why doesnt my conure sleep? please help?

my conure is a baby about 9 to 10 months he is a sun conure. i get up about 5:30 and he is up! and i put him to bed around 10 or 11 is this bad? he always is doing the beak thing when he rubs his bottom against the top and he tends to close his eyes when he is on my shoulder and today he started to put his foot up like he was about to sleep? should i put him to bed earler? or do these birds just not sleep?

Like most babies, your conure needs a good night’s sleep, and naps during the day. This means he needs quiet and few distractions.

What room is he in? How much activity takes place in that room? How much noise can he hear from that room?

Do you keep a TV or radio on most of the day and evening? If you leave a radio on to keep him company, be sure it is on very softly — birds hearing is much more sensitive than ours. Don’t leave a TV on for him, the flickering picture bothers most birds, and you’re just wasting energy.

My birds are all much older than yours, but they still get a 12 hour night, and a 2 hour nap. They don’t actually sleep all that time, but they need their quiet time. Most of them were feather-chewers before I got them — they all are in good feather now. Enough sleep and a good diet can make a world of difference.

Do have him out for short playtimes and interaction with you, say at least half-an-hour before you’ll want him to settle down and sleep. (That does NOT’ mean play with him for a full half hour, give him some cooling-down time.)

If he seems to be falling asleep on your shoulder, and you’re going to be sitting still for a while, let him! Otherwise take him back to his cage, put him in it,and cover half the cage.

Please put in the effort to learn more about your bird. A good site to visit is http://companionparrot.com/
Read the FAQ section, and look at the articles available (for free!) in the back issues section
(Yes you can subscribe to the magazine, but you do not HAVE to, the info on the site is FREE! )

Taco, my baby sun conure on the bed