# Afraid of blanket?



## twopeas (Aug 23, 2015)

I've been covering Frankie's cage at bedtime with the same blanket every single night, and just recently he's started hissing and hopping off his perch whenever he sees it. I haven't changed the way I wash it or anything, and I'm able to verbally coax him back onto his perch once his cage is covered... but of course I'd like him to at least tolerate it again. Does anyone have any suggestions or at least an explanation for why he's afraid of it now?


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## CosmoBird (Jan 14, 2015)

I'm guessing he probably learns it means bed time. Cosmo like a child HATES bedtime, I think he just wants to be able to feel "in the action" of things and see what is going on. I keep Cosmo's blanket half on the cage on the back all the time and just close the sides up. Do you tell him "bedtime" or anything the lines of that? Maybe offer him a bedtime treat before bed so he can look forward to it.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

I think he's associating the blanket with bedtime, which he is not too fond of. I only cover mine in the winter, which is coming up fast, but when they see me pull the blanket off the back of the couch, I get hisses and tantrums. It's probably the same with Frankie


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

My first thought too. He doesn't want to go to bed and when he sees the blanket he immediately thinks of bedtime.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Joey went through a stage where he'd hiss at his sheet and hang from the bars, refusing to go to bed. I always announce "Bedtime!", talk to him a bit, repeat that it is bedtime a couple times through it, give him scritches through the bars, then give a final "Bedtime!" before covering him. I didn't change anything during the time he hissed and acted up, and he worked through it on his own. He still has occasional nights where he doesn't want to go to bed, but I still will go through the normal routine and he gets to bed.


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## CosmoBird (Jan 14, 2015)

TamaMoo that is a good point to make, don't change anything and make notice of the cranky baby bedtime hisses and lunges. Frankie will eventually learn his bedtime protest hisses won't change anything and will eventually settle in once the blanket is on. He just needs simple goodnight and he'll eventually settle in and sleep on his perch.


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## twopeas (Aug 23, 2015)

Thank you so much, everyone! He gets even grumpier when he stays up late so I'll try adding a treat and associating bedtime with a command.. I also like the idea of leaving the blanket on the back, but I don't know how he'd take it. We'll see how it works out! :^)


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## crow (Sep 5, 2015)

I don't use a blanket, but I still get tantrums at bedtime. We usually spend time with Elvis in the afternoons and normally he will let us know when he is tired and wants us to leave his room. But sometimes he doesn't want to go to sleep so when we leave anyway he will scream his head of. He will do this seemingly forever, so I end up with going back in his room to calm him down. Then he is usually so wired that he will calm down when he sees me again that he falls asleep when I just stay for a while and talk in a low voice. 

It's like a having a forever three year old kid.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

twopeas said:


> Thank you so much, everyone! He gets even grumpier when he stays up late


Haha I know how it is. My bird starts being really tired late in the afternoon, but as soon as I put him to bed he protests vehemently from under the blanket, although he is not afraid of it. It doesn't take long until he calms down though. Like all kids he protests a bit and then he falls asleep like an angel.


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## Francesca (Apr 30, 2015)

I made two compromises. I put Francis in a night cage in my bedroom to sleep at night, he has a night light and his blanket has an opening so he can look out a little bit. Spoiled? Yes! But he will go in the cage with no fussing now. Too funny.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

Francesca said:


> I made two compromises. I put Francis in a night cage in my bedroom to sleep at night, he has a night light and his blanket has an opening so he can look out a little bit. Spoiled? Yes! But he will go in the cage with no fussing now. Too funny.


I used to do that, but I have a light sleep and suffer from insomnia on top of that, and when he moved or so he woke me up and then I could not go back to sleep...  A pity because I liked having him in my room.


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## galactickiwi (Feb 4, 2015)

sme thng happened with miso...she used to be fine with it but now she gets very hissy when i pull it over. i still do it though. she doesn't start frantically flapping or anything, just hissing and angry climbing around the cage to try and get attention. 

i keep miso in my room at night because one, i always worry if she has a night fright and i'm not there to tend to any broken feathers right away. and two, i have psychosis and if i can blame any auditory hallucinations on the bird it keeps me much more at ease. i don't know how well keeping them in your room works for most birds, it sure doesn't for miso. whenever you walk by her cage if she's not asleep yet she'll start climbing around and banging on her toys to come back out. every once in a while you might here a little angry baby chirp. 

we just ignore it though, eventually she gets the message that it's time so sleep.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I sing my birds a lullabye while I get their cover and put it on the cage. They seem to really like it.


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## Schubird (Jun 12, 2015)

Schubert always sits in one particular spot for sleeping (we have a shred-able parrot pinata... he sleeps on the sombrero), so we'd always cover him at about 10PM for bed. After about a week, he'd make his way up to his pinata at 9:40-ish, even if we were still awake with all lights/tv on, and settle down, so he'd never make a fuss when his blanket was put on because he was already in that routine and sleepy.

I should add that when he's NOT sleepy, he'll push himself up against the side of the cage we don't cover and look forlornly at us with a couple pitiful chirps. We tell him "no, it's bedtime" and ignore him before he eventually gives up and goes to bed.

I know you said your bird gets cranky if he stays up late, so I'm not sure waiting until he gets sleepy so he welcomes it instead of fighting it will work, but it's what worked for me


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