Covering Cages at Night

[forbey]

Over the years we have had Budgies, Lovebirds, Zebra Finches and now Skittles. We were "warned" early on that covering your bird's cage at night could result in stresses that you wouldn't want to put on your birds. So we have NEVER covered our bird's cages.

The biggest fear I have is having the bird used to being covered and for some reason loosing the cover of forgetting to cover them and they not be able to sleep.

Comments?

 

[SandyBee]

Covering cages is optional
My Amazon likes the back and sides covered, but we leave the front open. He purrs and coos as I put the cover on him so I know he likes it. He The first night that we got him we tried to cover the whole cage and he was stressed so we didn't do it anymore.
Everyone has their own way of doing it and what works best for you and your feathered friends is how you should do it.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I agree. Whatever works best for your situation and your birds. My budgie, Percy, was covered for sleeping at night. But at the time, i lived home with my mom and Percy was in my bedroom and i was a night owl so there was a lot of bright light and activity in the room until very late and he needed to sleep, so he was covered. None of my other birds have been covered at night. I can't say one method was better than the other, as long as the bird has a happy routine and it works for your lifestyle.

 

[BoomBoom]

I think covering the cage helps block out the light and activity in the house depending on where the cage is situated. Boomer's cage is in the living room where my computer is so it makes me feel better knowing the light from the computer monitor won't bother him too much.

It probably mostly depends on what your bird has gotten used to.

 

[henpecked]

Personally i don't cover cages unless there's a reason to. many years ago i lost a hen Panama who ingested fibers from a towel used to cover her cage. I wasn't home and she passed. A necropsy revealed her crop was impacted with the fibers and she starved. A real shame , could have fixed it had i been around.

 

[BoomBoom]

Personally i don't cover cages unless there's a reason to. many years ago i lost a hen Panama who ingested fibers from a towel used to cover her cage. I wasn't home and she passed. A necropsy revealed her crop was impacted with the fibers and she starved. A real shame , could have fixed it had i been around.

That’s horrible.

You said if you were home you would have been able to address the problem, so I’m wondering... Is there a way to remove the impacted fibers from the crop once it is there? How would you reverse the problem? I ask because Boomer likes to chew holes on my cotton shirts. I don’t know if he accidentally ingests fibers but I tend to worry about every thing.

 

[henpecked]

There's a cellulite enzyme that you can give them to help dissolve the fibers, we do it often for babies who ingest nesting material. (wood/paper fiber)

 

[BoomBoom]

Thank you for your reply. That's good to know! Do you think I should give some to my bird since he chews on my shirts so much? Or not until I see symptoms that he might be impacted? I don't even know what to look for other than if he isn't eating (which he is).

 

[Mayden]

We cover the birds up in the summer so we can actually sleep past 4am... but when the day time starts later then we may not bother. If it's a chilly room, we're likely to cover most of the sides of the cage and leave the front uncovered. I think it generally provides a sense of security that some birds need without the fear of being trapped.

Budgie's have been moved into their own room now where we don't close the curtain or anything and they've only partially covered (all the time, 2/4 sides) so they have day light when day light is there. Their temperments have been miles better and much less squabbling from the pair too. So we're happy about that!

Merlin however is a pain in the butt and will not nap properly without a cover. He'll choose to sit on the bottom of his cage making cooing noises until we cover him some. Even if it's just covering his corner. He has to be slightly covered or napping with us.

It really is down to each bird and how they work. I'd rather not have to cover any of them but I like to not wake to the dawn chorus being blasted from inside my own house.

 

[Devann]

Vino was always covered at night at her first home and when I get the cover out she climbs onto her swing and fluffs up, ready for sleep
Spot on the other hand, was only covered sometimes at her first home and she does not like her cage to be completely covered so hers gets covered only on the back and sides. Although, she's not a fan of bedtime in general. She'd much rather sleep on my chest which of course is not practical or safe

 

[Devann]

Oh and I use dark chocolate brown sheets to cover them. My mom accidentally killed my sisters budgie by covering him with a towel in the summer time.

 

[chippy]

I have always covered my birds, past and present... and none have ever been stressed by it. Tiki, in fact, yells and shrieks if I don't cover her by about 10 pm...

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Devann--my percy had a "routine" like that and would get grouchy if I didn't get the cover out at the right time. When I got it, he went to his sleeping perch in his sleeping position, and (this is silly) he had a music box that I wound and sang to him at bed time each night and he would have his head tucked around behind him, on one foot and start quietly mumbling every phrase he learned. I said he was dumping his brain for sleep. LOL

 

[Devann]

Haha! That's hilarious, Ruffled! Our fids are so individual and funny in they're own little ways