To Cover or Not to Cover

[NellieGirl]

Do you cover your birds at night? Or at other times? I have a 6 year old B&G and a ? year old Bourke's Parakeet. I don't cover them and they seem to be content with out it. Just curious about opinions on covering. Thanks all!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I don't cover, but i did with my first bird. (It was what i was told you do with birds, and once it was his habit, we kept it.) But my vet recommends against covering unless needed for warmth, so i haven't done it with any other bird i have owned and they are just fine.

 

[ann]

i think it depends on the situation and the bird. if you typically watch TV late at night, or there are other distractions, then i would use a cage cover. it could also be useful to reduce for morning screaming. if you cover your birds cage at night, then it will most likely wake up later in the morning, or when he hears you walking around, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn. this way he wont scream and wake you up at 6:30 every morning lol. i don't cover my birds, but i would like to. I just have to find the right cage cover. just be careful and check the cover for holes and loose threads that could pose a hazard to your birds. good luck

 

[wenz2712]

I always cover Codie.

 

[Narkissios]

I dont cover my 28 but i do cover midnight, i wait until she has settled tho before covering, it helps her to rest properly through the night. And helps with the warmth.

On the screaming note i disagree she still screams in the morning and at night. Its just a couple and we never react to it. But she still does it.

 

[Peeker]

I don't cover mine. My birds are in their own room but with a double wide entry way. The open floor plan allows them to always see me and be a part of things, but I have dimmers on the lights in their room so I can take it down in the evening until I finally darken the room for sleep.

 

[Sasha2]

I cover all mine every night.They are in the livingroom and we go to bed early so at 9 they get covered.And we get up early, 5:00 ish so they used to stay covered till around 8:00 but the new Sun conure thinks as soon as the lights are on then its time to wake everyone up. So I am still trying to train him to be quite and sleep till 8:00 so he gets enough sleep.

Plus in the winter it is chilly and we live in an old farmhouse so its a bit drafty too.

 

[MonicaMc]

I don't cover any of my birds, but if I were to move them (to a different house), they would have to be covered, and one would have to sleep somewhere other than his cage.

 

[goalerjones]

my first bird George, slept in a popup tent on top of his cage. he went to bed when he was tired, got up when he wanted to. my Hahns gets easily distracted and likes a towel draped over his cage to help him sleep better. I tried no cover for him, but he needs the "blinders" so to speak.

 

[Jtbirds]

I cover certain birds but not all of mine. I cover two of my cockatoos because if not as soon as we are up at 6:00 in the morning they'd be screaming because we just woke up so it would be flock calling. Plus cockatoos should really have like 12 hours of sleep a day compared to some other birds that can deal with less. I also cover baby girl at night because if not she won't stop talking and playing with toys, she seems to think she is nocturnal or something.

 

[Devann]

I cover both my girls, vino likes to be covered for sleeping but Spot never seems to want to go to bed so we're still working that one out

 

[Birdlover11]

My family stays up late so we cover. Though you have to be careful the material you use to cover the cage, bird have suffocated by their neck getting caught in loose threads,they also like to chew on it making the risk higher.

 

[WeimerHeimer]

We never cover our birds; Finches, Conures, Amazons, 'Too, or Macaws. Our birds have thier own room. I do burn a small night light though for them in their room.

 

[happycat]

I covered the first couple nights and he seemed happy with it. Then I didnt cover and he seems just as happy with it. Alls he needs is the lights off and he'll sleep just fine.

 

[Irishj9]

I cover all mine. It is an easy way to signal bedtime, and they all run home to their cages when they see the covers coming

JP

 

[Parrotdise]

I believe in covering a bird, i personally always sleep better myself if i am in a darker room so covering to me makes sense. I also cover my birds because if one of them wakes up it is going to cause more disruption to the sleeping birds. I also believe a covered bird feels more secure. If i didn't cover Daisy Jane she would probably be a huge disruption, sometimes i can still here her pacing the bottom of her cage long after the other two are asleep.

 

[Helpthisgrey]

i think it depends on the situation and the bird. if you typically watch TV late at night, or there are other distractions, then i would use a cage cover. it could also be useful to reduce for morning screaming. if you cover your birds cage at night, then it will most likely wake up later in the morning, or when he hears you walking around, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn. this way he wont scream and wake you up at 6:30 every morning lol. i don't cover my birds, but i would like to. I just have to find the right cage cover. just be careful and check the cover for holes and loose threads that could pose a hazard to your birds. good luck

Yeah I heard this works too. I got a question for the waking up at the dawn of sunlight: What about closing the curtains so that no light will shine through?