Can you birds sleep with light and noise, including the impact of TV? Learn tips for creating a restful environment for your feathered friends
Birds require some time to sleep, usually 12 hours every night. However, just like humans, factors like anxiety, diet, exercise, age, noise, and the light cycle will change how your birdie sleeps.
As such, if you are a night owl and tend to stay up at night, you might be concerned that your activities will wake up your birds, more so when close to his cage.
Well, in my own experience, as long as you are not having a raging party or watching your TV at a super loud volume, your bird will adapt. Your feathery friend will be fine with normal living light and noises as long as you cover its cage with a thick blanket.
My birds are both in or near our living room and watch TV and go about our business. They seem used to it:Squeek Mouse, an Illinois resident and parrots owner
Even so, if you are convinced light and noises at night are a problem to your birdie, get him a sleep-cage in a different room, such as your bedroom. That way, he will enjoy his sleep, and you’ll be free to do what your need to late at night.
Having said that, use a faint light or infrared camera to keep an eye on your bird at night. It will help you understand how light and noise from your TV affect your bird’s sleep.
In deep, uninterrupted sleep, your pet will shut his eyes tight and bury his beak right into his back. He will only wake up if you move close to the cage.
Will Normal Family Noise Disturb Your Bird at Night
I bet if you are only moving in around at night and doing normal stuff, like watching TV, reading, or working on your laptop, your pet bird won’t care and will sleep soundly.
However, if you stay up past 9 or 10 pm, which is around the time most birdies sleep, you might want to reduce the volume on your stereo and TV. And if you must have the sound up, I suggest you listen through your headphones, especially when in the same room as your sleeping bird.
Now, in terms of how much noise is allowable, I would say normal noises in your house are not too bad.
My rule of thumb is if the noise is enough to distract a person in the adjacent apartment or room, then it’s perhaps too much for your feathery pal.
As we’ve seen before, a thick cover over your bird’s cage at night and a consistent bedtime routine also go a long way to helping your bird sleep.
Can Birds Sleep with The TV, Radio On
Having your TV on at night can interrupt your bird’s sleep since they need at least 10 to 20 hours of dark and silence for uninterrupted sleep.
Anytime that my bird has been in the living room with the TV on (I’m a night owl myself), my bird is always super cranky due to disturbed sleep.
— Mizzley, Avianavenue.
“Even so, the sounds from a TV or radio, as long as it’s kept low enough, should not be a huge problem. Your birdie will get used to it, learn to ignore it, and sleep soundly.
But light from a TV screen is a different little annoying beastie. Away from the complexity of the light color and how it’ll affect your sleeping bird, the mere inversion of dusk and dawn is an error on its own.
The same way you get disoriented if you lack sleep due to a change in times zone, such as when traveling abroad or alternating between night and day shifts, your bird may get mild but similar effects.
And being that TV screens produce more blue light than any other color in the spectrum and penetrate your bird’s eyes and skull even with the eyes closed, it will cause a menace for them while sleeping.
So, if you must watch your TV at night, I suggest you cover your bird’s cage with a heavy blanket. You can also move your bird to another room, though he might be agitated the first few days.
Can Birds Sleep with The Fan On
During spring and summer, you may need to have a fan in your house, even at night, but you need to make sure it does not harm your bird.
For the most part, your birds should be safe if you have the fan low (just enough to circulate air) and you have his cage covered. You do not want air blowing directly where your pet loves to sleep.
Moreover, while extreme heat will strain your bird, some get spooked, others plain get annoyed when a fan breeze hits them straight on, and may even fly into the fan.
So, keep your bird in his cage (or another room) when he is awake while the fan is on.
Should I Leave The TV on for My Birds
In the general scheme of things, birds enjoy watching TV and listening to music. I let mine sit with me anytime I’m home and stare at the screen even though they most likely do not know what a TV is.
So, there is nothing wrong with leaving your TV on while away to keep your birdies occupied. Actually, advisable if you are away from them for an extended period each day.
However, please note letting your bird watch TV does not mean having it on even at night. As we saw, your feathery pal needs at least eight hours of sleep each night, and light and noise can be a huge distraction.
Only let your bird watch TV during the daylight hours when they usually engage in other play activities, such as playing with toys, cuddling with you, or goofing around the house with your kids and other pets.
Moreover, please note that birds, more so parrots (pretty intelligent), often get obsessed with activities they are accustomed to and like, so make sure you only allow your birdie only a healthy amount of time watching TV each day.
Thats all for this post, see you in the next one.
Happy fun with your birdies 🐦🦜.