally chirps about that time so i know she's awake. i let her at of her cage as soon as i get up so i can spend a bit of time with her before i go to work. then when i walk through the door at 430 i take her out to spend time with mommy. and she can't wait! and either can i...lol

[Christian]

I agree that it is a personal preference, for you and your birdie. I personally cover the front and back of Estrella's cage with a towel, a little hangs over the sides, but only about 1/4 of the side is covered. I have found that Estrella enjoys complete darkness, when he gets sleepy while we are watching t.v., he will often tunnel through the covers and take a nap.

[Christian]

I have a quick question...I'm reading where your lovies hop out of their huts when you uncover them...don't you all wait until you hear them before uncovering or do you uncover them at a certain time each morning? My guys, lovie and 3 budgies get covered up at precisly 9PM but I don't uncover them unless i know that they are awake. Of course though by the time that I get my lovie uncovered, he is one PO'd guy LOL But his adorable little peeps he makes when he knows he is about to be set free for the day is so precious!!

Estrella wakes up at precisely 8:15 EVERY morning, like clockwork. When the time first changed he woke up 7:15 :)
I try to sleep until about 10 on some saturdays, and usually he will be quiet for a while, but by 9:30 he is at full screech wanting out!

[michael]

Goofy will let me know when he's ready for bed and prefers to be covered. If you don't cover him he'll let out one loud peep every minute or so until you do. I leave the bottom 6-8 inches of his cage uncovered so he's able to have visibilty through low lighting conditions. My reason for this was occasionally he would fall at night and flutter around for quite some time. Since doing this his disorientation has cleared up. Bedtime is 9pm summer and 8pm winter. He awakens about 7am and lets me know with a muted peep or two every minute or so. I've tested his patience a couple times by waiting to uncover him for a bit. This usually results in beebuopp's every ten seconds followed by pepepepepepepe!.....pepepepepepep!...dingy bell a couple times....then kissie....run around the cage....dingy bell a couple times.....then kissie. Chances of not letting him out?..."0"!..............Michael and Goofy

[Screamer]

I cover my lovebird with a big black towel and usually leave a little opening in the corner so she can take a peak if she wants. She doesn't go to sleep right away as I can hear her playing and flinging her toys around, lol.

Her bedtime is about 9:00. Sometimes I will keep her out untill later but by 10:30 the latest she will fly to her cage and go to sleep.

[Kween]

I cover Sushi's cage at night too. She normally gets her cage covered around 7-9pm, and she doesn't freak out at all, although she WILL hop on her cage walls and look at me as though it's the last time she'll see my face. It's heartwarming that she likes me so much. XD Then in the morning she'll stay really quiet, play in her cage very quietly, maybe ding a bell a few times, but she won't peep at all until she hears me moving around in my room. Then it's "Chirp! Chirp!" time as she knows I'll be uncovering her and taking her out any minute. XD that's normally betweet 8-10am.
Also, she LOVES morning routine. There's nothing she likes more than to sit on my shoulder and watch me take out her food and water dishes, clean them, and fill them back up. She'll just peer at everything I'm doing with very interested little eyes, and not utter a sound. ;) Maybe she's memorizing it so she can do it herself? LOL!

[p3rr4n]

I have always covered Trixie's nighty-night cage (its your basic lovie starter cage). His mansion cage is in the living room/office area where i spend most of my time when I am not in the studio.

If I don't do it soon enough for him he gets miffy too! :rofl:

We get his nighty-night cage ready together, you know change the paper, change the food and water dishes, do a spot clean etc.

Then he rides up on it.

When we get to the cage, he kisses me goodnight then gladly goes in his nighty-night cage. His cage is in the corner, on top of a tall set of drawers, and he feels quite safe in his corner. So anyways, I cover it and leave the right hand lower corner exposed so he can see and eat before he goes to bed (the right side is his food container, the left is his water container. Once he is settled in, I cover the cage completely, and he usually calls me his good night call which I answer and then say the final good night.

Keeping his cage also really helps when things are crazy and I cant get him up when he is accustomed to. He sleeps in his nighty-night cage in our bedroom, which is upstairs. As long as it is reasonably quiet he will get up for a snicky-snack and then settle down again. I am not sure if he sleeps all the time in there or just chills, and he is happy enough.

If we were to leave his cage uncovered, he would be quite unhappy.

[dani]

Evie absolutely won't sleep unless I cover her, but Oki the p'let and Ammy the macaw will sleep without being covered. It's a personal preference I think, and it also depends on the bird itself. Haku is a odd little creature, he needs to be covered, and sometimes he will wake up all lazy at 8am or so. but sometimes he wakes up at 6 and has a good bath in his dish while still covered, and screams at me to come play with him, and I am always baffled to see this wet little bird shrieking at me and beating up his coconut in the morning :x