Morning screamer

[nm0710]

I know birds wake up with the sunrise. I've had my new bird uncovered for the past few nights and she's up by 6am. She puts herself to bed by 7:30pm. It's not a huge issue for me but I have unhappy parents when it comes to her morning screams.

I was going to try covering her cage and put her in my bedroom.

Will they sleep longer than 10-12 hours if left in quiet and darkness or is there a way I'm able to change her sleep schedule?

 

[msplantladi]

Birds are ruled by nature....up at sunrise & in bed with sunset....if she is getting 10-12 hrs of sleep & you want her to sleep longer you are going against whats inbred in her. That being said yes it is possible to not have her raise so early......its takes time for all to adjust...she is still settling in. I cover my macaws around 7 and they don't get uncovered until 7-8 the next morning....they pretty much chose those hours....now when they were first brought home the slightest noise in the early hours and they would start in but as they got used to the household things settled down but it all takes time. Generally if we are up & about so is the zoo at my house.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I keep my birds in darkness for 13-13 1/2 hours a night. I don't hear a peep out of them, even when they hear us making noise.if you change their schedule, I would just do it in increments over several days.

 

[alicat]

My tiel usually sleeps from like 10 pm - 10am now, I cover his cage with a thick black blanket to block out the light. I used a lighter colored blanket and he was waking up at 7am. Darker one and he sleeps in later, and I'll hear him scooting around and hell start whistling gently at around 9 or 10 and I uncover him.

 

[Tanya]

Bedtime here is 9 pm, wake up around 9-10 am. In the winter the hours change a bit (8 to 8) and we do the shift slowly with a change of about 15 mins every 3-4 days.

What is your target for her wake up time? Make any changes slowly. And be sure to leave the cage uncovered until 12 hrs before wake up time... So even if she does put herself to bed a little early, she at least has the option of being up and awake.

Putting her in your room is actually a good idea for this early transition time! She can get used to you while you do your normal routines. If you're still in school (I'm still in school) doing homework near her is a fantastic way to give her lots of indirect attention. A nice piece of fruit or salt-free nut from time to time will really help her to know you are the source of all that is wonderful and calm.

 

[Chopper]

I guess I'm lucky...mine pretty much stay quiet until I am up and moving in their room. Even if I get up and go to the bathroom if I go back to bed in the morning they will stay quiet. I cover some of my birds but they are covered with a light colored sheet so they can still see the morning light. The other morning I slept until 9:30 am and they weren't calling for me yet.

 

[greys4u]

I have used a micro fiber sheet for years with Valentine. She goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00. She's quite till she hears me or the dog move around in the a.m. When I uncover her she is on her atom and doesn't come out till her breakfast is served.

 

[nm0710]

The problem is she puts herself to bed. She has a hanging tent and she just claims right in, facing the wall. It's the cutest thing!

I would like her to go to bed around 9. My younger sister wakes up for school at 6am. She hears her and she either wakes up or she knows people are around. She starts talking away with her hellos and the minute my sister stops or leaves she's a screamer. I'm trying to break that habit btw, however she was bought on Monday.

She seems to be warming up to me nicely, we talk back and forth and she's willing to take food from my fingers. I've sat next to her cage just doing whatever like it was suggested by other AA members before and she's becoming curious about what I'm doing and comes over and says hello.

She really is the cutest thing ever I just can't take her screaming outbursts!

 

[Chopper]

Are talking two days? She is still adjusting. Even if it is nine days she is still adjusting.
If you can try to ignore her in the morning until you are ready for her to get up.

 

[Beth In Alaska]

I know birds wake up with the sunrise. I've had my new bird uncovered for the past few nights and she's up by 6am. She puts herself to bed by 7:30pm. It's not a huge issue for me but I have unhappy parents when it comes to her morning screams.

I was going to try covering her cage and put her in my bedroom.

Will they sleep longer than 10-12 hours if left in quiet and darkness or is there a way I'm able to change her sleep schedule?

I'd not let her go to sleep at 7:30 and I'd cover the cage, yes.

 

[echobird]

My birds are put to bed at 8:30 and they wake up in the morning screaming at 7:30-8:00. I cover them but my room has a window that's in the line of view when the sun rises so it gets really bright in here early. They scream to let me know it's time for the covers to come off and it's breakfast time.
With Covers off and breakfast served, they'll be quiet again with the occasional scream.

I wake up at five or six as well and if the birds hear me they'll start chirping. I stay as quiet as possible so not to wake them fully and then they'll go back to sleep.

 

[safehaven]

I get a chuckle out of bird chatter. Is the screaming "screams" or bird talk? She is probably calling you. I always move my birds to my room at night in their sleep basket. I never hear a peep as long as their covered and it's dark.
If she sees the sun coming up, she probably thinks everyone in the flock, that's you and anyone else in house lol, should be up too!

 

[nm0710]

I get a chuckle out of bird chatter. Is the screaming "screams" or bird talk? She is probably calling you. I always move my birds to my room at night in their sleep basket. I never hear a peep as long as their covered and it's dark.
If she sees the sun coming up, she probably thinks everyone in the flock, that's you and anyone else in house lol, should be up too!

I figured out they are calls. She does it when she realizes she's alone in the room. I ignore it and when she settles down I will enter the room. My mom is spoiling her and either goes over to her cage to talk or she yells what's wrong. She tends to do it more when my mom is around. I expiriemented last night and this morning...once she realizes you are not coming she quiets down and actually talks to herself.

