# night fright help



## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

my cockatiels started to sit on there eggs yestaday. when the 3rd one was layed. about 4am she flew out of the box and was going crazy. somet must of scared her. there was no one in the room only me sleeping. wot can i do to make her feel more secure at nite. she never went back to the eggs till it was light it was about 1 hour later. but she had only just started sitting that nite so they will be ok wont they.
tony


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Do you have a night light on in the room during the night?

OK...an hour off could be 'iffy' as to if the eggs were affected. If the bedding was pretty deep that will hold body heat and possibly they might be OK.


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## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

i dont have a nite on for them. i didnt know if they would sleep with a light on. and they mite chirp all nite. wot kind of light just somet that is dim light or some thing.
tony




srtiels said:


> Do you have a night light on in the room during the night?
> 
> OK...an hour off could be 'iffy' as to if the eggs were affected. If the bedding was pretty deep that will hold body heat and possibly they might be OK.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

They really do need a night light. particularly when they have eggs so they can find their way back to the box in case something like that happens. 1 hour should be no problem. I've had birds that were off their eggs much longer than that and that survived.


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## Tony's Tiels (May 21, 2009)

our hen recently did the same thing, we physically put her back in, even tho she is ussually a biter, she went back easily.

We also have night lights for every cage, they are rechargable 'candles'
We found they actually sleep Much better with the night lights.
because if something does spook them, they can see that it is not in their cage, & find their way back to a perch or where ever they want to go...
They go back to sleep Much faster, versus being panicked longer.


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## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

thanks all. ive left a light on near there cage tonite. i was going to use a blue light. but it wernt brite she did it agien so ive got the light on now and covered them up and she sounds like shes gone back in.
tony




Tony's Tiels said:


> our hen recently did the same thing, we physically put her back in, even tho she is ussually a biter, she went back easily.
> 
> We also have night lights for every cage, they are rechargable 'candles'
> We found they actually sleep Much better with the night lights.
> ...


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's surprisingly difficult to find a good picture of an ordinary cheap night light, since most places are advertising the more expensive fancy ones. But here's a front view of one:









It's a small light that plugs directly into an electrical outlet on the wall, and uses this kind of bulb:









Some Christmas light bulbs are the same size, and I'm using a blue Christmas bulb instead of the standard white/clear bulb.


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## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

ah ok so a blue bulb will do. i used a lamp last nite. just put it so it was just shining in. but i never got alot of sleep with the brite light on.
tony 



tielfan said:


> It's surprisingly difficult to find a good picture of an ordinary cheap night light, since most places are advertising the more expensive fancy ones. But here's a front view of one:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

A bright light shining all night long isn't good for the bird or for you. You want subdued lighting that lets the bird see a little bit but still gives the appearance of night time.


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## Danielle (Aug 15, 2008)

I try and use moonlight as a guide; if the light is brighter than the moonlight outside on a clear night, I don't use it.

They really do make a difference. I forgot to turn the light on for the tiels last night and they had two night frights.


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## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

i left mine off last nite as well. and left my curtains open cos it was a clear nite. and thy didnt do it once. the problem i have now is. they keep going rite to the bottom of the box. so the eggs are not on shavings. there just sat on the cardboard floor with like a hill rite round them.
tony 




Danielle said:


> I try and use moonlight as a guide; if the light is brighter than the moonlight outside on a clear night, I don't use it.
> 
> They really do make a difference. I forgot to turn the light on for the tiels last night and they had two night frights.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Try and get the bedding back under the eggs. Cardboard is slick and when the chick hatches it will be difficult for it to get a good grip. This could lead to leg problems.

The other reason for the need for the bedding under the eggs is it cushions them against getting cracked as easily. It also retains warmth so that when the parent is off the eggs for a short time they will not chill as fast.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Try putting a thicker layer of shavings in the box. My birds make a little "bowl" in the shavings for their eggs and it seems like they want it to have a certain depth. If the shavings aren't thick enough they dig down to the floor of the box. If the shavings are thicker they don't dig down far enough to hit bottom.


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## dragon123 (May 1, 2009)

thanks ill try this tommrow morning when the female is still on cos she comes off easyier than the male does 
tony



tielfan said:


> Try putting a thicker layer of shavings in the box. My birds make a little "bowl" in the shavings for their eggs and it seems like they want it to have a certain depth. If the shavings aren't thick enough they dig down to the floor of the box. If the shavings are thicker they don't dig down far enough to hit bottom.


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