Expanding

Part I: Changing the Way Your Bird Sleeps. "The Roost"

The first phase of expanding your bird's world starts with making changes to his sleeping arrangement. Back when I was in college one of the classes I had to take (Survey of the Mojave) required me to spend a few days and nights out in the desert to observe the sleeping patterns of our native birds. Not only did the experience teach me about our desert wildlife but it also provided me with a better understanding of the common sleeping patterns of diurnal birds in general.

It doesn't take a trip to the high desert or the rainforest to learn about the sleeping habits of our companion birds. All it takes is getting up a little early and sitting in your own backyard. As the sun rises you will begin to see the wild birds waking from their roosting sites. They sing a morning greeting, preen themselves and maybe preen their mate for a few minutes. During the night, Mother Nature recharged their batteries and they wake up with a massive amount of energy and they're preparing to burn it. With one swoop they spread their wings and take off to expand their world.

Our companion parrots are really no different from the wild birds in our own backyard but in captivity they're missing the chance to leave the roost and start their day in a fresh environment. The companion bird is placed in his cage at night and covered up. Come morning he is full of energy and ready to go but instead of moving, he is given fresh food and water and left to sit right where he is as the owner heads off to work.

By the time the owner returns, the bird has spent an average of 20 hours straight, sitting in his cage. That's estimating 11 hours of sleeping time and about 9 hours of sitting during the day. It's no wonder many bird owners complain of coming home to a screaming, aggressive bird. The bird has been sitting in the same spot for 20 hours, of course he is overwhelmed with energy. Once the bird is finally out of his cage his owner wonders why the bird puts up a fight when he has to go back.

For most of us putting our birds in cages or playrooms is a daily necessity. Whether we are working or not, we have commitments that keep us away from home for several hours and our birds must be safely housed until we return.

Just because our birds have to be caged does not mean they have to be locked up in the same place for 20 hours. We can drastically reduce the number of hours our birds have to remain caged by simply catering to their natural sleeping patterns. The solution is providing them with a roost!

In the evening your bird will look forward to "flying" to his roost and settling down for the night. Come morning you'll open his roost, greet him and "fly" him to a fresh cage or playroom so he can expand his day.

Think about this- it's early morning and already you are moving your bird and setting him up for a big day! Now, instead of dreading the cage, your bird will look forward to climbing into his play area to have some fun until you return home.

Choosing a Roost

There are two basic roosting sites that work very well for many bird owners I know. One is a sleeping crate and the second is a bird bed and cage. Both of these will provide your bird with an opportunity to roost off of his feet if he so chooses to.

Providing your bird with a place to rest his feet is another component of expanding his world. Only in captivity are birds forced to stand on their feet 24 hours, 7 days per week. Although the wild birds rest their feet every time they take flight I've still observed birds in my own backyard resting breast down on large palm leaves, giving their feet a break. There are video documentaries, such as the "Real Macaw," that capture birds in the rainforest doing the same thing.

Sleeping Crates

A sleeping crate is simply a hard plastic dog crate. Name brand crates such as Pet Taxi or Pet Mate, are sold at large pet store chains as well as stores such as Walmart. Setting up a sleeping crate is very easy. You do not have to purchase an extremely large crate, remember this is a roosting site only. There should be just enough room for your bird to raise his tail and turn around. Most owners who use crates place a pillow on the bottom covered with thick blankets in the winter and cool sheets in the summer. As for pottying? The crate can be placed on a table with newspaper below. With the door left open the bird can back his tail over the edge to go potty if he chooses to, however, many birds (including two of my own) prefer to hold their potty until morning.

Another advantage of the crate is that it can be placed far away from busy areas in your home. It can be placed in a quiet back room or even a bathroom. Once inside, and covered up, your bird will have little concern about his surroundings. A good night of uninterrupted sleep will be well appreciated by your bird.

This is a night time photo that actually captures two Macaws lying completely down, sound asleep.

The Blue and Gold Macaw is sleeping completely off of his feet, wings

relaxed and head resting on the blanket. The Military Macaw is snuggling way in the back, almost sleeping on his side. This is the first photo Macaw Dreams has ever had of birds sleeping in the roost ` completely undisturbed.

Introduction

If I collected a penny every time a bird owner told me her bird has a behavioral problem I wouldn't be rich but I'd sure earn a few bucks! I firmly believe that what we perceive to be behavioral problems such as screaming, biting, and excessive toy destruction have nothing to do with behavior at all. Instead, these

so-called problems are nothing more than our bird's attempt to release pent up energy.

Many bird owners fail to acknowledge and truly understand their bird's inherent abundance of energy. I'm not speaking only about Macaws but most parrots in captivity.

It took me a number of years to fully understand what my job is as a bird owner. Yes, I'm responsible for the basic necessities: food, shelter, care and love but I was missing something. My job also includes providing my birds with various ways for them to release their energy. Energy is what drives my birds.

Watch any video documentary about birds in the wild and you will see them constantly moving, flying, foraging, socializing and observing. Wild birds have very little room for boredom and their energy levels are as high as the sky. Birds in captivity have the same amount of energy but unlike the wild birds, captive birds have limited ways to release it.

Some bird owners are frustrated because their bird screams wildly or gets nippy or even starts plucking his own feathers. The owner fails to understand what often drives their bird to behave like this. The real culprit is this thing called energy.