I brought her cage into my room. My room does not face the sun (before she was facing it) and I covered the top half of her cage with a black and white sheet. I was too nervous to cover the whole thing.

I got home late tonight around 9 and I was surprised to find her still awake. She was left home alone for about 4 hours. I was greeted with a big hello with some cage shaking when I walked in the door. Fingers crossed she'll sleep past 6 since she when to bed late! I will update in the morning.

 

[FLmom]

My suggestion is keep her up just a bit later each night say like 10 or 15 mins later and gradually add another 10 mins over a week or so time.

But the key is going to be in the mornings.
When we first brought Kai home I made sure I woke him BEFORE he had a chance to scream. I did this because I didn't want him to think he had to scream in order to get out of his night cage and get breakfast. So I was very careful to keep everything as quiet as possible so I could get Kai up BEFORE he screamed. This meant that some mornings I got him up earlier than I'd like but it conditioned him to realize that I was coming without him having to scream for me.

So you may have to start getting to your bird earlier in the mornings than you want to at first. Get up and take care of her before she has a chance to scream for you. Then once that is established you can shift the times to a better time for you. I'd also suggest covering her too.

My bird is covered in my room and we are up at 515am my kids are in and out of my bathroom. Showering and blow drying their hair. I ask them to be as quiet as they can but its noisey anyway. But Kai sleeps right through it all and gets woke up by me at 7am he never makes a peep. And I attribute that to those very early days of conditioning. There are days that something came up with the kids and I was late getting Kai up and even on those days he didn't scream.

One other suggestion might be to put a favorite treat in her bowl for her to wake up to. That may buy you sometime to get to her before she screams.

 

[camelotshadow]

Mom needs to stop encouraging her to call by answering or coming in.
She's new so maybe she wants company to feel safe. Just don't want her to start calling for attention which is naturally what they will do. Its best she learns you will come back & to quietly entertain herself.
Sometimes it helps to start a routine. Tell her you are leaving & will come back.
You'll have to work on that & hopefully it will iron out when she is more comfortable in her new home.
Likely she was someone bird & then given to petshop to sell. don't know what her previous life was like.
Still she's had a lot of changes recently so needs time.

I'd cover her with a dark cover & try that. If she's never been covered though it could scare her & she could fly into bars.
You have to rest it out. Cover her at say 8pm. Likely she will be in her hut & not notice it. Then hope she sleeps til 8AM & then uncover. Adjust it so that she will get 10 to 12 hours of sleep.

She sounds cute talking to you like that!

May work better in your bedroom so she won't hear your sister however she will want to get up when you get up so hopefully it works with family schedule. Birds generally like to get up early so hope you can work it out by covering her or getting black out curtains for your room so it is dark until you get up.

Good Luck

 

[nm0710]

Mom needs to stop encouraging her to call by answering or coming in.
She's new so maybe she wants company to feel safe. Just don't want her to start calling for attention which is naturally what they will do. Its best she learns you will come back & to quietly entertain herself.
Sometimes it helps to start a routine. Tell her you are leaving & will come back.
You'll have to work on that & hopefully it will iron out when she is more comfortable in her new home.
Likely she was someone bird & then given to petshop to sell. don't know what her previous life was like.
Still she's had a lot of changes recently so needs time.

I'd cover her with a dark cover & try that. If she's never been covered though it could scare her & she could fly into bars.
You have to rest it out. Cover her at say 8pm. Likely she will be in her hut & not notice it. Then hope she sleeps til 8AM & then uncover. Adjust it so that she will get 10 to 12 hours of sleep.

She sounds cute talking to you like that!

May work better in your bedroom so she won't hear your sister however she will want to get up when you get up so hopefully it works with family schedule. Birds generally like to get up early so hope you can work it out by covering her or getting black out curtains for your room so it is dark until you get up.

Good Luck

I bought a new toy from Amazon that should be arriving tomorrow. It's made to be destroyed. It has a ball in the middle filled with papers they have to pull out. I'm hoping it'll entertain her more. The toys she came with are just in okay shape and she doesn't seem to be super excited about them. I've told my mom several times, birds are like kids. I believe I read somewhere they have the mentality of a 4 year old. I believe it.

I was told she was bought directly from a breeder. I don't know if she was hand raised. In the pet shop she was surrounded by a few finches, and a male sun conure right next to her.

I'm glad I only covered the top portion of her cage. I'm not sure if she was ever covered at night I certainly don't want an injury taking place! She happily goes into her hut as soon as she sees the sun setting or like tonight I turned the lights out.

I'm really hoping this works. If it doesn't I will do what you suggested and get black out curtains. Even if she does wake up early tomorrow I think she'll be okay. She's very talkative and at the foot of my bed. She would have full sight of me, she doesn't scream if she's with someone

 

[safehaven]

Aw, she sounds so adorable and she loves people. I kinda tend to be like your mom and answer the calls that's our motherly instinct kicking in

 

[Mizzely]

Just a question, but what are the shop hours? She might be on their schedule still

 

[nm0710]

Just a question, but what are the shop hours? She might be on their schedule still

Their hours were from 10-6! I figured that as well. I just had no idea how to break her from it.

 

[nm0710]

Just an update! It worked. She quietly entertained herself. I heard her mocking around so I woke up and told her she's a good girl and then uncovered her. Just a good way to start the day, no screams!