Take 2 Much Better

[birdhouse]

 

Yep. Done deal. Phenix has new digs. For some unknown reason, he's acting like this might even be a good thing, too! I think the hardest part of this little saga finally seems to be all but over. For the most part I'm cautiously optimistic & very pleasantly surprised!

 

That first day looked like every other time he's had to move. Only it didn't exactly. He was surely scared. But he seemed more PO'd than normal. In fact, I stuck my fingers thru the bars & let him chase them around w/murderous intent to get him acclimated to the cage initially. He got the full tour that way, in spite of himself. But he still ended up cowering on his food cup by bed time. Just like always.

 

By the end of the 1st full day though, I could have sworn I heard the bell on his new boing...? But I wasn't actually sure until I caught him on it the next morning. I had to be very careful not to let on that I was so excited because that was a very big deal!

 

The 3rd day was the first time I opened the door. He wasn't acting like it would be extremely cruel for him to find out he'd have to be going back eventually. It surprised me when he didn't come off the cage. He just sat on the door checking out the new digs from there for a long while. When it was time, I asked him to go in & he did. Just like that!

 

This is far, far & away, the very best move e..v..e..r!! He still hasn't gone near the top rear of the cage. Pretty sure he's afraid of the wood block ladder. But I do believe he'll overcome even that eventually! Otherwise, he's already like 80% settled in & that's mind blowing!

 

The cage itself was fairly surprising too. It's an A&E CC3232. After Steve got Isaac that giant 42"(?) corner cage, I was thinking this one might be too small. But Phenix is a TAG. So it was my compromise for up-sizing w/out going crazy. It's only about 25% bigger than his last cage.

 

But what a big difference in the available space! One of the quirks is that these cages photograph "small". There's actually plenty of room between every branch & toy even though the pics don't look it.

 

Speaking of quirks, there are 2 ginormous, would-have-been-deal-breakers for me. The floor grill & pan are 1 pc which can only be accessed from the rear. You know, the part up against the wall!! Who does that!?! If a cage isn't rectangular the bottom is a 2 pc design, **accessible from the bloody front of the cage**! It's like an unwritten rule!!

 

This is such a big problem in a confined space like that little corner. Nothing to do but try to live w/it for now. But it could potentially prove to be a fatal flaw in the long run.

 

The other fatal design flaw is that installation of the gym & tray seems to be necessary to its structural integrity. I think the grill is meant to sit under the tray & be held down by the 2 perches being bolted on. I say "I think" because the only use those directions have is fire starter material for the grill.

 

I didn't want to block the light & view w/a tray. Phenix isn't going to tolerate perches overhead like that anyway. Also we'll have an all out war going when everyone starts trying to land on anything that there & tempting them.

 

So I've currently got lots of things to weigh the grill down for the time being. Eventually, I'll find something washer-like (but thicker) to pin the grill in place so Phenix won't be able to push it even if it's not weighted. But here again, what were they thinking????

 

If it weren't for that, I'd give this cage 8.5/10. It has more room than a standard 23"x32" cage. Not quite as much as a standard 28"x36" cage. But feels tons more spacious inside. There's certainly more than enough room for a little TAG who seems to like a more cozy living arrangement. Also its footprint just works better in the available floor plan. Or would if not for the stupid litter tray.

 

The quality is decent & it survived the trip well. No bad welds or bent bars. The bars are nice & solid. The heavy perches didn't phase them. Nice sized door. Fun to set up. Although I am still working out the feng shui & newspaper placement. ")

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by birdhouse

[Timbersmom]

Looking good! I can't believe the tray is only removable from the back. Fatal flaw indeed!

[Greywings]

He looks at ease, good thing. We have an older corner cage for our Elanora Too it is spacious inside and one of my favorite cages , fortunately the tray slides pout at the front. Got it second hand so not sure of the make or model. The top opens with each half of the roof folding aside and the front door is also a double door.

