Where to start on this topic!! There is so much information out there on parrot cages of all shapes and size’s, colours and styles I will just tell you a little on this matter a few hints and tips and the basic's how I see them just as a small out look on the subject which may help you decide which cage is best suited to your parrot and your home.
Hints And Tips For Buying Your Parrot Cage : Size Counts
Firstly the most important factor is the size of the cage the best rule to go by and that is the bigger the better and where you are planning on keeping your parrot, the cage needs to be big enough for your parrot to be able to freely spread it's wings and be able to have a flap about and exercise but saying that too big can also cause a problem to smaller parrots in a cage for a macaw the bar spacing will be too big and your smaller bird can get its feet and head caught, any good pet shop that sells cages can help you with information on the size of the cage you should be buying to suit your parrot.
Hints And Tips For Buying Your Parrot Cage : Maintenance
Also to consider when buying a cage is it easy to keep clean and maintain. The best type to look for are the ones with a pull out tray to make cleaning the bottom of the cage a lot easier. Also another great feature which make life a lot easier are food and water bowls that are replaced without opening the main door of the cage, these have their own small doors and really is a great feature.
Hints And Tips For Buying Your Parrot Cage : Positioning your Cage
The cage should also be kept in a position where your parrot will feel safe which is away from drafts such as windows which can also get the parrot too hot if in direct sunlight and also another factor to think about is if you put your parrot cage in front of the window you could be leaving yourself wide open for being broken into and your parrot stolen, there is lots of money to be made from a thief stealing your parrot probably more so than stealing a TV, you may think that it would be hard to steal a parrot but once covered over with something a parrot becomes quiet and still.
Also to consider on a place to put your parrot cage is somewhere that you and your family will pass and visit a number of times a day, parrots love to be part of the family and have contact with you and the family so the living room would make a good place to gain this ideally the cage placed in a lighten corner of the room so the parrot has some security of knowing that it can't be approached from the back of it's cage and/or one side which gives it the safe feeling of knowing it has it's own corner safety area.
Hints And Tips For Buying Your Parrot Cage : Toys & Amusements
Also you need to think about what you are going to put in the cage, African greys love playing with toys and can amuse themselves with toys for a long time simple things like a rope can keep them happy for many hours and a wooden toy they can chew maybe with a bell on they will highly enjoy, there are so many toys out there you just need to make sure that they are safe and can't get caught round you birds neck or have tiny bits that can be swallowed, check any toy you buy carefully and if your not 100% sure it is safe DON'T buy it. Once you have some toys you can always rotate them in the cage to keep them amused and as soon as one becomes damaged such as a rope being shredded into bits remove it, our African grey Reggie must have been going for his rope toy once when we was out as i came home and he had it all tied round his feet and was sat on the bottom of his cage so i now remove any toy that gets a little tatty.
Hints And Tips For Buying Your Parrot Cage : Perches
Next you need to think of perches the ones that normally come with the cage are not really idea and should be replaced with some java branches or branches from fruit trees such as pear or apple, hazelnut tree's or willow tress can all be used as long as you wash them down and let them dry before lacing the in the cage, this will provide your parrot with different thickness of perches, I also highly recommend a concrete perch which will help to keep your parrots nails trimmed and the beak as they like to rube this on the perch also, I use more than one and you can get them in different colours and sizes, these are sold at most pet shops and each pack should have what size bird it is most suited too.
If your planning on having your bird out of the cage a lot you can consider buying your parrot a play gym, there are many good play gyms out there on the market the one we use is the Java parrot tower which is great as it is on castors and has a big tray that catches all the dropped food and droppings and best of all the java branches can all be taken off for cleaning and also you can move them about and add rope and sandy perches to help keep the parrots nails down, Our African grey Reggie sometimes stay out for days on end, he is very good and will just sit and play on his parrot tower have a fly about and go back to his tower, he hates going back in his cage I would not recommend you leaving your African grey out unless your 100% sure it will not get into trouble or fly down and chew things (Read the home hazards for Greys article), I am home all day long so am never far away in such cases, if we go out at all and no one is home then we put him away. Reggie has been trained over the 12 years we have had him and even now sometimes he gets over excited and keeps flying down on the odd day when he wants extra attention!
About the Author
Written by Paula Dansie of African Grey Parrots
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