# Rufflet is annoying early riser!



## Klmp (Jan 11, 2017)

Ever since moving to my new apartment, my little birdy-bird earl: has been waking up at the crack of dawn and squawking her head off until i go into the room. (She is situated in the kitchen, as my bedroom is too small to hold her.) But, during the afternoon, she's just fine & plays with her toys & naps & isn't loud at all.
She's been doing this progressively earlier as time goes on. First it was 9:30am, then it was 8:30am, and now she does it at 7:30am! I work a lot of night shifts, so she is driving me absolutely insane when she wakes me up.
I've tried talking to her from my bedroom, going out there for a few minutes & talking to her, covering her cage, or just straight up ignoring her. Sometimes all in the same morning.

Does anyone have any advice? Im at my wits end~


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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

Well honestly my first thought was "I wish my birds would sleep until 7:30!", Lol, as all of mine start their day at dawn, sometime between 6:00-6:30 every morning. My 4 larger birds have sleeping cages in my master bedroom and they might give me an extra half an hour or so since I'm laying there next to them, but my 7 budgies that are in a large cage downstairs in my living room (covered too) start at the crack of dawn.

The first thing I'd tell you is to try covering him every night, but you said you've already tried that. So my next question is what time do you put your bird to bed at night? They need to get between 12-14 hours of sleep at night, so this will depend on what time you put him to sleep each night. I would highly recommend keeping him covered from the time you put him to bed until you get him up in the morning, and cover him with something dark enough to block out the sunrise. That being said I don't know what time you want him to sleep to each morning, but if he keeps getting up earlier it may very well have to do with what time he goes to bed and the fact that he can see the sunrise. Also, do you keep any pellets along with clean water (which he should always have) in his cage? He may be hungry when he wakes up and that's part of why he's waking up and won't stop screaming until you get up...What satisfies him in the morning, you feeding him, uncovering him, or just you being up and letting him out of his cage and giving him attention? Do you spend an adequate amount of time with him out of his cage each day? 

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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

I would use a heavy dark cover like a black blanket or sheet, but leave a little uncovered in case of night frights. Stay out of the kitchen until it's time for her to wake up. You can try running a fan or playing some white noise to help mask any sounds you make. Other than that, it's going to take time to readjust her biological clock, and you are going to have to be consistent in ignoring her. Maybe leave her covered for small increments each day.

I'm lucky - my guys will sleep whenever and however long they're covered for


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## Klmp (Jan 11, 2017)

So, be more consistent with her sleep times & use a thick cover. Thanks!
The thing that I am most concerned about is that she never used to do this. She has always been a pretty quiet bird, apart from a few chirps here & there whenever she's really happy.
But, I guess it's because she can't be in my room with me all the time.

Poor birdy-bird. I wish my room was bigger


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Sometimes I wonder if Joey even knows he is a bird. He is definitely not a morning person at all.  Most days we don't have to get up for work until 8, and on Sundays we occasionally sleep until 9. Joey will start making the quietest of cheeps somewhere around 8:45 - 9, getting very slowly but progressively louder, as if trying to wake us gently. We will just stay put and listen to it because it is funny and adorable at the same time.

Trust me, I'm not complaining. I'm not a morning person either.


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## ParrotLover2001 (Dec 30, 2016)

I know how you feel, kind of.
Elvis wakes up at the crack of dawn, despite being covered. He gets up 7:00 am, but during the summer he gets up around 5:30 am. And I have 3 covers on the cage!



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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

My birds sleep in small covered cages, on a shelf in my closet, with a night light. They have never had a night fright, because I keep the closet door closed and there is nothing to startle them. They also never make a peep before I wake them up!


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