screaming even when covered at night!

[MaraJade]

Someone please help. I'm losing my sanity.

We have six lovebirds. Two are in a cage together. Two are in adjoining breeding cages (seperated by a divider) and the other two are in their own cages.

We cover them all at night and they are in a pitch black room by themselves with no cat or dog to disturb them.

The past few weeks they have woken up numerous times and will scream for about a minute and then stop. A couple hours later, scream and then stop. My fiancee and I are constantly having to get up and run in there to shush them.

It is horrible. We can't get any uniterrupted sleep anymore.

What could be causing this??

[BarbieH]

It sounds very frustrating. What do they do if you don't go in and shush them? They might be repeating the behavior because you tend to go in to check on them and shush them. If you stop going in, they might stop calling for you.

Also, have they ever had a little light coming in, even a little nightlight? They could be calling out to each other because they can't see each other. All it takes is for one bird to wake up and start and alarm for the others to join in.

I would try those two potential solutions at the same time for about a week and see if the behavior changes.

Best wishes,

[butterfly1061]

Barb's suggestion is a good one. All my birds are in one room with a night-light & covered cages. I also shut the door so I can do things around the house without disturbing them. When I cover the cages, I have one side of the cage with about 1-2 inces exposed so a little bit of light from the night-light so they can see their food & water. :2cents:

[mjm8321]

The only way I ever get an uninterrupted night's sleep anymore is to have a few drinks before bed :lol My flock makes these calls throughout the night to each other. I think it starts with one startling itself and then off go the whole crew. If it's early in the evening, I do soothe them with a quick "it's ok", but during the night, they are on their own and I rarely ever go into their room unless the calling lasts for more than a minute or two.
The room might be too dark for them like Barb suggested. mine don't have a night light, but there is a light outside the window that illuminates the room just enough. I also leave a radio on low all night long so there is a "human" voice in with them 24/7.

[Mummieeva]

I do not cover Baggy and Whisper any more as they have own room that gets dark on it's own. I can not cover my budgies if it is totaly dark they freak out big time. I would get a small light and see if it helps.


Steph

[Joanie Noel]

If the other things don't work, I can say that maybe the birds will grow out of it. :confused: I got Squeaks when he was 3 months old, and he woke up the whole crew every night for five straight months. I'm not sure if it was a night fright for him, but that birdie sure was consistent with it. Now he is 9 months old and he seems to have out-grown it, because he hasn't done it in close to a month. And I didn't change anything in their nighttime ritual. :2cents:

- Joanie

[linda040899]

One thing I've noticed with my aviary, in particular, is that they will all call out if something alarms them. I live about 1/2 mile from train tracks and my aviary lets me know each time a train passes. They've heard the sound countless times, but I still get a warning. Truthfully, that alarm could one day save my life if there is danger other than a train. My birds will let me know so I don't find this bothersome. I generally don't respond verbally but I do pay attention and I will check if they don't quiet down within about 30 seconds. Now if one of my larger parrots sound any kind of warning, you can believe I'm up and checking in a big hurry, as they are usually silent once the lights go out.

[MaraJade]

Thank you so much for all your responses. It is very frustrating, but it's good to know I'm not alone.

I will try to stop the shushing that goes on. I THOUGHT that might be a bad idea as it does give them attention, but it's such an automatic reaction at 2 a.m. :)

I'll try the nightlight too.

Thanks guys/gals!

[Paulette]

Hi Jessie.....I used to cover my cages because I thought the birds would get drafted, but the cockatiels and the budgies totally freak out if they can't see out the front of the cage. I use a large night light, it's one of those cool lamps with the bits of tiny plastic/rubbery pieces molded together (into a star shape). I put in on the floor and towards the center of the room so everybirdy can see it and shut the door. They have been doing very well without covers. I make sure the A/C vent can't blow directly on anybirdy. The finches do peep when they hear the toilet in the hall bath flush....no matter what time it is, especially at around 4:30 to 5:30am when the cat has woken me up to play because she tired of sleeping :D

[Buy A Paper Doll]

In my case, the birds still chirp in the night but hubby and I have learned to sleep through it. The first several months I had Milo, all it took was a sneeze from him and I was up and checking on him. Now, I am able to sleep through the peeps and chirps unless I hear an actual alarm cry or fighting.

[butterfly1061]

Linda,

I too live about 1/2 mile from the RR tracks, but my birds get pin drop quiet when it goes by. I think they are getting use to the sound, thank goodness, cause the train runs all day long (different times) but mostly after midnight. :( Then there's the fire station and police station on the street in front of my subdivision (I'm about the 7th house in). Oh, and did I mention the interstate is less than a mile in the opposite direction of the RR? It's like a three ring circus. :eek:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Jackie, now all you need is an airport nearby! When the cloud cover is bad, the planes come directly over my house. One overcast day we had the birds out in the front yard (in their cage of course!) when a big old 747 was making a detour directly over our house. Birdies got very quiet, cocked their head to one side, and stared at the "big bird" for a couple of seconds. As soon as it passed, they went right back to screaming.

[butterfly1061]

Jen,

I forgot about the airport. Yep, the busiest airport in the nation in right near me too. Luckily I don't hear them as much as I use to cause we moved a little further south. I use to be so clsoe they would circle around waiting to land and you'd run for cover. :eek: