Nobody knows just how golden silence really is until they’ve owned a cockatoo. If your cockatoo robs you of your precious beauty sleep with his constant chatter or earsplitting screeches, it’s time to develop a game plan that will help you to reclaim the night.
Step 1
Establish a sleep schedule. Your feathered friend needs between 10 and 12 hours of sleep every night. Set up a sleep schedule for your bird that will be easy for you to maintain so that he can adjust to waking up and going to bed at about the same time each day. Your boisterous birdie is far less likely to be rowdy at night if he is used to sleeping through it.
Step 2
Provide your cockatoo with his own sleeping quarters. If possible, set up a second, smaller sleeping cage for your bird in a quiet, dark room. When it is time for your feathered friend to go to bed, move him into his sleeping cage for the night. If a second cage is not available, move his regular cage into another room where it is dark and quiet. Separate sleeping quarters for your cockatoo will encourage him to stay quiet and help both of you sleep better at night.
Step 3
Turn out the lights in your cockatoo’s cage by draping a cage cover over it. Your feathered friend will soon learn to associate the cover as a sign that it’s time for bed and he’ll know to start settling down. The darker your bird’s cage is at night, the more likely he is to stay quiet and sleep soundly.
