A regular bedtime routine of 10-12 hours a day is crucial for a parrot's sense of security and overall temperament. A cage cover is needed to keep the drafts away from them at night, as well as any insects that may be present in the house. Invest in a well constructed, lightweight, and breatheable cage cover for your parrot.

Zachary goes to bed at 8:30pm every night. At about 8pm, he will get his late night snack and he seems to know that it's about time to go to bed soon after that. He will say "night night" repeatedly with his body bobbing back and forth until his Mom gets his cage ready and tells him "OK Zachary ... let's go night night".

His cage will be cleaned & wiped down by then, including new cage papers in the tray. The cover will be placed with the front flap up and ready for him. Zachary will follow his Mom over to the cage, and then sit on top of the cage door, while she turns the room lights off. (see above). The only light in that room is a small nightlight, far in the opposite corner of the room.

After humming him a song and giving him some goodnight head scratches, his Mom will cover the cage fully and say "night night" to Zachary, who always replies with a faint sounding "night night" back. His cage stays covered this way until about 8:30 in the morning.

When Zachary's Mom is not around, his Dad and/or petsitter will follow the same routine, one that Zachary's counts on, and understands.

* Parrots need 10-12 hours of dark, uninterrupted sleep every night. Zachary's cage is in an area that is privately his, once his bedtime comes around. All lights go out in that room and no one goes in there so that it stays completely quiet. *

____________________________________

Daytime Naps Are Important

Besides their night-time sleep, healthy parrots will need to take naps at least once or twice during the day. Zachary will take his nap between 11am - 1pm; and another short one between 5:30-6:30pm. He will either nap in his cage, on his playpen, on his Mom's lap or wherever she may be; or in his favorite tube - like you see below:

____________________________________

---