New lovebirds, cage placement in apartment

[Nabilb]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new lovebird owner, never had any pet in my life but have always been a fan of birds, parrots specifically.

I purchased 2 lovebirds who are 2 months old from a pet store. The two I chose were already attached to each other and keep playing with each other.

I did a lot of research before purchasing them, bought a large flight cage for them and filled it with different size perches, different food and drink bowls and lots of different toys. Within a couple of hours of moving them into the cage, they started exploring and playing with the different toys. But they are always scared when I pass next to their cage, which from my research is normal for the first few days.

My main concern here is the placement of the bird cage. I live in a one bedroom penthouse, my bedroom is spacious and has a walking closet that is open to the bedroom. My living room and kitchen are all a single open space, very large space. I have a dozen large plants in my living room and from my research most of them are toxic for birds. Also, the kitchen is not suitable for birds from the research I've done. I'm someone who doesn't sleep more than 4 hours a night and when I sleep, I have sleep apnea and when I snore I stop breathing a lot an hour, and when I do I make high noises which can startle the birds at night if they sleep in the same room as me. So what I've done in the first day is keep them in my bedroom the whole day and at night I rolled the cage out to the living room for them to sleep. For now I haven't taken them out of their cages as they are not comfortable with their surrounding yet, from what I read I shouldn't try to get them out before 3-5 days.

I'm worried that because I don't sleep a lot, they won't be getting enough sleep, also when I get them out, in my bedroom I have my work office as well and there are a bunch of wires around it so this can be dangerous for them. But the living room and kitchen is more dangerous for them with the plants and the kitchen. So what would be a the recommendation to where I should get them out and what should I do with the cage placement situation.

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry about the long post, I wanted to give as much information as possible.

 

[Zara]

Hello, Welcome to Avian Avenue!

It is good to allow your birds 2 hours undisturbed sleep. It doesn have to be super silent - I used to have my birds in the living room right next to me at night, I would cover them to block the light and then work while they were asleep and they were fine.
Having a good cover, something that will block enough light out to allow them to sleep is important.

My birds are spending this week in my bedroom as I have kids over in the room my birds are now living in, and my partner keeps me awake snoring but my birds sleep through.

I think the living area is a better place to put them, for them and for you.

Look into a tension rod to hang up some curtains to separate areas for them to safely fly in when the time comes.

Invest in some millet spray, and spend time by the cage feeding it to them through the cage bars to help build some trust. Try not to make sudden movements to avoid startling them.

Maybe this thread could have more helpful info in;

Some things to do with a new bird....

So many people come on here with new birds asking what they should and shouldn't do that I thought I would put a short list together of things that owners of new birds could do to build a good relationship with their bird. These things can be done with all new rehomes, rescues or baby birds...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[caspin22]

Just want to address your comments about sleep apnea....please get a sleep study done, and a C-Pap machine! My husband has very severe sleep apnea, and every night I listened to him stop breathing over and over, gasp, choke, snore...it was scary. I finally nagged him into a sleep study, and he averaged 115 breathing events per hour! Normal is anything under 5, and 30+ is considered severe. The doctor told him that on any given night, he might just not wake up, it was that severe. He initially resisted the idea of a C-Pap, but once he started using it regularly, and realized what being well rested felt like, he can't live without it. It comes with us when we travel, and he won't sleep without it. Please, for your health and well being, get that checked out!

 

[Nabilb]

Hey all,

Zara, thank you for your input. I decided to keep them in the living area but take them to my room when I want to take them out of the cage. They are still very hesitant to come out, but I think they are starting to get used to the environment. The only thing that's bothering me is that they're still extremely afraid of me, they go into the cages corner even when I just pass by their cage. I read them a book 10 minutes a day, I have meetings around them during the day so they can get used to my voice, I don't do any sudden movements, but even though they are getting used to the environments, they are not getting used to me at all. I guess that I will have to be patient

Caspin, thanks for the advice, it's really nice of you to pickup on that and take the time to talk about it. I do have a C-Pap machine, tried using it for a month and I didn't sleep at all for a whole month. I couldn't get used to having something on my face or in my nose. I tried several different masks, but it's not working for me. I also have a severe sleep apnea case, I have 55 events for hour and I should use it. I will give it another go and see if I can get used to it.

Thanks all,

 

[nesbisous]

My lovebird was also very nervous and distant from me in the beginning, it took about 6 months for her to start bonding with me. I followed a routine set by a Dr online and it worked. She said to build a routine and predictable behavior so the birds are startled less and trust you more. I also leave the cage open from 8am-12pm and 3/4pm-8pm (12-3 nap time). Since I started leaving the cage open they ventured out and initiated contact with me. I just let them do their own thing and show them im safe and predicable . Also I found that the more time I spend by them the more they learn my behavior and grow interest in me.

The vet is @. thebudgieacademy on instagram. the routine is actually for budgies but it worked more for my lovebird than budgie hahahaha, just difference in personality.