Hoping for advice about Phenix' new cage.

[birdhouse]

Phenix cage is 7 yo this spring. It looks more like it's 10 or 12. Very disappointing. By way of warning to anyone who wants to know, it's this model HQ cage

 

 

http://www.mybirdcage.com/medium-arch-cage.html

 

 

The paint's started to oxidize in places & it's started to peel a little here & there way too soon. But to be fair, Charm has the smaller version & it still looks pretty good. So, idk.

 

 

Anyway, I've been looking for a while now. This weekend, I finally bought a brand new A&E 36" octagonal cage on Ebay.

 

 

http://www.aecageco.com/Products/Space-Saver-Bird-Cages_2/OCT3636-Octagon-Parrot-Cage.html

 

 

While I should really be excited, I'm actually dreading this because it has so traumatizes Phenix to be moved. I've built cages in front of him. I've left them empty for as long as a month waiting for him to explore & ForgetAboutIt. Everything I can think but he still sits on his food dish & trembles for days. Then he sits still as stone on his food dish for weeks, moving only to get to his water dish & back. It's kinda heartbreaking.

 

 

So what I'm thinking is trying something totally different this time. I'm thinking about building Phenix' cage in front of him, letting it sit for X amount of time nearby (whatever feels right I guess), then putting him in it but while he's in his carrier. When/if he looks relaxed, I want to leave him in his carrier, in the new cage for however many days until he looks dare I think calm, taking my cue from his reactions.

 

 

Travel cages are for adventures. As little as he enjoys new things, his responses are notably different whenever he's in that carrier. So I'm thinking it should, could, might help him acclimate better, faster, more easily, theoretically.

 

 

So what does everyone think of this bright idea?

Edited February 9, 2017 by birdhouse

[Timbersmom]

Sounds like it would be worth a try! It took weeks for Timber to decide to move from his rust bucket to his palace. I was fortunate enough to have room to let them sit side by side until he made the transition.

[birdhouse]

They do know how to take the fun out of all that time effort & money, don't they? I don't even know if I can fit these 2 cages temporarily. Mucho space restraints in his corner which is why I was going to buy a corner cage this time. But a funny thing happened on the way to the PayPal sign in page. :confused:

 

In spite of whatever Mr Grumpypants is going to think about it, I'm getting excited now. There was a local wholesale cage outfit who's owner retired at the end of last year. Unfortunately, I don't like his brand of cages. But I did get a couple of giant boxes of toys, etc for cheap at the sell off sale. I spent less than $100 & put away enough to last everyone a long, long time.

 

Phenix cage now has excellent branches & assuming they fit (always a crap shoot) I'd want to keep them. But everything else is going to be all shiny new & exciting!! "{ Wish that was better news for my silly bird. But I can't wait!

 

What exactly is it about a new cage that gives us humans such a kick I wonder?

Edited February 7, 2017 by birdhouse

[Timbersmom]

Ha, no clue! We also get more excited over new toys etc. Timber is so change averse... He gets aggravated when I clean up his pile of hulls and paper shreddings from the day. Move a toy from one spot to another in the cage and he looks like he has lost his best friend. Put new toy in cage and I've tried to mate him with Satan. Ah well...

[Greytness]

How much living space will Phenix have with each cage? When selecting a cage, the bigger, the better. Also visualize the amount of room he'll have to roam about inside once you've hung all his toys. I also prefer flat top cages to the domed ones.

[danmcq]

They do get so accustomed to their cages, layout etc. and know every millimeter of it. As already mentioned new toys or even moving something a little can throw them in to a tizzy. I must place new toys (Unless the are replacing an exact duplicate of it) near his cage and let him eyeball them for a few days, then hang them on the side of his cage, then finally move it inside. Dayo does not like change at all. He is still in the same cage that we purchased for him 9 years ago when he was just 15 weeks old. It still looks like new surprisingly. It is a huge round top that is for a large Macaw so he has plenty of room to climbs around and even flap from one side to the other.

 

I don't envy you in needing to purchase a new one. Perhaps get the same style if you can which might help in a quicker acceptance of it? Good luck with this.

