|
|
Cage cover
Jun 24, 2016 19:06:51 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by duckysmom on Jun 24, 2016 19:06:51 GMT -5
I am going to pick up my little blue Ducky tomorrow morning. The breeder told me which foods he's been weaned to and we set up his cage with toys she recommended that he seems to like. She said she does not cover her birds at night. I will need to cover the cage to make sure he gets the proper amount of sleep. My elderly aunt lives with us and we have to leave lights on so she can get around as she is up frequently during the night. I don't want the lights to disturb him or make him think he should be waking up the rest of the house. I expect to give him a few days to acclimate. But what is the right way and time to introduce the cover?
|
|
|
|
Post by epinsor on Jun 24, 2016 19:25:59 GMT -5
I would start right away its not usally a big problem
|
|
|
|
Post by cnyguy on Jun 24, 2016 20:19:20 GMT -5
You may have to experiment a little with how much of Ducky's cage to cover. Parrots have individual preferences, and they're usually very good at letting you know what they like and don't like. Ralph likes having the back of his cage covered at all times. At night, the two sides are covered too, along with just the top third of the front of his cage. He made that clear to me when I first brought him home. My old Amazon George wanted his cage almost completely covered at night, with only a small opening along one front edge. Scooter, my recently-adopted Grey won't tolerate a cover at all.
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Jun 27, 2016 2:29:49 GMT -5
I cover Maya's cage and leave a little corner open. I've heard stories of birds suffocating under covers before when they're not used properly. If you're going to use a towel, avoid one that covers the whole of the cage as that will block ventilation. I use a properly designed cage cover that I bought from northern parrots. I put it over Maya the first night I had her and she has been fine ever since  |
|
|
|
Post by easttex on Jun 27, 2016 6:24:35 GMT -5
I don't think Peppy had been covered for his first 21 years. It was months before he stopped ducking when I pulled a cover over his cage. I wanted to keep the drafts from the air conditioning and the nearby window out and covered all but about half the front.
|
|
|
|
Post by siobhan on Jun 27, 2016 17:45:07 GMT -5
Rocky has to be covered or he won't settle down, for the same reason -- the lights have to stay on a while after his bedtime so we don't fall over things. LOL But I don't cover anyone else's cage anymore, since they're in their own room and it's dark in there. The way I got Clyde used to a cover when he first came to us was to let him see what I was doing and explain to him what i was doing and not just plop it over his cage but gently ease it over while verbally reassuring him.
|
|
|
|
Post by duckysmom on Jun 27, 2016 20:39:06 GMT -5
Thank you for the suggestions and input. We decided to cover the back of the cage before he went in the first time. To him it was part of the cage. Each night we are slowly moving it forward, a little more each night. He hasn't fussed, just looked up curiously. Then we say night-night and walk away. So far, so good.
|
|
|
|
Post by Plumprimrose on Jun 28, 2016 17:48:27 GMT -5
Can anyone tell me the grown size of a Quaker parrot? My baby has hatched and I'm looking at cages and have no clue how big to get.
|
|
|
|
Post by cnyguy on Jun 28, 2016 20:23:05 GMT -5
Here is an article on the companion site that might be helpful: cage for Quaker parrots In general, bigger is better; the size mentioned in the article, 18" x 18" x 18" is really the bare minimum, most appropriate if the parrot won't be in the cage for much other than sleeping. My QP Ralph's cage is 22" x 26" x 65" with 5/8" bar spacing,and it works well for a Quaker. |
|
