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Post by jasperandlouise on Dec 15, 2022 18:35:43 GMT -5
Several months ago, I noticed Cheese Louise would start screeching/shrieking loudly at about 8PM. At that time, shrieking was a big issue we were having, so when she would get too loud for too long, I would place her back in her cage and take it to another room for a while. Once she quieted down, I'd bring her back out. Generally, it took her 10-20 minutes to stop screeching. But I noticed something odd- whenever I would put her in another room at 8PM (roughly), the screeching would stop immediately and she would be silent. It didn't take long to figure out that she was asking- no, demanding to be put to bed. Every night without fail she'd begin screeching at 8, about the time the sun was fully set. As the days have gotten shorter with winter in full swiing here, her bedtime has adjusted too- now she starts demanding night-nights (she's learned that term now and says it quite adamantly when she's ready to sleep) at 5PM, still right after the sun sets. She's very strict about her self-appointed bedtime, and boy do I get scolded if I'm a little late putting her to bed!  I was wondering, do any of your quakers or other parrot species decide when they're ready for bed? How do they communicate that they're ready to sleep? Did they self-appoint their bedtimes or did you have to enforce one? |
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Post by heatherg on Dec 15, 2022 19:43:20 GMT -5
Oh, yes, willow wants to go to bed by seven if not earlier in the winter. He refuses to step up and come out of his cage after that. He will bite and cling to his toy with one foot. .
My Lucy Quaker used to yell “go night night! Goodnight!” until I put her in her cage and darkened the room. If I didn’t listen she’d scream. She also used this phrase to end outings that had gone in too long for her taste.
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Post by cnyguy on Dec 15, 2022 20:41:47 GMT -5
Most nights Ralph is out of his cage for some one-on-one time, usually spent in the kitchen (Ralph's favorite place to play). Sometime between 7:00 and 7:30, he'll stop whatever he's doing, say an insistent grraacckk! and look in the direction of his cage. No doubt what he wants. He chose that bedtime when I first got him and has stuck with it ever since. When I used to go to hockey games once or twice a week, he wouldn't actually be put to bed until after I got home, between 10:00 and 10:30. I always supposed that he went to sleep at his usual time and woke up when I came in.
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Post by Caseysmom on Dec 15, 2022 22:09:23 GMT -5
Yes Casey says “night night night” when he wants to go to bed. If I am slow to respond he will just go into his cage and play quietly and repeat night night night after awhile Ten o’clock is his preferred bedtime but he has asked for earlier on occasion. I always told my kids when they grew up and had kids, bedtimes would never be as easy as a parrot saying night night night. They now know that is very true lol
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Post by biteybird on Dec 19, 2022 5:48:32 GMT -5
Several months ago, I noticed Cheese Louise would start screeching/shrieking loudly at about 8PM. At that time, shrieking was a big issue we were having, so when she would get too loud for too long, I would place her back in her cage and take it to another room for a while. Once she quieted down, I'd bring her back out. Generally, it took her 10-20 minutes to stop screeching. But I noticed something odd- whenever I would put her in another room at 8PM (roughly), the screeching would stop immediately and she would be silent. It didn't take long to figure out that she was asking- no, demanding to be put to bed. Every night without fail she'd begin screeching at 8, about the time the sun was fully set. As the days have gotten shorter with winter in full swiing here, her bedtime has adjusted too- now she starts demanding night-nights (she's learned that term now and says it quite adamantly when she's ready to sleep) at 5PM, still right after the sun sets. She's very strict about her self-appointed bedtime, and boy do I get scolded if I'm a little late putting her to bed! I was wondering, do any of your quakers or other parrot species decide when they're ready for bed? How do they communicate that they're ready to sleep? Did they self-appoint their bedtimes or did you have to enforce one? Oh, yes, we are VERY familiar with this. Bonnie has kept us on our toes, all right. Since we moved to the Northern Territory from Melbourne (opposite ends of the country) around 5 and a half years ago, she has changed the time she wants to go to bed. She tells us she want to go to bed by SQUAWKING - VERY LOUDLY! - AT 2-SECOND INTERVALS! :0 But the funny thing is that if it's overcast or darker than usual she will fly inside her sleeping cage, then circle around on the floor, screeching "Goodnight!". This can be anywhere from 2-6pm (but if it's ridiculously early I just ignore it and she comes out eventually). She used to want to go to bed at 7pm when we were in Melbourne, but up here it is at 6pm or even earlier. I usually try to keep her up until 6:30pm, as she doesn't wake up until 7am each day. Recently, if she is carrying on and is in her "poolside leisure cage" (as we call it, just a little cage we take her in down by the pool), I just take the cage into her sleeping room and open the door of both cages, then she flies into her sleeping cage - so yes, she does put herself to bed. It's so funny. The frustrating thing is that she knows the word "goodnight" and she even said it once outside to tell us she wanted to go to bed....but never again. I just KNOW she understands! Little minx. |
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Post by sproutsmom on Apr 8, 2023 16:17:34 GMT -5
I've noticed this too and wondered if Sprout was letting me know it was bedtime. I've been trying to teach "bedtime" but have also been saying "night night" to see if he'll learn one over the over (so far he's not speaking but every now and then I think I hear him trying to say "step up".
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Post by cnyguy on Apr 8, 2023 19:45:45 GMT -5
Sprout probably is practicing to say step up. He may not be quite ready to say it loudly enough for you to hear him but that will probably come in time. Keep working on night-night, and he may say that eventually too, though it may not mean that he's ready to go to bed.
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