If birds can't release energy it builds up and they release it the only way they can, through their beaks. They will bite, they will scream, they will destroy anything in sight because they're trying to find a way to release pent up energy.

In my opinion, until people understand this they will continue to have problems with their birds. They will also continue to use the same old tactics expecting to see new results. Tactics such as, trying to ignore their birds, locking them back in their cages for so-called "time-outs" or giving them the "evil eye"; none of which works.

The "time out" is probably the most widely spread bit of bad advice on the Internet today. I cringe every time I read about it. People post about how they lock their birds back in their cages when they are "misbehaving" and advise other bird owners to follow suit.

In this author's opinion, before an owner locks her bird back in his cage because he's "misbehaving" she has to stop and think about the root of her bird's behavior which goes back to his need to burn energy.

If you have a bird who is full of energy, locking him back in his cage is like trying to plug a broken dam. Not only does it not work, it makes matters even worse because now your bird is flooded with frustration on top of being full of energy. The bird feels trapped both physically and mentally and that's when the so-called misbehavior kicks in. Just as "time outs" don't work turning your back yields the same negative results.

How would you feel if you're simply trying to get some attention only to have your loved ones turn their backs and walk away? You'll probably feel just as frustrated as your bird, although the bird feels worse because he can't understand why his owner is punishing him just because he's trying to do what comes natural, releasing some energy.

So what's the solution? Providing our birds with a positive way to burn that energy! Since most of our birds aren't flying it's up to us to help them spread their wings and keep active. It's up to us to give our birds a big life beyond their cage. It's up to us to expand their world.

Sleeping Cages and Beds

The second roosting site can be a specific sleeping cage. Once again, this will be used only as a roosting site, not as a play area. The cage should still be specifically designed to fit your size and type of bird. In other words, you will not want to put a large Macaw in a small cage designed for a Grey because of bar spacing and strength. The sleeping cage doesn't need to be as large as your bird's regular cage, but it needs to be an appropriate fit.

Inside the cage you can either hang a birdie bed

or place a pillow in the bottom of the cage to

allow your bird to rest his feet. My Macaws all

sleep on beds because they seem to like being up

higher while my Eclectus couldn't care less where her bird bed is, she just wants to get on it. Each bird is different, you will tailor the roost to fit your bird's needs. Like the sleeping crate the sleeping cage can also be placed in a quite area of your home and covered up, providing your bird with the quiet uninterrupted sleep he needs.

CONCERNS

Some people may be concerned about how their bird will take to a roosting site, especially if he has been sleeping in his cage all of his life. I have not found a bird yet who didn't take to a roosting site and I have helped many people set up sleeping crates and cages for the very first time. When I visited the home of Dream member, Noelle Fontaine, I saw several birds (she was bird sitting) who were sound asleep in crates. Some of these birds were well into their "teens" and had never slept in anything but cages. She had no problem getting them adjusted to sleeping in a roost in fact she says, "They love it."

Some birds may prefer a sleeping cage while others may prefer the crate, it's up to you to decide which one is best for your bird. A note about hens. I am often asked whether crates will promote nesting. None of the bird owners I know have ever reported any unusual nesting behavior from their hens. We believe this is due to the fact that the roost is only used for sleeping, never for playing. Once the bird is moved from her crate she will not go back inside until night time.

As for bird beds, they are simply a flat bed that remains very much open just like a perch. My own hen has been sleeping on her bird bed for a number of years and I have had absolutely no problems. We must realize that hens do lay eggs regardless of where and how they sleep but bird beds do not "encourage" egg laying as some people may think.

Another concern some people may have is the possibility of the bird chewing the crate itself. I remind them of what our job requirement includes; providing our birds with ways to burn their energy. By bed time your bird should be exhausted from having a big day and want to do nothing more than go straight to sleep. Come morning time, without hesitation, you will remove him from the crate and fly him off to a play area or cage. So there will be no time for chewing.

Once you set up the roosting site you may want to introduce it to your bird a day or so before actually placing him inside for the night. Allow him to play in the roost as long as he wants to and then return him back to his regular play area. This initial introduction will be the only time your bird should be allowed to play in the roost. Once he is comfortably sleeping in the roost, it should be used only for sleeping.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If anyone questions the real need for providing our birds with a roosting site, point them to your backyard and encourage them to observe nature. Just because a bird is living in captivity does not mean his needs and natural sleeping patterns are any different.

So, while many people think it's natural for our birds to stand all day long, nothing could be further from the truth. Birds are not horses and even horses are able to lie down in captivity. For those who insist that captive birds "all sleep standing up" should understand that it doesn't mean they are sleeping that way by choice, they sleep standing up because they have no other option. It is up to us to provide them with an opportunity to give their feet a break. If that means something as unconventional as a pillow or bed, so be it.

Finally, those who try and say that providing our birds with a crate or bed is a form of anthropomorphization- attributing human form or personality to things not human -- are wrong. This is about acknowledging our bird's natural sleeping patterns and routines and providing our birds with the same opportunity to roost and also rest their feet- as they would in the wild. It's about being empathetic to the needs of these wild animals we hold in captivity. Even a captive bird can enjoy a big life, but it's up to us to help expand his world.