sleeping cage vs travel cage

[shelly]

I am starting to understand why a sleeping cage may be important. Twinkie gets covered up at night with a black sheet but he is sort of in the middle of everything so sometimes lights come on, dishwasher runs etc so i am sure it isn't very restful.
So i've been thinking about a travel cage that i could get duel purpose out of for a sleep cage. Is this okay? What i am looking at would let him perch, hop around and eat and drink. It is pretty small. Like 7 by 9 by 7. would this be okay? it would be used to take to the vet too.

[Bird_lover6]

I don't think I would buy something quite that small to sleep in on a regular basis. That size cage is fine for a trip to the vet, but too small for sleeping every night or a weekend trip. KWIM? I would get something a little bit bigger that you could put a small bowl of food and water, a small perch, a swing, and a couple of small toys.

[JudiNH]

I agree. Sleep cages are usually small cages, with food and water dishes, a perch or two, and maybe something to snuggle up with, like a fleecy toy or a "blankie" kind of thing. A travel cage is just to transport, and is only used for a very short period of time, an hour or two. I would go with a small cage for sleeping in at night.

[jodeg]

I agree also. The size cage you mention should only be used for trips to the vet or emergency evacuation.

You can get one of those small Parakeet cages very inexpensively to use as a sleep cage. Some water, dry food, a couple of nice comfy perches, maybe something to snuggle with, and even a toy (in case he wakes up during the night and wants something "to do"), and you're all set.

You can easily move the sleeping cage to a quiet, dark room so he gets good uninterupted sleep. I cover my birds' cages, but that would be a personal preference.

Once my birds are covered, it's "night-night" and lights out around 7 p.m.. I don't hear a peep out of them until about 7:30 a.m., when Libby, my Conure, says "Make a Poopie", and our day begins!

[krysm]

Lol - that's funny - "make a poopie".

I tried a sleep cage with my last parrotlet in a seperate room but he really hated it. Our big cage was in the living room with the TV on and was happier in there. I've heard that most birds do better with a sleep cage though.

[Tina&Jeremy]

Agave sleeps in her covered HQ in our living room. We never hear a peep even when doing dishes, watching TV, talking...I think that like babies they get used to normal household noises. She goes to sleep around 7:30 and is a well-rested bird.

[shelly]

my little guy is only 2 months old. So i have been following the guide lines in the book. they say 12 hours. Is that what you guys do?

[jodeg]

I always read that too. Don't know if it's a hard and fast rule though, but I've heard they are less cranky and happier with 12 hours, give or take.

They seem to want to go to sleep when it gets dark and get up when it gets light. Mine pretty much go to sleep at 7 p.m. and are uncovered at 7:30 a.m., when Libby (my Conure) says, "Make a poopie", as I mentioned in an earlier post.

I've also heard that fewer daylight hours makes the females less likely to want to lay eggs. I'm not a breeder, but there are some on the forum who may jump in and comment.

Around 10 p.m., I can hear Libby talking softly to herself. Maybe she's talking herself to sleep or comforting herself, I'm not sure, but she does it every night, and then all is quiet again.

They are both happy and not at all cranky using this sleep/wake routine, so I guess it works for us!

[shelly]

I love that make a poopie! I bet that is so cute! Well i will stick with the 12 hours for another month or so then let him stay up a little more since it will be lighter later and he will be older. I just don't want him any crabbier than he already is. LOL:eek:

[Sally]

I think a bigger cage is better than a travel cage. Chipper sleeps on top of toys. They need some toys, perches and water. She sleeps for 12 hours. She tells us when she is ready to go to her sleep cage in another room.

She loves to hear a story, and a song. Then I wind up her music box and cover her and say goodnight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/chipper/PICT0143500border.jpg

[Evelyn]

It is good to always have a travel cage, I have one for each of my birds, but that reason is we live in FL and could someday have to evacuate because of a hurricane..When I bought the cages I wanted to make sure they had enough room in the cage, just in case they have to spend a few weeks in that cage and be able to have a few toys and food dishes, we also take the P'let back to NJ with us on vacation and board the Tiels..For the "Tiels I have travel cages that would be big enough for an African Grey, and the P'lets have travel cages that most people keep their Parakeets in all the time, I wouldn't but they do make nice travel cages..I have never in my life had a sleep cage for one of my birds..so hope some of this helped..