ANIMAL STOP
Cage Size, Design and Layout
Once you have chosen the kind of bird you want, or while you're trying to make that decision, the next most important decision is what kind of cage do we buy????A lot of people can't believe that after they spend $500-$1000 on a parrot the cage is going to cost them from $300 on up.
If you are on a budget, it is best to price out bird and cage and all accessories. Don't skimp on anything. If you can't afford that large cage, maybe you should consider a
smaller bird, or buy the cage and accessories first, and save a couple more months for the bird. Never, ever, keep a bird in a cage that is too small with nothing to do, it is the worst form of cruelty.
While you're making all of these decisions you must remember that your bird's cage is his home. As you are prone to do when you buy a home for you and your family, you should be absolutely sure there is plenty of room.
A lot of birds don't spend much time in their cages. They have play areas and climbing trees and jungle gyms to play on.
Other birds are prisoners of their cages. They are sold to unsuspecting individuals at a lower price with the "this bird will be easy to tame" spiel, and these folks are left with a bird that will bite your finger off if given
the opportunity, and this poor bird will spend the rest of it's life confined to it's cage.
Even some handfed tame birds end up cage bound after the novelty wears off.
Therefore, cage size is extremely important. The bird, whatever species, should be able to stretch their wings out in any direction in the cage. Smaller birds like finches, canaries and budgies need room from side to side to fly.
Medium and larger birds, cockatiels, parrots, etc. are climbers. They climb around the cage, but need room for lots of entertainment (toys, swings, etc.) as well as room to spread their wings.
Some minimum suggested cage sizes (non-breeders) are:
- Finches: 12 x 24 per pair
- Budgies: 12 x 24 per pair
- Lovebirds: 12 x 24 per pair
- Cockatiels: 18 x 18 (one bird)
- Small Conures: 20 x 20
- Large conures: 24 x 24
- Amazons 24 x 24
- Cockatoos 24 x 24
- Macaws: 30 x 48
Your bird should not be able to put his head through the bar spacing on any cage. If he can, it could be tragic in the long run.
Another important factor is the thickness of the wire. A large parrot in a thin wired cage, is going to be out in no time at all and quite possibly hurt himself in the process.
Cage layout is extremely important, it should be done with the same care that you have when you arrange the furniture in your house. The perches, toys, food, etc. should flow so that the bird can easily get from place to place.
We recommend natural tree branches as perches. After all these are the "original" perches. Their design is perfect, every part of them is attractive to birds, the bark, the bumps we and their diameters are all different.
(Birds that stand on the same size perches for 50-60 years are really prone to carpal tunnel syndrome or other arthritic problems.)
Natural tree branches must be sterilized, however, to be totally safe for your birds. Oak and cherry branches are toxic to birds.
In the wild, the trees make natural swings when they blow in the wind. Therefore, birds love that back and forth swaying movement, that's why swings are so popular.
When we layout cages for our customers we include a swing, at least two perches and at least one toy. If the cage is bigger, obviously you can include more toys and perches and maybe even a mobile.
We make everything flow from the swing. Birds climb up the side of the cage to a perch, step from the perch to a toy and from the toy to the swing. This design seems to flow best. Swings with toys give the birds something to do
while swinging, or a lot of times they choose to take a siesta on their swings.
Most importantly while arranging everything in the cage be sure and leave enough space for the bird to stretch it's wings and not hit something. Most of the birds with frayed wings get them from their wings of tails bumping into
something constantly. If you find your bird with frayed feathers, figure out what is too close to what and move it, their feathers will look much better in a few months.
All of the above is what we have found works best for the birds and cages we designed. These are our opinions only. Almost everyone in birds has an opinion, talk to five bird people and you'll get five opinions.
What we have found over the years is that the people who you believe are right in their thinking are the ones who agree with you.
If we can help you with any questions, please feel free to email us or give us a call.
Copyright 1991, R. G. Ryan, Certified Avian Specialist, animalstop.com a division of: Retco Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinting without permission is prohibited
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Don't forget toys for your birds at: Just Plain Toys or look for additional perches at: Natural Branch Perches (remember birds get minerals from the wood they chew up)
Build your own toys? Check out - Raw Materials.