Bedtime Routine

[Triock]

I go through the same routine with Jack every night, tell him its bedtime (7.30) pick him up stroke his head whilst walking over to the weighing scales to weigh him; tonight 48g!!!!! little piggy, :), then to his bed cage, where after a few more head scratches he hops in to his snuggle bed, then he turns round hops out on his perch and waits ............. for what you might wonder.

A drink of water believe it or not offerred to him by picking up his water bowl and holding it to him where he hops on the side, take a couple of sips and then guess what - he hops in to his bed and looks up at me to say "ok, i;m ready you can cover the cage now". It wasnt till tonight that i realised i (he) does this every night ; what a clever boy!!!

So i was wondering, does anyone else go through any sort of routine at any time, where their Fid has done something once and then repeated everytime you go though the same routine?

[momo]

It's not strict routine but it's sort of there

Elmo is a bit naughty where he will only eat the seeds that he likes, and I trick him by running my finger around his food bowl to move the seeds around so he comes back and finishes off what he hasn't eaten. I think he thinks when ever I touch his seed he will get some new seed put in.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Yep. We have morning routine and bedtime routine. Basically it amounts to me getting day cages ready in the morning, and night cages ready in the evening. It is Very Important that Milo is allowed to supervise the morning routine closely to make sure that I don't mess up. Whether it's running down my arm to sample the filtered water as it comes out of the fridge, or supervising the chopping of veggies from the safety of his momma's shoulder, he has to be a part of the routine or it's just not morning.

Now, Lily is still pretty new to my household, but I have already learned that at 7:30pm, she is Ready For Bed. If I'm late with the bedtime routine, she lets me know!

At night, the last thing I do before I go to bed is go in their room and say "night night birds." I say good night to each bird separately, Milo and Lily. I can't bring myself to not say good night to Melody so I say good night to her as well.

[Jally]

Peanut has me trained well. We have a night time routine where I scoop him up, bring him to my bedroom, turn off the AC, turn off the lights, and then if all is dark and quiet, he will scurry into my shirt. But, if something in the slightest disturbs his routine, he lets me know it! I have to stand up and rock him from side to side for about 10 minutes, and then when he is grinding away, I can sit down and watch some TV.

But, again, if the TV is too loud, or someone comes into my bedroom, they will hear a chirp from deep inside my shirt!! LOL

What we don't do to keep our fids happy :)

[RicosPoppy]

Rico has me on a very tight bedtime regiment.

Around 8:30 or so he will start rubbing my face or nibbling my ear to let me know he's ready. I'll pull open my shirt collar and he'll sit on my colar and give me a few rubs on the check again, a few little *honks* and then he'll dive into my shirt. I lay the recliner back (we have to be seated in the recliner) so he can get comfy on my shoulder and then he'll start grinding away for a good 30 min or so. Most nights I let him fall asleep so he's usually in there for about an hour or so. The whole time I have to remain still and I can only whisper if I want to talk. Noone can approach me too close either or he gets upset.

Usually when I reach in to pull him out he is fast asleep and it's like picking up a dead weight, very weird to have a lovey lying in your hand asleep.
Only for a second though as he'll wake right up. I give him a little kiss and then it's off to his cage where I hold him in front of his water bowl so he can reach in for a few gulps. Then I'll set him on his perch, one big poop, the cover comes on, a little more beak grinding and off to sleep...

We've been on this exact same routine going on 5 years now. If I'm in another room at bed time he will sit on my recliner and relentlessly call out for me to get over there. I occasionally have to leave town and my wife takes over my duty and it does take Rico a little longer to adjust but he does eventually go into her shirt before bed.

This is definately my favorite time of every evening. Not to mention everyone knows I have an excuse.
Can't get the phone, I can't come upstairs now, I can't get out of my chair. RICO is in my shirt! :)

[momo]

ricospoppy that sounds soo beautiful!!... oh.. its so beautiful i nearly shed a tear!

[RicosPoppy]

Yes, it is very touching indeed, even to me, after all these years I find myself thinking how fortunate I am to have a little guy bonded to me in such a way. People are amazed when they actually see him dive into my shirt. Then they say, what is that noise, what is he doing.

He's grinding his beak because he's happy. Now stay away! :evil:

But thank you for your kind words. As lovebird owners I don't think anyone else can appreciate how we feel about these guys so this is the only place where I prefer to share these stories. Don't get me wrong, I tell everyone about Rico, but they all just give me these funny looks... go figure.

[Jally]

Yes, it is very touching indeed, even to me, after all these years I find myself thinking how fortunate I am to have a little guy bonded to me in such a way. People are amazed when they actually see him dive into my shirt. Then they say, what is that noise, what is he doing.

