# Is it safe to cover my budgie's cage with a moving/soundproofing blanket overnight?



## raskolnikova (Oct 4, 2021)

Hello all. I currently have a single male budgie, Malchik. Just got a bigger cage for him. A problem I've been facing since I got him is that me and my partner rent a single room and our budgie's cage is located in our main living space – which is great during the day, but not so great after his bedtime, because it makes it hard for us to provide him proper peace and quiet at night. I am a student & rent a house with other students and, although I don't really party, it's not uncommon that people want to hang out in my room after Malchik's bedtime, & his cage is right in the middle of the part of our room where people sit.

Right now I cover his cage with a black fleece blanket at night. However, I have been considering replacing the black fleece with a "moving blanket" or "sound blanket", a thick 80x72 inch (183x206 cm) polyester quilt which is used to dampen sound in various contexts. This would reduce human disturbances to my budgie's sleep, which is something I've been really anxious about recently, as it can be difficult sometimes to keep him asleep when we're not asleep, especially if there's any kind of social interaction going on.

*Example pic:*​









However, I wanted to ask this forum first whether covering the cage with this blanket would be safe. Would it block airflow in and out of the cage to a dangerous extent? Would he be able to breathe under this blanket for a full 12 hours a night?

His cage is 65" tall, 24" wide and 24" deep (165 x 61 x 61 cm), so it is pretty big and tall.

Thank you for reading my question. This forum has been an invaluable resource for me & has definitely made me a better owner of my first budgie.

Please enjoy this recent picture of Malchik in his new cage:


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*How late does the social interaction last?

I would not use a Moving Blanket such as the one you show. Malchik needs to have air-flow and that is much too heavy.
If it is just talking and moving around the room, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.
If Malchik is tired, he will nap more during the day to make up for any lost sleep.*


----------



## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I agree with FaeryBee, that moving pad is too dense and heavy.


----------



## raskolnikova (Oct 4, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *How late does the social interaction last?
> 
> I would not use a Moving Blanket such as the one you show. Malchik needs to have air-flow and that is much too heavy.
> If it is just talking and moving around the room, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.
> If Malchik is tired, he will nap more during the day to make up for any lost sleep.*


Thank you FaeryBee. Last night we had a housemate/close friend who needed someone to talk to come into our room around 11:30 and stayed til 12:00 midnight, & he sat in the chair next to Malchik's cage. No yelling or shouting but there were animated moments of conversation. We try to get Malchik to bed by 9:30 PM and wake him up at 9:30 AM but often we do not achieve that. On regular nights when no one else comes in the room, we watch YouTube videos on the TV next to his cage at a low volume, which I also worry about.

The thing is that I've never observed him napping before (unless they nap with their eyes open?). There are periods of the day where he goes up to the place he likes to sleep and he just relaxes there, but he doesn't appear to be asleep. Perhaps budgies have different ways of recuperating in addition to closed-eye sleep? That would make sense for a small prey animal, but I don't know.


----------



## Aozane (Sep 23, 2021)

Budgies (and many other birds) can sleep with one eye open! Birds can essentially sleep with one half of their brain at a time, the other half alert and keeping an eye out for predators. So depending on how Malchik positions himself, it is quite possible and realistic that an eye was open but that he was napping during the day.

I’m sure someone else with more knowledge than I on the forums will have more guidance on the details you have provided.

Also, he’s quite the handsome fellow


----------



## raskolnikova (Oct 4, 2021)

Aozane said:


> Budgies (and many other birds) can sleep with one eye open! Birds can essentially sleep with one half of their brain at a time, the other half alert and keeping an eye out for predators. So depending on how Malchik positions himself, it is quite possible and realistic that an eye was open but that he was napping during the day.
> 
> I’m sure someone else with more knowledge than I on the forums will have more guidance on the details you have provided.
> 
> Also, he’s quite the handsome fellow


Thank you Aozane. That is what I suspected might be the case, that he can sleep with half his brain. After the active part of the day he tends to have a little bit of "down time" and that is when I find him just sitting still at the top of the cage, frequently with one eye open. Good to know because I was a bit worried that I had never recognized him napping before.


----------



## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Mallorn does this as well; generally she sleeps around the time we do but she prefers to be covered by 10:30 (and will remind me if I do not cover her by then, haha) so if we are staying up later than that she is still covered and doesn't mind the extra noise as any lost sleep she just makes up the next day. It sounds like that will be fine for little Malchik!


----------



## raskolnikova (Oct 4, 2021)

StarlingWings said:


> Mallorn does this as well; generally she sleeps around the time we do but she prefers to be covered by 10:30 (and will remind me if I do not cover her by then, haha) so if we are staying up later than that she is still covered and doesn't mind the extra noise as any lost sleep she just makes up the next day. It sounds like that will be fine for little Malchik!


The more I think about it, the more silly I feel thinking that he needed to have 12 _straight_ hours of sleep with no interruptions. I've been reading recently about different sleep norms and practices historically & in different cultures, and I've been learning that many of our ancestors probably slept in several intervals throughout the day instead of sleeping straight through the night. So I can totally see how it would also make sense for a budgie to get its 12 hours of sleep a day through several shorter periods in various states of rest (some sleeps probably being deeper than others). Also makes me feel better about those times of day when he'd just be sitting still; at first, because I didn't recognize that he was asleep, I was a little worried that he was feeling low or something. I've only had him about three months. Thank you StarlingWings.


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It shows that you are a responsible and concerned budgie parent that you asked the question which, by the way, was quite valid!

I used to have to have all of my birds' four flight cages in my 9x12 bedroom where I spent most of my time.
I would read late at night or be up moving around the room opening and shutting drawers, watching TV etc.
Even though the cages were covered by 9 PM or earlier, I would often be up past midnight.
It never affected my birds adversely so Malchik is going to do just fine!*


----------

