cover the cage at night?

[esmay211]

hey, so i have a bird named kahlua and my mom says that i have to cover the cage at night so they can sleep better since the lights in my house dont go off until like 12:00 at night.
is this necessary to do?
i fell bad b/c my mom sometimes forgets to uncover her and then i wake up at like 11:00 in the morning and i wonder why she hasn't started to sing yet.:confused:

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto won't go to bed until he's covered even though there aren't any lights on after his shuts off at 10:45. He'll wait patiently for a few minutes then start yelling at me to cover him up (usually because I've fallen asleep on the couch :whistle: ).

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Yes, your bird will sleep better if you cover the cage at night.

My birds let me know when it's time to uncover them but if yours is quiet, you could set an alarm to remind you when it's time to uncover the cage in the morning.

[Flapjack]

Flapjack is actually very polite. He's never had a cover at night. He crawls into his little hut by about 9:00 pm. He can see part of the kitchen from where his cage is, and when my husband makes coffee and leaves the house around 6:30 am, Jack will chirp a couple of times to say good morning to him. Then he goes back to sleep until 8 or 8:30 before he wakes the rest of us up.
I would think about covering his cage if he were in a traffic area, or there was alot of noise late, so he could sleep better. As it is, I stay up pretty late, sometimes with the tv on, but very quiet and the lights very dim. Your mom may be right to ask you to cover the cage if there's much activity.
I've learned from people at this forum that, like people, our little guys can be quite grumpy if they don't get their beauty sleep.

[Susan27]

My birds who live on the main floor get covered to keep out light as well as to protect them from drafts while they are sleeping. My birds who live in their bird room/basement, do not. This area has a heater and as much as possible away from drafts. Also, their lights are on a timer (flourescent, full spectrum, which isn't as good as natural sunlight....gotta work on that one).

I am guessing that your birds are covered close to you family bedtime. For a good night birdie sleep they require ~12 hours, so 11am shouldn't be too bad for your lovie.

[LauraO]

I don't cover my lovebirds but I have tons and they have their own room so it's dark and quiet. However, a lot of birds do like to be covered. I would try and and let your mom understand how important it is to uncover your birdy in the morning or you can cover the back and sides of your lovies cage so they have some cover but can see out in the morning.

[Janie]

Two of my lovies do not get covered (they let me know they didn't like it) but Oliver does and he won't go to bed until he's covered. When my husband and I are out of town and my son is in charge, he sets his alarm for 7:30 a.m. to be sure Oliver is uncovered on time. Sometimes my son sleeps until late afternoon which is fine with me as long as Oliver is covered and uncovered on time. He's covered between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. and uncovered by 7:30 a.m......no exceptions and I've made that crystal clear to my son (who wants to keep on living so he abides by his momma's wishes!).

[michael]

Goofy slept on his perch up next to his bird buddy up until he got his new cozy not to long ago. He's always prefered being covered by signaling with a single chirp 2 minutes apart until I do so, getting louder the longer it takes. The cozy is nice because its can be warm and dark if they need it. I was thrilled that he took to it as previously he wouldn't go in one. He still though, demands his cage be covered, otherwise he won't go in his cozy. As mentioned, that 10-12 hour sleep is important. Sleep deprivation can infringe upon taming and bonding with your lovebird, besides having other undesirable effects. Also, their internal clock, quite like our own, can be altered with some birds, but don't count on it as most will adhere to at least that natural instinct. Some birds in fact do well without being covered because of the type of setting their in. Like one thats closer to nature like an aviary, or maybe a cozy thats dark with subdued surrounding room/area. From what you mentioned about your own sleeping habits, your mother gave you good advice. I would cover him and try to keep a good schedule, it could make a world of difference................Michael and Goofy lovebird