He's grinding his beak because he's happy. Now stay away! :evil:

But thank you for your kind words. As lovebird owners I don't think anyone else can appreciate how we feel about these guys so this is the only place where I prefer to share these stories. Don't get me wrong, I tell everyone about Rico, but they all just give me these funny looks... go figure.

Ohhh!!! Same here!! Everyone thinks I am nuts for catering to a 50 gram bird like I do! Here, I am with like-minded people. :happy:

[butterfly1061]

Yes, we have a routine too. Birdies go to bed around 7 p.m. and Olivia makes sure they go on time. In the morning, I get cages ready for the day, let birds fly around for about 15 mintues then "mommy has to go get a shower to go to work to make money to feed your little featherbutts". All is well except if I forget to open the blinds after the sun comes up :rolleyes: Who has time for dating when you have birds???

[Pips mom]

We definitely have a bedtime routine here. Pip has a little platform thing.....I gotta take a pic of this sometime because it's hard to describe. It's one of these.......http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+11295+8367&pcatid=8367 This is on the side of his cage....on it there is a T-perch and also a wooden ladder going down over it from the top of his cage. Pip will go to this spot right underneath the ladder when he is ready to go to sleep for the night. Sometimes he sits there quietly, and sometimes he makes noise until I come over to tuck him in for the night. I know it sounds bad to some people, but this is where Pip sleeps(out of his cage)......I cover the whole thing over with a blanket and he sleeps right there until morning. When I come over to tuck him for the night, I always put my face right up close to him and immitate some of little noises and he sometimes will try to "feed" me......one time I also got a good bite right on the nose! :omg::rofl:
In the morning when Pip wakes up, he comes out from underneath his blanket.....hops on the couch and runs over to the other bird's cages....gets on Ivy's cage and goes up underneath her blanket covering it and snuggles up in there near the other birds, goes back to sleep there until we all wake up and come and uncover cages. I know Pip won't go anywhere else because he loves the other birds and will always go to where they are. If it is a darker dreary day, sometimes he stays asleep right in his own spot until we get up......but this is the routine and he's done this now for over a year!

[BarbieH]

Bedtime here depends on what time it gets dark. We're creeping down to a 7:30 cage-covering time now; after the birds have a good long night-night chirp, George and Gracie get covered. Then I put on my bathrobe and bring Sammy out, and give him a drink of water.

My ativar shows Sammy up my sleeve. :) That's where he goes every night while we sit in our recliner, and he snuggles into my hand for 45 minutes to an hour. Then I bring him out and carry him to the bathroom. I hold him over the toilet and he goes poop. (I didn't really train him, so don't ask! I just held him there one day to see what would happen. Now he does it every night.) Then I put him in his cage and cover the rest of the birdinis up.

I agree, birdy bedtime takes precedence over everything else. Hold all calls, please! Any disruptions and he bites my fingertips a little too hard.:x

[butterfly1061]

We definitely have a bedtime routine here. Pip has a little platform thing.....I gotta take a pic of this sometime because it's hard to describe. It's one of these.......http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+11295+8367&pcatid=8367 I have 3 of these platforms and my birds love them! Great little birdie item :)

[Pips mom]

I have 3 of these platforms and my birds love them! Great little birdie item :)

Yes they are and they are cheap too! all of my birds love these and they must be comfortable because my tiels like to sleep on them too....only theirs are inside their cage!

[spork92]

Marley will fly to her cage and bend over with her wings lifted like she is going to fly away, only she runs side to side on her big perch and repeatedly chirps short demanding chirps with two short chirps mixed in that sound like na-nite! Then I come over and say na-nite? several times and she will repeat me, running faster and faster until I cover her, then she hops into her hut and give me a final satisfied good night chirp and that is that. Same thing for four years now.

[Bubblelady]

Awwww, makes a mom feel all warm and gooshy. Wonderful routine--for both of you :)

[unstuckpilgrim]

My guy goes nuts in the evening. Our household is very lively during and after dinner, and he plays along and tries to join in. He's a free range bird most evenings and we keep his cage door propped open so he can go in for food and drink as he pleases. Usually at about 10 pm, after flying around like crazy and making a nuisance of himself, he flies into his cage, positions himself on the highest perch, and puts himself to bed. After we are done for the evening, I go and check on him, say goodnight, and shut the cage door. I usually get a sideways glance from him. :) He's a good little bird and knows when and how to put himself to bed.

[momo]

argh daylight savings have thrown our (elmos and my) routine off course.. we end up BOTH sleeping in til about 10am?... and go to bed later..

[LoveBug12]

That sounds adorable! Your little bird is very smart =]
Can't wait to see my birds personality come out!

[momo]

lovebug12.. oh it will come out.. with force.. loud squarks and. bites .. but its soo cute you put up with it all hahaha.