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Need help establishing a good sleep routine!

birdlovr

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(If this thread topic is under the wrong section, please let me know and I will make any adjustments. I am very new to this. :cautious:)

Hello, I am a minor. I have had experience with a previous blue Budgie named Nimbus who passed away suddenly on Halloween (I think it was a genetic organ issue, as he would get sick suddenly without cause and get better a few days later with no treatment. I could not find more research on genetic organ failure signs. It could of also been toxic toys as I bought some the day before and he was just fine, but I doubt it). I had successfully clicker trained and recall trained him, we were very bonded and he loved to play with my hair (he would be let out everyday and would pace in his cage when I returned home from school, wanting to be let out). I have done extensive research on proper bird care, and I only want what’s best for my current birds.
5EE88B37-FB7B-4AD9-81DE-CE3B0742084B.jpeg D18E16F6-12B3-45B9-8271-92010E3EB715.jpeg

I adopted Star (female yellow budgie) and Sterling (blue male budgie) three days later as a way to help me cope with Nimbus’ passing.
1D16E437-867A-469F-82B9-D477144543B8.jpeg


They share a cage together currently and are bonded. I have actually caught Star allopreening Sterling a couple of times :xflove:They will get a bigger cage for Christmas. BD1AD295-9D21-41B3-9F80-C0C39A849733.jpeg (Sorry for bad image quality)

Recently, I read online that covering your birds cage at night is harmful and can cause hormonal issues. I did not know this with Nimbus, but I had no problems with him. This leads me to make changes in Star and Sterling’s sleep routine the best I can.

I do not have another room for the birds to stay in, as they sit on top of my dresser. I am getting an air purifier and cleaning their droppings more often after looking into BFL and other related diseases. (I do not show any signs).

I’m wanting to get them a nightlight for the night to prevent nightfrights. I was also looking into”conditioning the calm” (When your bird is napping or sleeping, play calm music while they rest so they start to associate the music with calm/sleep. That way, when you play the sound at night, they will begin to get sleepy.) But I am unsure if this would help.

I leave and enter my room quite a bit during the night, as well as stay on my phone (with the lowest brightness on) with my headphones plugged in, so the noise will not be a bother. Ive kept changing their routine the past few days, and they seem to get little to no sleep without a cover. I am trying tonight with a partial cover to see how things work out. I put them to bed at 6:00pm and wake up at 6:30am (any tips on how to make the transition from bed to sleep/sleep to awake smoother and easier let me know please!) Also, I do not think a sleep cage would be ideal since I have no place to put it, my only place being my crowded closet with no ventilation or fresh air…yikes.

Apologies for the semi long post, I have been stressed about their well-being and just wanted some tips! Thank you all for reading :heart:

(Note: I am working on clicker training and hand taming with them. In a few days they should be ready to leave the cage. I will then work on target training.)
 
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Shezbug

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If your birds are displaying signs of hormonal behaviour then sometimes covering them may make them more hormonal as the cage under the cover becomes kind of nest like- a hidey hole sort of, but many do people cover their birds with no issues at all. I have only heard of a few cases of birds becoming more hormonal with night covers and I do believe all those birds were sadly housed in tiny cages.
If you are sharing a room with your birds and not going to bed when they are then it is probably best to cover them so they get enough rest. If you do not have to share a room with them then that is better for all of you health wise (sleep for you all and breathing for you) but I realise that is not always possible.
 

Wally&Eva

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(If this thread topic is under the wrong section, please let me know and I will make any adjustments. I am very new to this. :cautious:)

Hello, I am a minor. I have had experience with a previous blue Budgie named Nimbus who passed away suddenly on Halloween (I think it was a genetic organ issue, as he would get sick suddenly without cause and get better a few days later with no treatment. I could not find more research on genetic organ failure signs. It could of also been toxic toys as I bought some the day before and he was just fine, but I doubt it). I had successfully clicker trained and recall trained him, we were very bonded and he loved to play with my hair (he would be let out everyday and would pace in his cage when I returned home from school, wanting to be let out). I have done extensive research on proper bird care, and I only want what’s best for my current birds.
View attachment 418383 View attachment 418385

I adopted Star (female yellow budgie) and Sterling (blue male budgie) three days later as a way to help me cope with Nimbus’ passing.
View attachment 418382


They share a cage together currently and are bonded. I have actually caught Star allopreening Sterling a couple of times :xflove:They will get a bigger cage for Christmas. View attachment 418386 (Sorry for bad image quality)

Recently, I read online that covering your birds cage at night is harmful and can cause hormonal issues. I did not know this with Nimbus, but I had no problems with him. This leads me to make changes in Star and Sterling’s sleep routine the best I can.

