advice please.

[marklee]

it has been a while since i have used the forum,but all previous advice has been extremely helpfull.my grey has tamed right down now. admittedly i think a lot of it was me.now she is so loving,its unbeleivable,she still isnt talking, but i know that will come.what i want to know is should i be covering her cage at night or not, i have tried but she hates it. also she is in my conservatory and when the colder weather comes in should i heat the room for her .thanks in advance

[diana]

I think in a cold conservatory she will need a cover - perhaps a sheet folded in half would do - that's what I use for my birds, although they are indoors and not in a conservatory. I would put it over her cage slowly, talking to her all the time, I would think she would settle once the lights are out. Then in the morning just slowly uncover the front and leave it so she can look out then after perhaps 5-10mins take the cover right off. This is what I do with my bunch - I call it their 'lie in' !

Not sure about what heating you could provide though. Replies from other members would be interesting.
Di

[teiltown]

Hi,

Covering a caged bird I have found to be very dependent on the bird and the environment in which they are in. We used to have cockatiels in the living room, and covering those up late evening worked really well (they were a pair though). however, we then got a Ringneck, who if you covered her cage up, would do everything she could to see out, and spent most of her time at the bottom peeping through the small gap (which we always left to avoid complete darkness within) and wouldn't settle with it.

Since we have had birds in the conservatory (we don't spend our evening in there) I havn't bothered with the covers as they tend to spend their night roosting on the play gym above their cage, nor do I heat the place for the birds benefit. They are far more adapt at climate control than we are, so as long as they are not in any drafts then they will be fine, just as long as her feathers are in good condition (spray her regularly) and they are fed a good diet.

So all in all, I've not been much help to your question, try her out with a cover, and once a routine established then things should be ok. But again, as my birds are out all night, they are free to start playing when they want in a morning rather than when I get up, so they respond more to their natural habits. All the birds in the aviary lighting on a timer during the winter months for the same reason.

It's good to know she has settled with you though, and you with her.

Kev.

[Bouvier]

Hi,
I have a grey and a cockatoo in my singleglazed conservatory and they are fine. They get used to the weather changing and simply adjust the same as a bird that is in an aviary. So long as you do not have central heating in the conservatory ( I know some people do) and keep this on during the day the turn it off at night they should be ok. Don't leave your windows open slightly as this causes a draft (as Kev stated) but if you leave them open normally there is no problem. A bird in general does not need to be covered this is for 'our' convenience i.e. it is generally thought that the birds would be quiet so you could watch TV etc., this is not strickly true as some birds simply play up louder. Also it is believed that they 'need' 12 hrs sleep - Birds do not sleep that long and tend to take short naps waking and checking that there are no preditors etc then napping. Their body clock is regulated by the sun rising and waining etc unlike ours where we now have clocks etc.
I have always believed that there is more of a danger suddenly uncovering a bird than allowing it to 'wake' naturally.

Bouvier