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Somebody hates bedtime!
07-01-2012, 06:07 AM, (This post was last modified: 07-01-2012, 06:10 AM by laurasav.)
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laurasav Offline
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Somebody hates bedtime!
We've never had a bird that so hates bedtime like our Eclectus. Usually birds go to sleep quite willingly when it gets dark out. Our Eclectus hates being made to "go to bed." All evening, late at night while we're still up watching TV and the Quaker bird has gone to sleep in the next cage over, he will call out to us, make silly noises or bang a toy. When my husband comes in to cover both birds up, the ekkie will throw a temper tantrum. If he's out of the cage, he'll run around and not let the hubby pick him up. If he happens to be caught inside the cage, he'll try to bite through the bars, he'll growl, he'll burp, he'll give hubby the "raspberries." Then he'll peek under the cover at us until we leave the room. He'll usually end with a sweet "good night" or "good bye" though. Sometimes when we've stayed up later, or I get up super early because I can't sleep, I can hear him still talking to himself or making noise while he SHOULD be sleeping.
I'm curious if any other bird owners have had any trouble with their parrots not wanting to sleep at night?
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07-01-2012, 12:33 PM,
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jenb128 Offline
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
I have! My Buzzy used to be worse than my four year old niece when it came to bedtime. He just never wanted to go to bed. I can never just cover his cage or turn out the lights unless he's on his sleeping perch (he freaks out if he's not on his sleeping perch), but he used to resist going to his sleeping perch. I'd put him on it, and he'd just jump right back down. Thankfully, he's gotten better about it now that we have a specific routine established. I have to play him Beethoven's Ode to Joy (he loves it), close the door of his cage, and say "bedtime." He'll make his way to his sleeping perch while I tell him he's a good bird, then when he gets there, he gets some millet for being such a good bird. When the music ends, he gets another bite of millet, then I turn off the lights and cover his cage. I then have to sit with him until he starts beak grinding, which usually only takes a minute, if that. It works almost every time. However, if there's any alteration in the routine whatsoever, we have to start all over again (sometimes I think he has OCD). Wink
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07-03-2012, 03:30 AM,
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laurasav Offline
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
Oh my gosh, that is soooo FUNNY!!! Your buzzy is hilarious! He certainly has YOU trained, doesn't he?! LOL ;-)
All the parakeets, the cockatiel, and now the Quaker have been so good about going to sleep at night. I remember our cockatiel used to have nightmares sometimes though, waking us up, with his frantic flying about the cage in the middle of the night. We started leaving a nightlight on for him, and he was fine after that.
It's just our Eclectus that's been a real pistol. There's times he absolutely refuses to go in his cage, no matter what games my hubby tries to play with him. Then he'll go off, do something else for awhile, and usually when he comes back in the room later, the ekkie will have gone inside the cage & he can be covered up for the night and closed inside. Phew! Of course, there's still the protests from him and rude noises! LOL!
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07-03-2012, 04:35 PM, (This post was last modified: 07-03-2012, 04:35 PM by Ram.)
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
Most birds will sleep quietly as soon as it is getting dark. They will wake up and start to make all kinds of noises on the first sign of light. If you can take them out the cage, it means there is still enough light to see. You need to make the room completely dark so they can't really see anything nor do anything but sleeping. You can also use a piece of clothes to cover up the bird cage to make it darker inside.
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07-04-2012, 02:32 AM,
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laurasav Offline
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
Ram, it can be pitch dark & the ekkie will still refuse to sleep. The Quaker is in the same room and will go quiet and sleep as soon as it starts getting dark. Not the Eclectus though. He'll come out of his cage on his own, it's always open until we close it just before WE go to bed. The problem is when he's supposed to be shut inside his cage to go to sleep for the night. He absolutely does not want to & throws a temper tantrum every single night. Both cages get covered at night. The ekkie still does not want to settle down & sleep, even after being locked inside & covered. He seriously hates bedtime. The dark is of no consequence to him - he'll play & talk despite how dark it is! He's a very strange bird.
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07-09-2012, 08:40 AM,
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jenb128 Offline
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
I have to keep a nightlight on for Buzzy, or else he gets scared and starts hissing when the lights go out completely, and I of course worry about him having night frights.

Yes, he does have me trained! Even though he hasn't mastered talking, he definitely knows how to tell me exactly what he wants through his body language. That head tilt he's doing in my avatar? That started with me trying to train him to do a cute head tilt after I said, "Buzzy, I love you!" He learned VERY quickly that doing the tilt meant he'd get a bite of millet, so he started doing it whenever he wanted millet (which is almost all the time). He kept doing it at the vet once during a checkup, which had the vet a little concerned that it might be a symptom of something. I had to explain that Buzzy was just begging for a treat, and told him the story. The vet laughed and said, "so he's the one who trained you!"
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07-10-2012, 05:10 AM,
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laurasav Offline
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RE: Somebody hates bedtime!
Your Buzzy has such a cute personality! I smile every time I read about him! :-)
Yesterday our Quaker was being ridiculously loud & obnoxious! Just constant screaming. Trying to tell her to "be quiet" only made her scream more. The hubby went in & covered her (it was still early & light out), told her she was "a bad bird," but she absolutely would not stop screaming, even being covered up! Very strange behavior for her! She's such a good bird usually. Well, I guess everyone is entitled to some bad days & mean moods once in awhile! Today she's in better spirits, but she didn't want to come out of the cage & sing songs with me like she normally does. Hopefully she gets over whatever is troubling her little mind. She might be angry that I gave her absolutely NO attention yesterday, other than to yell at her from another room. Poor bird!
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