I do not have another room for the birds to stay in, as they sit on top of my dresser. I am getting an air purifier and cleaning their droppings more often after looking into BFL and other related diseases. (I do not show any signs).

I’m wanting to get them a nightlight for the night to prevent nightfrights. I was also looking into”conditioning the calm” (When your bird is napping or sleeping, play calm music while they rest so they start to associate the music with calm/sleep. That way, when you play the sound at night, they will begin to get sleepy.) But I am unsure if this would help.

I leave and enter my room quite a bit during the night, as well as stay on my phone (with the lowest brightness on) with my headphones plugged in, so the noise will not be a bother. Ive kept changing their routine the past few days, and they seem to get little to no sleep without a cover. I am trying tonight with a partial cover to see how things work out. I put them to bed at 6:00pm and wake up at 6:30am (any tips on how to make the transition from bed to sleep/sleep to awake smoother and easier let me know please!) Also, I do not think a sleep cage would be ideal since I have no place to put it, my only place being my crowded closet with no ventilation or fresh air…yikes.

Apologies for the semi long post, I have been stressed about their well-being and just wanted some tips! Thank you all for reading :heart:

(Note: I am working on clicker training and hand taming with them. In a few days they should be ready to leave the cage. I will then work on target training.)
I get home from work late and sometimes it disturbs them. Maybe not enough to keep them up, but enough to wake them up for the moment. I put a light sheet over them, it covers 3/4 of the cage and leave a nightlight as one of them is especially clumsy and I could see her just tipping over :facepalm: if they are in my room and I am up watching tv, they will go to sleep but chirp at me to cover them. Once I do, they go right to bed. They are very used to sleeping through the noises, whether it be tv, my old cat making strange noises, my creaky bedroom door, etc. it actually works out that they have trained themselves to sleep through the noise. On the other hand, I’ve been trying to put them in their room earlier so they can sleep better
 

birdlovr

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Thank you! Also, your bird’s names are absolutely adorable. :xflove:
 

Sparkles99

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Glad to hear you're getting an air filter! Make sure it's a HEPA one. With them in your bedroom, I'd say that, if you have a choice, this is more of a priority for a Christmas present than a cage upgrade.

Most people show no signs of BFL until they have it. I read a study that said the average length of exposure time is 18 years, if I recall correctly, until they 'suddenly', 'out of nowhere' have it. :(

You can wear a mask when you clean their cage &/or mist the droppings with a spray bottle prior to disturbing them to clean.

Another thing to get is a microfibre cloth. I never liked microfibre until I listened to someone on here & used that plus a scrub bucket of plain water to wipe my cages, perches, etc. It's amazing!

Your budgies are beautiful & I'm glad you're enjoying them (I love budgies!), but health & safety is good too. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Not to harp on this forever, but with other things & furnishings in the room, I'd highly recommend laundering your bedding, curtains, etc. more often, periodically steam cleaning your carpet or mopping your floor more often & wet dusting everything regularly. We actually have a minor on this forum who had to rehome most of their birds due to BFL.
 

birdlovr

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This is so genuinely helpful, thank you!! I will be buying an air purifier as soon as I can, I’ll try my best to get a HEPA one or something similar (that is bird safe, ofc, as the HEPA model is quite expensive considering the other items I want). Once I am older and have my own house, they will have their own room, so this will be less of an issue. However, it’s good to be cautious. Thank you again :xflove:
 

Fergus Mom

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@birdlovr Hi Brooklyn, I used to cover Fergus and Fiona all the way with a sheet at night at bedtime. They have always had a dim light on in the room they are sleeping in. I now have found that if I cover only the top half of the cage they do much better in terms of no night frights! I think they feel a lot safer that they can see the bottom of their cage, and even sneak down for a midnight snack if they feel the urge! I hope you will find the perfect solution!
 

birdlovr

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Quick Bump: Would single chirping during the night be something for concern? I sometimes hear Sterling chirp loud once or twice at night then stop. I am thinking I am either waking him up, or he is just sleep chirping. Help anyone?
 

Shezbug

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My budgie has the odd mini squeak in the middle of the night. Waking himself up dreaming is what it looks like to me lol
 
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