Green cheek, two and a half. She goes quiet for twenty minutes or so most afternoons, usually right after she has eaten, head tucked round and standing on one foot. Then she wakes up and is her usual appalling self for the rest of the day.
She is the loudest thing in the house every other hour, so the silence is what gets my attention. Is an afternoon nap normal or is the fact that I noticed it the point?
Worth checking her nights before you file this as nothing, because daytime sleep is sometimes a bird catching up. Most avian sources land around ten to twelve hours of dark and quiet, and a cage in a room where the television runs until eleven does not deliver that even with a cover on.
Same bedtime, same wake time, dark room away from the household. Better nights also take the edge off hormonal behaviour and general crankiness, which with a conure is not a small benefit.
Young birds sleep more too. Mine napped twice a day until about three and then mostly stopped.
Adding the pieces that turn sleepiness into an appointment: tail bobbing with each breath, a change in droppings or appetite, her voice sounding different, and losing interest in the people she normally harasses.
Parrots are very good at hiding illness and increased sleep is often the first visible thing, which is why the question you asked is a reasonable one rather than fussing. Nothing you have described is on that list. Keep an eye on how long rather than whether.
@one_foot_perch · 4w ago · 3 replies
You have described a healthy nap almost item by item, and the foot is the detail that matters. Twenty minutes, on one foot, right after eating, then straight back to being a nuisance. That is a full crop and a relaxed bird.
Birds in the wild tend to be busy in the morning and late afternoon and rest through the middle, and a lot of parrots keep the shape in a living room. One foot plus smooth feathers afterwards is the thing to keep noticing.
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@head_tucked_two · 4w ago
What would the unhealthy version look like? I would rather know now than work it out later.
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@one_foot_perch · 4w ago
Sleeping much more than her normal, staying fluffed up for long stretches rather than smoothing out, dozing on the cage floor or hunched in a corner, eyes half shut while she is supposed to be awake, and going off her toys. Length and posture, not the nap itself.
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