# Light sleepers...getting enough z's?



## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

My birds get covered between 10 and 10:15 every night, and uncovered between 10:30 and 10:45 the next morning. I want to make sure they're getting 12 hours of darkness to keep their hormones under control. The thing is, they're very light sleepers; many times a noise outside (ie, a car starting or dog barking) will get a little peep out of one of them when they're supposed to be sleeping. I also have cats that come into the bedroom at night, and sometimes make noise when they jump up to the window and ruffle the blinds. Most of the time the birds don't react to that, just to noises outside, but I imagine they sometimes must wake up from it. Oh, and if my boyfriend or I so much as utter our quietest whisper, we usually hear a tiny little chirp.

My question is, are they getting enough sleep? I know they can always nap during the day so I'm not too worried about their health, just want to make sure they don't get hormonal. I really do try to keep it as quiet as possible while they're covered, but I can't make it DEAD SILENT.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Most birds are light sleepers, so unless you want to literally get a sleep cage and put them in a closet at night, there isn't much you can do about ambient noise disturbing them occasionally. The good news is that the 12 hours of darkness should work to reduce their hormones even if they're not asleep the whole time. The idea behind it is to trick them into feeling like it's winter (and therefore not breeding season) by having extended darkness in their environment. Even if there is occasional noise, this should still work. Also, since you have two males, there's a much lower risk if they do become hormonal -- they might be crabby and you might have to adjust what you're doing, but they won't lay eggs or have a major health impact from it like a hen might.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Oh good! I was hoping that was the case. Now I won't feel so bad if I accidentally wake them up for a moment. I don't like crabby birds so I think I'll stick to long nights. But yes, I'm thankful I don't have to worry about egg issues!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

No worries.  My birds get about 8 hours of sleep right now because I work 12 hours a day so I'd never get to see them if I gave them 12 hour nights.  But so far so good with hormonal control. If I start noticing signs of it ramping up, I'll rearrange cages or give them a few nights of more sleep and that works. It's not ideal, but I certainly don't think they're suffering. Your boys will cope just fine with the occasional disruption. Remember, they'd be that way in the wild, too.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I know how you feel...I work 8 hour days but with commuting I'm usually gone almost 10 hours. So that leaves very little time to spend with them. However, I'm super-excited that I'll be getting my morning shifts back at work soon! I'll be leaving three hours before the birds get up (my boyfriend will be the one to wake them) and then I get home at 4 pm so I'll have six hours to spend with them instead of one.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

That is much nicer! I just have to get through this semester and then it should get better. Unfortunately I live alone, so I have to wake my birds up before I leave. But it's going fine so far. I just wish I had more time with them, too.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

That's good that you'll have more time to spend with them soon, at least. Man, these birds really do take over our lives don't they? They're pretty much my top priority these days.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Well, I can't remember ever not having birds. My Sunny's been with me since I was five years old. But it's definitely a big change being the one solely responsible for them now.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I've never had birds before this year; my only previous pets have been cats, and then things that didn't require any social interaction whatsoever (reptiles, fish, invertebrates, etc). The cats I never worried about, as they just adjust to whatever schedule I happen to have at the moment.

I can't believe I never had birds before, but I just didn't grow up in a "bird person" home so it took me quite a while to discover that I love them!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Your birds will adjust too.  They're not as fragile as we think they are, although it's admittedly easy to fall prey to that feeling with all the things they do need from us. We made a lot of mistakes with Sunny for a lot of years where we (and the aviculture community in general) just didn't know any better...and he's still here happy and healthy at almost 19. Roo spent the first four years of her life in filth, abuse and neglect, and now she's the happiest bird ever. That's not to say that bad things can't or don't happen as a result of ignorance, but they are resilient enough that I don't think we should beat ourselves up over something as minor as a short-term adjusted schedule.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Very true. It's good to keep that in mind! I just want to give my birds the best care I can.


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