[birdhouse]

Oh, my! Classic example of how one word can totally change the way a sentence reads.

 

So I've edited my first post to say I bought the cage pictured last weekend before I started this thread. And some day, they may even ship the silly thing! Meanwhile, I've been dividing my time between digging out the bunches of goodies I've got stashed away & worrying about what Phenix will think of everything.

 

In the past 30 yrs, he's never once been happy to be moved even out of those first cages which we now know were way too small. Every time I tried something different but it always ended the same. It just really upsets him to be moved.

 

So the question is what if I let him acclimate to his new cage by using his travel cage? What if his carrier goes into the new cage & he lives in it for say a couple of weeks, before I let him out into the new digs? And that's an arbitrary time frame. I'd actually go w/however long it took him to act comfortable.

 

I'm thinking the same psychology should apply no matter where he's being transported. He meets new things from a safer, seemingly braver place when he's in that carrier. He doesn't normally growl & defend his territory. If it comes to it, he usually stops shaking fairly quickly (for him). On rare occasions he even looks like he's enjoying the adventure in spite of himself.

 

That's a very, very different reaction from the fid who cowers on his food dish for a month. So can anyone think of a down side to trying to take advantage of moving him in stages like this?

[danmcq]

I believe the travel cage is viable temporary solution to moving him in stages. We actually used a Pak-O-Bird and a travel carrier when we moved to our new home 3 years ago. We would take Dayo with us while getting the new home prepped and ready we would open the carrier so he could decide if he wished to come out and inspect his new digs. After a few trips and our bringing over something he felt safe on like a T-Stand and Tree Stand, he would fly to them and sit and watch as we worked over a two week period. He would then fly to one of our shoulders and scout out the house as we went to different rooms. By the time we moved all belongings including his cage all was good with him.

 

I hope this helps.

[birdhouse]

There it is!!! I'll never cease to be grateful for other parronts to bounce things off.

 

It just felt like something was off & the light finally dawns! In my scheme, I've defaulted to the carrier door being closed. Wrong, wrong because leaving that door open makes it all about Phenix' choices & schedule. It changes everything theoretically because it gives pretty much all that control back to him, which is the whole point.

 

Sometimes I'm sooo blonde. I just finished posting how important control is for a Grey, especially under stress. Thank you Dan!! :D:D

[Acappella]

So have you made the big move yet? How's it going?

[birdhouse]

Nope. Thank you for asking. Hope it's okay to take this much needed opportunity to vent because I am shall we say rather frustrated.

 

The damned thing still hasn't even shipped yet!!!

 

There was an unrealistic seeming ETA by 2/15. Since it's only coming from NJ to MA I thought it was a ploy to get early deliver brownie points. Something I've seen Ebay vendors do. But for whatever reason it really didn't ship for that whole first week!!!!!!!!!!

 

The seller was considerate enough to notify me the day before it was going out on time to meet the 2/15 due date. I actually had to ask him to hold off because we would eventually be getting feet of snow & ice in a series of storms over that week! sigh

 

We finally decided it was safe to ship for delivery yesterday. Then guy the got the flu & begged off until next week. bigger sigh

 

All I can say is I sure hope it's going to have been worth it in the end.

[Inara]

Always OK to vent around here!! Will X fingers that it is worth the wait!!

[birdhouse]

*** Whiner Warning *** Whiner Warning *** Whiner Warning ***

 

 

Turns out it was not worth the wait. The wrong color? Okay, maybe. The wrong size? Possibly, but probably not. The dumba$$ packaging that got the poor thing all dinged up? Deal breaker.

 

I wouldn't buy any cage to have shipped if it was used because they ship so badly. Most people just don't get the damage a ride in a truck (or 3) can do & basically, I'd expect them to package it just about like this guy did.

 

But, this was supposed to have been a listing for a new, unopened item. Even though the manufacturer's packaging can be a crap shoot sometimes, too. It should have been safe enough to go for it.