[Acappella]

I can't believe the tray is only removable from the back!!! What a stoooopid design. That being said, it's great that Phenix has taken to the new cage as well as he has. It shows a building confidence and security in his little brain in the world around him, which comes from your interactions with him. It happens so slowly that it's only by looking back at how they used to be that we can see how far they have come. I know that's how it is with Dorian. The cage looks great. There's no way Dorian would have gone near that many colourful toys, so Phenix is ahead of him there. Congratulations on the successful transfer.

[birdhouse]

^^^ That's kind of a shame. Does Dorian come around eventually? Colored toys are only specifically a problem for Phenix if they are safety orange or green *&* translucent. But then everyone knows that's when they're at their most deadly, of course. Otherwise, the default is everything new is bad. The bigger, the badder.

 

Everything new in that set up had been hung outside or lying around his old cage for 2 months though. I dug thru my stash & found everything I thought I might use in the first cage I bought him back at the beginning of February. Since I'd already started w/the new thing drill for that I continued w/the assumption that sometime reasonably soon, there would be a new cage to outfit. So I guess that was one good thing that actually came out of that episode, anyway.

 

We have an older corner cage for our Elanora Too it is spacious inside and one of my favorite cages , fortunately the tray slides pout at the front. Got it second hand so not sure of the make or model. The top opens with each half of the roof folding aside and the front door is also a double door.

 

I've long been convinced that bird cages are designed by people w/little or no common sense who have never happened to have seen a bird fly by. My cage would be further evidence of this. Your cage on the other hand, sounds quite awesome & incredibly intelligently designed! Would love to see a picture of that!

 

He looks at ease, good thing.

 

First of all, Phenix does not do pictures. He was so distracted that he actually missed it when I turned the camera on on my reading tablet (hence the poor pic quality btw, sorry). I've tried before & he always catches me. So double extra bonus points there again.

 

He actually spent most of yesterday afternoon on the floor of his cage playing hockey w/a water bottle & testing the new acoustics which seemed to please him very much. It's normally one of his favorite past times. But this is far from normal circumstances. That displays a huge level of comfort so soon after a move by any fid's standards. So I am just gob smacked by Phenix right now.

 

Acappella nailed it, for sure. I never, ever saw this coming & I couldn't be more happy for him!

 

Edited April 21, 2017 by birdhouse

[katana600]

Oh wow, I can't express adequately how impressed and happy I am that Phenix has accepted a new cage! In the past month I also relocated Miss Gilbert to a smaller cage and she is wildly enthusiastic, compared to her usual hunker on the water dish stance. I think I know what you mean about the top grill not feeling sturdy. Ours is the same. We don't use the playtop or tray for the same reasons as you. I used some black zip ties to hold it in place for an extra measure of safety. As for the bottom tray and cleaning, I second the motion of 'Jeesh, what were they thinking?' It might be easier to put the newspaper right on top of the grate to remove it from the front for daily cleaning. It definitely will be inconvenient but for him to be so relaxed about this change at this stage of his life with you, I think this is counted as a major win!

[birdhouse]

When Phenix gets a new strawburst, right after he finishes cowering & all that stuff, maybe about 80% of the time he proceeds to snip it into confetti pieces until it's gone. The other 20% of the time, maybe even 25%, he just snips the tie in the middle so he can watch the straws explode all over. Usually, evil laughter will then ensue. But not always.

 

You know the way babies & fids love to watch things fall (while they watch you pick them up) over & over & over again? This seems to be the quintessential experience for Phenix.

 

Which is the round about way of saying that zip ties don't equal security on Planet Phenix. Unfortunately.

 

I'm thinking I could actually drill a couple of holes thru the tubing, maybe. Find out where they sell the threaded grommets & bolt the roof together like it should have been in the first place. At the moment I'm thinking it may be both the best & simplest solution.

 

But it's pretty stable for the moment. As long as he's put off by that wood block ladder, the roof ain't goin no where! All bets are off once he starts chewing that to splinters. Which at the rate he's going means I don't have to worry about it for a while yet. So we'll have to see.