siobha9 Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 What do you guys think is more important, height or width in a cage? I bought Liath a cage about 6 months ago. I chose it because of its width, for 2 reasons, the first obviously to give Liath room to flap inside it, and the second because it fits perfectly where I wanted it in the kitchen. I am considering getting it made into two halves for Oisin because Liath never really uses the bottom half. What do you folks think? My steel guy says he uses non lead paint, safe for children. This should be safe for birds shouldnt it? Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Width is definitely more important than height, but that's my own personal opinion.It would be possible to halve the cage, i have seen smaller double cages on the market,personally if finances were ok i would say the best solution would be to buy another cage for your other bird,once this one is halved it may well feel claustrophobic to both birds. You say you have the cage in the kitchen, just a small safety issue,Do you cock with teflon pans ? If no thats cool,but if yes please be aware that teflon fumes can be lethal to parrots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Well strictly speaking its the dining room, but we have no table in the kitchen, so I call it the kitchen. But no I dont use teflon. I dont use a pan at all anymore because I cant find a cast iron one, or even a stainless steel one. I have been looking since I got Liath. Any ideas? I'm in Ireland, but have mostly the same shops as the UK. I could get a second cage, but it would have to be in the hallway, which (a) could be drafty, and (b) doesnt have the same atmosphere. We LIVE in the dining room in our house. So its either half this cage or buy one in two halves. At the moment he is in a smallish cage, which I really dont think he can stay in for the next 30 years or so! They neither of them spend a whole lot of time in the cages, they are out whenever it is feasible, which is most of the day and all of the evening. Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Hi siobhan, As LMG stated, the width is the most important dimension. The cage looks to be around 6 feet tall (1.8meters)? Splitting the Cage in the middle with a horizontal addition of a Pan and Grate over it should work nicely for your application in providing the best location for both your Greys and of course the space issue. It seems to have worked out good that you purchased such a tall cage to begin with. The iron worker will need to be very careful in ensuring he leaves no sharp edges and that the bars stay fully intact and not loose in any way. It sounds like you have thought this through long enough to have come to the best solution to your problem. One thing to think about, how will your greys be housed while waiting for the cage modifications. Purchasing a second small cage in the interim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Good question! I still have the crummy little cage the pet shop owner sold me when I bought Liath. Not knowing any better, and Liath being a lot smaller than she is now, I was duped! She can survive in that for a week. Paul (my steel guy) has promised he will make up the tray, and the grids before he takes the cage, and then take it away to modify the door, and spray it. Good point (excuse the pun) on the sharp bits. I did mention the paint to him, but forgot to tell him to sand everything down. Of course this is all price dependant. He hasnt given me a price yet, just that it is possible! It may be cheaper and easier to buy a double one. Ok next question Do I keep liath in the top half, since this is where she hangs out mostly now? Or should I move her below Oisin to make her less dominant of him?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Hmm, over or under is a good question. I would say to go with your intuition on this one. :-) You know your Liath and the new baby probably won't care since he is being upgrade to a much bigger flat. :-) I would think the modification would be cheaper, but if it's close to the cost of a new double over/under, I would get the new cage and then sell your existing cage and re-coop as much of the price for it as I could. Then you'll have more money for furnishing the upper and lower decks with Toys, stainless bowls etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 I would think this out very carefully before I decide to alter a cage that's specifically made to be a single style cage. The cage that's pictured is only one size bigger than a cage made for medium sized parrots. What's pictured is a Macaw cage. A proven fact and answer when a person asks about what size cage they should buy for a medium sized parrot is *the bigger the better*. The reason is that many times a bird needs to be confined to a cage for different or unexpected reasons and a bigger cage is more comfortable to stay in. Perching/ using bottom of cage...A grey's nature is to eventually find the highest area that it can perch on both in and out of a cage. Many playstands that have lots of perches underneath the main top perch are not used as much as the top perch. Now, for the splitting of the cage...most greys like to have total ownership of their cage especially if it's been in that cage for a while. Other birds will be put in the lower half. What happens if that grey doesn't care for other birds being around him. What if they nip at each other? The way birds act with each other out of their cages is no guarantee that they'll act the same when housed in the same quarters. Size of that cage cage when split...If split, the cage pictured will not be big enoughfor a grey, amazon or any other medium sized parrot. Think about altering that cage. Once done, it can't be reversed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Siobhan i agree with Dan, it may be more cost effective to buy a purpose built double cage as opposed to messing around with this one.Shame you was nearer to me i would have been intrested in your cage As for the pans most of the big store should sell stainless steel or cast iron, do you have something like Debenhams or a cookstore ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Yes we have Debenhams, I am heading into Dublin on Thursday, bringing my teenaged daughter and her friends to the Big Smoke! I will look there. Thank you! The reason that I started to consider splitting the cage is that I cant find a double for sale here. I have found a place in the UK which sells them for £500. But I dont know how much shipping will cost. I only paid €440 for this cage (about £275). And the overall cage size is smaller than the one I have. Oh I dont know what to do now. The only permanent change we were making was splitting the door in 2. The tray and the grid were going to hook on to the sides rather than be permanently fixed, so that I can take them out for cleaning, and if (unlikely) the 2 birds decided they wanted to be housed together. What are your thoughts about leaving the new bird in the hallway instead of the main room in the house? Don't even answer that, I know he needs to be in here with all of us, not out in the hall on his own. I think I need to think on this one a while longer. Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 I have done some more shopping and pondering on this one, and I have decided to go ahead and split the cage. Dave I have really taken your comments on board, so please dont think I dont value what you said. The problem is finance, space and logistics. I brought a lady I met through parrots up here at the weekend. She has 2 Greys. She thought that the size of the cage was fine for the two birds. She also suggested a couple of other minor changes to the cage to make it appear like a different cage to Liath which may help with the territory thing. The cage will be taken away for a few days also. I have spoken at length with the steel guy and what he is proposing is entirely reversible so if we feel that Liath is unhappy we can undo it very easily. (I also mentioned no sharp edges!) I hope we are doing the right thing for our babies:( Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 I hope it all works out for you As for the hall question you answered it yourself :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdgranna Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Would it not be better to split it vertically? You could just put a divider through the centre then remove it when they get used to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 I think it is too narrow?? I like them to be able to flap their wings inside the cage. They are spending time together outside the cage so if they do get used to each other I can still removed the horizontal divide. So far old bird LOVES new bird. New bird HATES old bird! Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdgranna Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 If they are out most of the time then would that matter? Sounds as if they use it for sleeping or to be safe when alone so split down the middle would suffice I should think. Mine are out quite a bit and usually flap about when they get out if they have been caged for a bit. I find they tend to roost in their cage or just sleep in it at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 5 months later, the decision is finally made and the job is done. I am really happy with it, as are Oisin and Liath. The only permanent change is the door is split in two. But I can easily make it back into one cage if I want to. And the best part... he only charged me for materials so it only cost 50 euro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Looks good Siobhan, The guy who done it has made a great job there.Are oisin & liath happy with it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Well they have only been in it since this morning. But they are chatting away merrily and playing. The toys were their own from their original cages so all their "stuff" is in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Wow, that turned out nice Siobha!! They do look happy in there and the big plus, is they can stay in the room with you instead of the other option of purchasing another cage and not being able to keep them in the same room. :-) Congratulations on this great idea you came up with!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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