 

I can only imagine why. But thanks to this knucklehead, I am sooo disappointed I just want to start throwing very breakable things. Lots & lots of things.

 

But since that would upset the fids, I'm going to have to go wallow in chocolate now instead. Lots & lots of chocolate.

[birdhouse]

What a nightmare! I bought a cage that was supposed to be "new, unopened, undamaged" on Ebay. It looked like the guy had good rep & all.

 

The thing finally(!) got here & it was not only opened but repackaged in different boxes taped together to make them big enough. There was no packing material or anything. So, of course the boxes were a mess & the cage is clobbered. There's rust on the dings, on the locks & coming thru the welds in some places. The wheels look like they've traveled many miles on a rough road. To top it all off, it's not even the right size or color.

 

The seller says too bad, he doesn't take returns per the auction. Too bad I somehow misunderstood about the color. And even though it's all the wrong specs to be the 36" model, I'll just have to take his word for it. Any damage is something I need to take up w/UPS because he doesn't take returns. The cage was sold as is.

 

So, after a couple of days of this crap, I'm getting to go thru the Ebay Guarantee drill & hope I didn't just buy a few hundred dollars worth of scrap metal. Meantime, all that money's going to have been tied for at least sixe weeks for absolutely nothing.

 

 

I've done very well w/my Ebay purchases over the years. But the last 3 have all been a real box of rocks. This is the second time I had to ask Ebay to get my money back. The first time the seller wouldn't honor the auction & still wouldn't give me a refund.

 

I don't know if it's bad luck or Ebay's just not a nice place to do business anymore. But they've sure taken all the fun out of this one. :mad:

[Acappella]

I'm sorry the cage and the seller turned out to be complete duds. Take lots & lots of pictures & my make sure you save a copy of the original ad. Wouldn't hurt to print off a copy of the ad as well. Try to fight the temptation to leave negative feedback until after the dispute process is over, although I know you want to do it now. I'm sorry you're having this bad experience and that your money is now tied up in this bad cage. I hope it all rights itself in the end.

[birdhouse]

Thanks. I did take lots of pics. And there are so many things wrong here that it seems like I should be okay in the end. But of course we'll have to wait & see.

 

I also think I can appeal it to PayPal. So there's that. I don't know if my credit card protections apply, but maybe them too.

 

I am waiting to rep this little sweetheart. But in the meantime I also reported him to an Account Specialist. The way it was explained, I think that filing a regular complaint is a relatively inconsequential process. Although it can apparently have larger blow back on the seller if they've been bad enough. Complaining to an Account Specialist is apparently a more involved process that looks at the seller's overall history.

 

I can't imagine I'm the only one. This guy has done so many things that I have to think it's just the way he does business. It occurred to me if he gets the cage back, he'll resell it & do all this again to someone else. So maybe this mess will have done some good for other buyers going forward.

 

But it's all just sooo unnecessary.

[Timbersmom]

What a mess! Sorry for your bad experience. I have had good luck with claims through paypal, I've never tried Ebay's guarantee.

[danmcq]

What a terrible thing to have happen to you! The cage almost sounds as if it was used. Unless it sat around in a high humidity environment and had all the spots you describe just is not normal. All my cages have been shipped and they were packaged well. It seems as you say, Ebay may not be the best place to purchase a cage from. So sorry you are going through this.

[birdhouse]

HOL-LY --BLEEP--BLEEP--BLEEP--!!!! What a --bleep--!!!

 

Tomorrow, Ebay would have stepped in per their process. Tonight I got an email that the seller is willing to file w/UPS "for" me cuz he's being such a mensch. Read, figures he's found another way to stall for weeks possibly. "Oh no you don't." So, I decided I should check out PayPal's process to see if I could head him off at the pass &/or expedite the ransom of my funds.

 

Big mistake! HUGE!!

 

The rep was told multiple times, multiple ways that I was not going to file a claim until or unless I got a bad resolution from Ebay. I just wanted to know how the processed worked for future reference. But since it was obvious that they weren't going to do anything better for me than Ebay was currently doing, I was going to continue w/o them for the time being.

