Cage Feedback

[Maunaolu]

Thanks to all for the previous feedback.

 

I'm getting closer to decision time and have been reviewing cage options. I have read various postings here and looked on-line at what's available. So this is what I understand so far for Greys.

 

1) Somewhere around 30x 24 is minimum, but anything bigger is always better subject of course to what can be reasonably placed within the home.

2) More width is better than height, but you want to have minimum height to encourage different levels of play - gorund level, mid level and high level toys.

 

My questions are the follwing:

 

1) I live in Hawaii and the bird could conceivably live outdoors all year round. Should I consider this an option with a smaller movable cage or perch to keep the bird in the house for socialising? Or the reverse, keep the larger cage fixed in the house with the movable perch to move around, indoor or out? Though I don't think having the perch outside is practical (question on this below). The way my house is arranged I could roll the cage to the outside terrace but these cages seem large and heavy and I am not sure how practical that would be either.

2) Materialwise, consensus is stainless is the way to go long term. You pay for it though and stainless birdcages aren't readily available out here. On the other hand, I am in Hawaii and metal eventually rusts out here. For that matter, the stainless railings around my house get stained (I've learned stainless stains and requires maintenance). If I am going to maintain stainless, then why not buy the powdercoat and maintain it? Any experience out there for one or the other?

3) Lastly, I have read about the aviator harness. I have a good size yard so there is room for the parrot to fly around. How realistic an expectation is this/ I have seen parrots on a leash but is that really their natural habitat. I always assumed they are flyers, not walkers.

4) By the way, the baby parrot in question was raised outside and sleeps outside. The breeder moves it to a smaller airplane type cage at night and covers it with a blanket. He tells he does this 1) to get the bird accustomed to such a cage in case he needs to ship it to the Mainland, and 2) for warmth and security.

 

The vet and the cage seem to be the big must-haves at the moment.

 

Thank you again - I see this forum has an enthusiastic, helpful membership.

[Makena]

Hey Martin... I could spend hours on all your questions, but I will try to make it short and sweet !!

 

#1- I would keep your cage inside, unless there is some kind of screened in porch. You risk other birds trying to get into the cage to get to his food, which is how he can catch diseases. The aviary we got Mak from on Oahu kept all their birds outside, and we could see the sparrows squeezing their way through the bars. Hence how Mak got lice and worms. Not to mention you would probably have swarms of fruit flies and other bugs all over his fruit and veggie bowl. A perch or small cage outside sounds like a great idea, just be careful of direct sunlight. We have Mak right by our sliding glass door which is always open, I think he feels like he is outside !

 

Oh and a side note... our cage is on casters and moves very easily throughout the house. I have to move it all the time to vacuum :pinch:!!

 

#2- We went to every pet store on Maui (all 3 of them!) and found out very quickly that we had to order a cage online. We didn't have the greatest experience buying our cage as it arrived damaged after we spent an extra $150 to have it shipped here! The company was less than helpful and ended up sending us damaged replacement parts. I posted on it a while back, I think the title was "Bad Cage". We went with powder coated... we thought it was silly to pay 2 to 3 times more for stainless because of the eventual rust issue. Plus I don't think we are going to stay on Maui forever and figure we will buy a new one if we move to the mainland rather than ship it. We are already starting to notice small amounts of rust, but it happens...

 

#3- We have a harness and Mak is finally getting used to it. We take him on frequent walks to the beach, in fact the other day we walked the Wailea beach path with him. He just sits on our shoulder checking out the world. Someday we will allow him to fly in it, but he isn't quite there yet! We use it for our piece of mind. Anything could spook him and off he would go, never to be seen again .

 

#4- The fact that your bird was raised outdoors ups the chance of him having diseases. Luckily if you go to our vet (Roger), he is very familiar with Mak now and knows all about these types of problems!

 

Oh and just on a side note... Roger's office is the only place on the island we have found Harrison's if you choose to feed your bird that. The best place to buy other bird food is Del's in Kahului. It is about half the price of The Pet Shop in the Maui Mall. The Pet Shop does have a great selection of toys and such. The pet store next to Old Navy is total crap in our opinion.

 

Well I guess that wasn't really short and sweet, but hopefully it helped! Good Luck!!

[lovemyGreys]

Well put Makena,fortunate you guys are near eachother so Makena can point you in the right direction

 

cage size, the bigger you can afford the better,powdercoated is fine but if i had had the money i would personally have gone for stainless steel.

I would house your grey inside, but if you have the money in the future i would advise an outdoor flight/cage.

As for the harness start useing it when you bring your baby home, the younger they are the easier he will adapt to it.

[Maunaolu]

All great points - thank you.

 

I forgot to add - dometop v. playtop.

I like the dometop look but understand the playtop benefits. What about the height of the playtop? I assume the cage needs sufficient height to allow the bird to climb around but then does that place the bird too high when it's playing? I haven't actually seen a playtop - none here in my area - how easy are they to clean? I assume the bottom of the playtop is solid so debris/droppings don't fall below. Maybe not?

[judygram]

I personally have a split level cage in that one side is domed on top and the other side has a playtop that is lower than the other side. The playtop has a slide out tray underneath a toy hook and perch where she likes to stay when she is out. I don't really like the cages that have the playtop on top of the cage but to each their own.

 

It is just as easy to clean under the playtop as the cage itself so that is not a problem. She likes to climb up on top of the play hook and sit, its the highest point and when she wants to come down, she slides down it with the greatest of ease.

 

You can find some good cages on the internet, and Makena can help guide you to ones that ship to Hawaii for the least amount of money.

 

Sorry Makena for volunteering you but I didn't think you would mind.

[dicky601]

We have just bought Herbie a harness, it fits in two ways. You can have the leash coming off his back so he can walk without getting tangled up, or you can have it so the leash comes off his front so that he can sit on your shoulder or a perch. Although we have not tried it yet and I'm sure it will take a while to get him used to it, although I have heard that if you can do this they can get to the point where they are excited when the see the harness as it means a trip outside. A bit like a dog when it hears the words walkies I guess.

 

Hope that is of some help. (I didnt want to give advice on the other questions as the other guys have far more expreinece than I do yet).