Cockatiel Cages

[Tom B]

I am planning to by a Cockatiel in a couple of months (after doing lots of research) but their has been one question that i havn't been able to get the answer to. Should i give my cockatiel a seperate night cage in a different room to the one he spends his day in. I have heard that birds need a constant routine and i am worried that if he only has one cage in one room he will not be able to get that.
Thanks,Tom B

 

[BraveheartDogs]

I don't think it's necessary for a cockatiel. My Cockatiels have always slept in the same cage that they spend their days in. My vote is no

 

[CrazyBirdLady]

Mine only have one cage, no sleeping cages.

 

[AzaleaMist]

I don't . Mine know it is bed time when I either put them in their cage or max in his cage and we turn out the lights and say goodnight .

 

[Tangle Elf]

I think it depends on your lifestyle. If his cage is in a room that you will be in when it's getting late, then a sleep cage could be beneficial. That way, he could be in the room with the most activity but when you're up late watching tv or something, he'll be able to sleep. As far as routines, I try to avoid them. I think that if they get too involved in a routine, it's hard for them when it changes. They live long lives so at some point, it will change. My birds have traveled with me, they've stayed home when I traveled, they've been boarded and they've taken most of it in stride. They don't freak out if I get up late or stay up late. When they ran out of food at the vet's office (a gallon of dry mix in 4 days!?!) the vet picked up a similar mix. They didn't care. To them, if you put it in their bowl, it is food. I think a certain amount of routine is important, but don't worry about being too strict.

 

[Bailey]

Well 2 of my tiels go into a sleep cage and the other 2 stay in their day cage for the nights. The 2 that go inot a sleep cage do because they won't sleep throughout the night if they're not in a sleep cage with 100% darkness.

 

[Tom B]

Ok thanks for the help, I think at first i will just keep him in the one day cage and see how he goes but then if he appears to be not getting enough sleep i will consider a night cage. We are often all in the living room watching a movie or in the dark so i would be concerned about him not getting enough sleep. I have also heard that Cockatiels are one of the most prone birds to "night frights" so if he was in my room for the night it could be easier if one did occur. Please say if it sounds like i've got false information about anything.
Thanks, Tom B

 

[Chanticleer]

I keep Chanti in just his one cage. He spends a lot of his day out of the cage, so it shouldn't be too boring for him (he has enough toys! ), and doesn't seem to mind it at all. I would say no, but every bird is different. I would do what you said and start with just the one. If there are any problems you can always get another cage. Cockatiels are notorious for being frightened easily at night and trying to take flight, ending up in them crashing into their cage walls and becoming more disoriented. However, Chanti has never had problems with this as of yet. Like I said, they're all different! You'll figure out what's best for your tiel

 

[moonchild]

I think a sleep cage is good if the main cage is in a room where there is still a lot of activity after the bird's bedtime. Otherwise, they can just sleep in their regular cage. Mine do.

 

[Cephus]

None of my birds have sleep cages. The 'tiels go back into their regular cage and it gets covered. They sleep all night long. Everyone else just goes into their cage and sleeps, but their cages are in dark rooms at night so there are no distractions. I never saw the point in it.

 

[TwoTinyTrees]

My cockatiel only has her one cage and she is happy as can be. I say no.

 

[cassiesdad]

I have three cages for four tiels. Sleeping arrangements vary night to night. Sometimes all four sleep together in one cage! It's all up to them....

 

[penguin]

I use sleep cages for mine because the lutinos tend to have night frights. Now these have mostly gone away with better nutrition and age (as babies it happened more often), but their flight cage is downstairs, I would never be able to hear them if they had another. I also don't like for Ruby or Sif to sleep in the flight because it's a greater distance for them to fall if frightened, Ruby has broken blood feathers when we tried keeping her in there overnight. The vet recommended the smaller sleep cage for her. My BFF's lutino tiel had to be put down because she broke her thigh and had internal injuries sustained in a night fright and this has made me VERY cautious.

 

[Tom B]

Ok thanks. I have found a good, relatively cheap smaller cage that looks like it would do fine as a Cockatiel night cage. My only concern is that the bar spacing in 1cm not the recommended 1.3 would this still be ok? (It is fine in terms of width, height and length). I think i will use a night cage mainly because the day cage is quite far away from anyone in the night so i wouldnt notice if something happened, we are often in that room quite late and because I have a cat that often walks around outside at night (i doubt she would try and kill the bird but she would probably frighten it)

 

[AzaleaMist]

I think the smaller spacing should be okay for tiny Tiel feet but make sure someone else confirms it.