Night Cages?

[MacawMom87]

Good evening all! As we get closer to bringing home our B&G I'm pondering the idea of a separate night cage for him. His current cage is in our den off of the main living area. Most nights we are all in bed pretty early but occasionally we will have friends over for a game night. Should I get a separate cage for those occasions? Or is it okay if on occasion he stays up a little later for the festivities? (and by that I mean he is still put up for bed time it just may be a little extra noisy) If I did decide to get one how big would it have to bed if it's just for sleeping? Thanks in advance!

 

[macawpower58]

How old will he be when you bring him home?
None of mine have night cages, I do know people who find them useful though.
My macaw as a baby did have a smaller sleep cage, but later transitioned to his big cage for good.

 

[Craftydan]

I'm a BIG proponent of sleeping cages.

Little Essie ain't anywhere near a Macaw, but getting her a spot that is routinely hers to settle in at night has been good for her and liberating for us. Not only does it give her a place to get out of the hub-bub when 7pm rolls around, we can close the door set a self-dimming alarm-light so she naturally picks her own bedtime. She gets autonomy, and keeping the routine -- clean the cage, stock the food/treats, say good night and the overheads go off -- settles the few arguments she might have.

We're fortunate her size also makes that cage suitable to be her travel cage, so even if we go out on a late trip, as the sun goes down she tucks herself into bed all on her own. Granted, any big bump has her poke her head out to complain "HEY! I'm TRYING to get some sleep here!!!"

 

[MacawMom87]

How old will he be when you bring him home?
None of mine have night cages, I do know people who find them useful though.
My macaw as a baby did have a smaller sleep cage, but later transitioned to his big cage for good.

He will be 5 months old.

 

[MacawMom87]

I'm a BIG proponent of sleeping cages.

Little Essie ain't anywhere near a Macaw, but getting her a spot that is routinely hers to settle in at night has been good for her and liberating for us. Not only does it give her a place to get out of the hub-bub when 7pm rolls around, we can close the door set a self-dimming alarm-light so she naturally picks her own bedtime. She gets autonomy, and keeping the routine -- clean the cage, stock the food/treats, say good night and the overheads go off -- settles the few arguments she might have.

We're fortunate her size also makes that cage suitable to be her travel cage, so even if we go out on a late trip, as the sun goes down she tucks herself into bed all on her own. Granted, any big bump has her poke her head out to complain "HEY! I'm TRYING to get some sleep here!!!"

Thank you! That sounds like such a great set up!

 

[Hankmacaw]

My Jasper had a sleep crate for the last 5/6 years of her life. It was for medical reasons - she had severe arthritis in her feet and legs and the 12 hours of rest for them was crucial to her pain level. It only took her about three nights to quit fussing about going in it and she finally got so she would go into it on her own when I asked her to.

Sometimes there are medical as well as husbandry reasons for a night cage.