 

THEN SHE WENT AHEAD & FILED THE CLAIM WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION! Minutes after I hung up I got the email & I went ballistic because it cancelled the Ebay claim.

 

Supervisors one thru three would tell me so sorry this happened. However there is no going back. Paypal would be willing to give me a full refund, as long as I was responsible for returning the cage. I'd become responsible for the shape it was in when it got there (remember it's already got issues). I'd eat the freight which I'm guessing off the top would be at least $200 w/packaging.

 

BLEEP--!!!!BLEEP--!!!!BLEEP--!!!!BLEEP--!!!!BLEEP--!!!! The hell with that!!

 

Four supervisors, 95 minutes & a smoldering trail of bodies later, I can go all night & start again tomorrow if I have to.

 

The last poor guy who picked up the phone! lol He started out like the rest, but had the smarts to ask if I'd wait for him to listen to the original phone call. Short version, when he came back he gave me a full refund & told me to keep the cage. Unfortunately, the knucklehead is going to get the benefit of PayPal's bad behavior & get credit for it.

 

Hopefully it's over. But talk about a long strange trip. Good grief!

Edited March 1, 2017 by birdhouse

[SRSeedBurners]

So let me get this straight: you got a free cage, idiot got paid and ebay or paypal is eating the total cost?

[birdhouse]

PayPal is supposed to be eating the cost, but who knows at this point. Takes 2 days for the confirmation. The idiot gets paid but I didn't ask how much. I do get a free cage. But I end up w/what I'm pretty sure is the 32" (light weight) model. I don't think it can be rehab'd for daily use. Some of the welds are bleeding rust. It might make a good deck cage. But who knows? Maybe it will surprise me. Everything else has.

[birdhouse]

The money is safely back in my account!!! The part that was a gift certificate is now a PayPal credit & the rest is back on my card. WHOOHOO!

I called to tell Ebay what happened so they didn't think that PayPal found in the seller's favor even though he got paid. It was an interesting conversation.

 

The rep strongly advised my leaving feedback when I said that it was really meaningless smoke & mirrors. So, I agreed to & got some coaching. She specifically said do not say "I had to file a claim" because Ebay will remove the feedback. Why? I really didn't understand. But FYI everyone.

 

I dutifully got off the phone & logged into Ebay to leave promised feedback. It won't let me leave feedback anymore. Smoke & mirrors. FYI

[Kya]

Well, I am glad you got your money back! I have been burned by Ebay transactions in the past and just refuse to do business on there for cages anymore. It's either Amazon or I buy in person, and as much as I love Amazon, I have ordered cages that came in 3 separate shipments on 3 different dates, but at least they were as represented once I got all the parts to assemble.

 

I am really surprised you got this resolved as quickly as you did! Good for you!

[Bob]

I'd look for a powder coated cage. I don't think they are as prone to oxidation or chipping.

[katana600]

Gosh, and here I started reading from the beginning expecting Phenix to be happily over his grumpfest after his acclimation to the new cage. He is so similar to Miss Gilbert. She likes a smaller cage. At Christmas time, I moved her cage to my bedroom so she would have a peaceful haven. With the door open she can see all the way to the kitchen so she has a solid sense of calm and control. She started getting very relaxed in there so I didn't move her back. She has been playing with a balsa toy that has been in her cage, untouched for a year. But... she has also refused every overture to venture out of her cage, she retreats to the back corner if I open the door. This week I needed to take the cage out for a good scrub. I put her in what we use for travel and extended stays out of town. Its about 22 x 24 x 30 inside measurements but stands 5 feet high which she loves for the playtop. Believe it or not, she is one of the rare greys where bigger is not better. She has really accepted this move not only with grace but with great approval. As a bonus she has a door that opens next to David's favorite spot and she lets him rub her head with the door open. She comes right out and sits on the cage top and is being much more adventurous and vocal. I do think the opportunity for her to have seclusion was key. It helped her to want more. I also love the idea of using A travel cage to allow Phenix to have a hidey hole until his new cage is more familiar.