Covered Sleep

[smspringer13]

Ellie is 2-3 months old, and untame at the moment... I have been covering her at night with a towel over her cage so she can sleep, but I am afraid it's kind of scaring her. Is this possible? In the morning when I wake up and uncover her, it seems like she's frozen - she doesn't want to move much and looks very scared. Since she is used to sleeping outside in a small aviary, maybe she is not used to this? Should I still continue this to try and get her used to it?

[butterfly1061]

Since Ellie is still young, you could get her a happy hut for night time and remove it in the morning. I have several that were hand-made by our member Shylevon. They are wonderful! It's security for the birds at night (kinda like nestbox). :2cents:

[smspringer13]

Ooh I don't have a happy hut yet. Was waiting for her new, big cage (supposedly arriving today...) Maybe I'll try that. She did have a nesting box where she was, so she probably would like something to sleep in. Thanks!

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Is it possible that the act of uncovering her makes her suddenly feel exposed, and that scares her? If so, you could try uncovering her gradually. This is what I do in the morning with my birds - not because they're scared, but because they take a little while to wake up. I uncover just the front, say good morning, and leave them to adjust for maybe 10-15 minutes, then I uncover them completely.

Not sure if that would make a difference, but it's worth a try.

Another completely different thought, since you said she was in an aviary: Was she sharing a cage with other birds? Perhaps a birdy buddy or cozy cave (as Jackie suggested) would help her adjust, give her something to snuggle up to.

[wilkiecoco]

Is it possible that the act of uncovering her makes her suddenly feel exposed, and that scares her? If so, you could try uncovering her gradually. This is what I do in the morning with my birds - not because they're scared, but because they take a little while to wake up. I uncover just the front, say good morning, and leave them to adjust for maybe 10-15 minutes, then I uncover them completely. .

It takes Kiwi time to adjust to the morning, and i don't cover his cage at night. The room is dark though, and just opening the blind startles him. So i let him slowly wake up, stretch, say a soft good morning, and then he is ready to start his day. Perhaps , as jennifer suggest, a slower, softer approach to start the morning is just what Ellie needs. :)

[smspringer13]

Thanks guys. She actually probably does not need to be covered... I work nights and have dark shades to cover my patio door. Maybe I will try that, andif she goes to bed early I'll cover her and gradually uncover. Thanks so much!

Oh, and good news. Ellabelle came out of her cage today! She didn't want to explore too much, but I see it as progress anyway! :) And she is loving her new cage.

[Mydoona]

I cover my lovebird at night with a sheet and when I got a bigger cage the sheet didnt cover the cage at all so I used a bigger sheet and she freaked out at the sight of the bigger sheet but was fine with the smaller sheet.the bigger sheet is darker so I guess the change frightened her.Also the darker sheet made her cage tooo dark so it was pitch black inside.she seems to like when it is dark but you can still see things in the cage.

[thebubbleking]

I also dont cover my cages at night the room is dark enough and the night lights outside the picture window allows enough light to get around by.

[Sweetpeaches]

i always covered peaches..i think she looked forward to it, because as soon as i got her cover she would jump on top of her hut to go to sleep and right after i covered her she'd leave out a soft sweet chirp as if to say good-nite.
of course in the morning before she was uncovered she'd start chirping away as if to say "hey, i'm awake, come uncover me".