Is It OK to Cover Birds at Night?

Covering a pet bird's cage overnight while it sleeps is a safe practice with several potential benefits for the bird's health. Though cage covers are not a necessity for bird ownership, they help shelter birds from outside stimuli that can keep them awake. Lack of sleep can have detrimental effects not just on a bird's health, but also on its happiness and behavior.

  1. Light

    • Covers help birds rest at night by shielding them from light. In the wild, most birds sleep under the cover of trees and foliage, so a light-blocking cage cover helps replicate your pet's natural habitat. Because most birds need more sleep than their owners do (birds typically require 10 to 12 hours a night, compared to six to eight for adult humans), using a cover helps ensure that your pet can rest if lights in the house stay on after it goes to sleep.

    Temperature

    • During cold spells, especially the winter, keeping your bird at a normal temperature is essential to its health. Covers can help prevent drafts of cold air from entering and retain heat within the cage, keeping the bird's living space at a constant temperature. Maintaining a constant cage temperature is important because birds can develop illness quickly if exposed to cold for too long. If you notice your bird puffing its feathers and tucking its head, it's probably cold.

    Noise

    • Excessive noise can be just as disturbing to birds as it is to humans. Covering your bird's cage at night helps your bird sleep by reducing the amount of sound it hears -- especially if its cage is in a family room or its bedtime is earlier than yours. The cover also works in reverse; cage covers also encourage the bird to be quiet and sleep, which can save headaches for pet owners.

    Routine

    • Regularly placing a cover on your bird's cage at night helps it develop both a stable nightly routine and a steady sleep schedule. Covering the cage at a set time nightly signals to the bird that it should go to sleep, and it can learn that time and become irritated if you don't cover it at the right time. Additionally, covering its cage at an unusual time can disrupt the routine and upset the bird.