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New cage blues

Sweet Louise

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I thought I bought well until I discovered EH too late. And I am disappointed in the cage I got. It has several nice features and is much bigger for Louise. But... it does not have a big deal that I wanted. I do not want to use a bottom grate. They said the grate and tray were interchangeable, they are not. Now I have to figure a way to close a 2 inch gap before she moves in or have double the clean up and at a time where she already has a sore on her foot. There are also gaps where the sides come together, big enough to catch a toenail and I have no idea how to fix that. I want her out of the rusty nasty impossible to clean cage but I think it is safer until I fix those problems. ?? I also had to use pliers,hammer, and nail punch to fix the bent part. Louise was watching it get put together and is unimpressed. Guess I will scrub down the old one again, her dinner is painted all over the bars. Just so disappointing after spending so much. That bottom tray is so low it will be a pain in the back.
:atomic:
 

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Sweet Louise

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And darn it, the feeder bowls are a tad high and the doors to them are really large. It will make hanging her foraging toys and perches near them difficult.:bash:
 

Clueless

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So sorry
 

ode.to.parrots

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That is so frustrating!!!

I had a similar experience when trying to buy a second cage for Buckbeak so he could move out and have his own space. I order the same exact cage that I had purchased for my tiels a year ago, but the cage I received was NOT the same! They must have changed manufacturers or something. Same dimensions, but the feeder doors no longer locked shut - they just slid. Also, the quality of this new model of the "same" cage was HORRIBLE! I counted at least FIVE different places where the bars were bent, and one of the feeder doors was so badly jammed and bent up that it would not close. I had it returned and got my money back.

For the grate/tray, I know this is not ideal, but perhaps you could lay your paper over the grate itself? That way there would be no gape, and you would just change paper on top of the grate. Again, not ideal, but if you are trying to avoid returning this cage, it's an option.

As for the other stuff... I have no idea. :confused:
 

WallyLoopey

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I hate it when very large items ordered are messed up. So hard to return and most of the time I have already thrown out the boxes
 

DQTimnehs

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I put paper on the grates. I can't imagine having to scrub poop off grates regularly.
 

BeanieofJustice

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Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear about the cage and the state it's in. I'd contact the manufacturers/sellers/wherever you got it from (especially about that twisted part). Is there a return policy?
 

Sweet Louise

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Thank you for the replies. at 175 pounds, I just don't have the ability to return it. Contacting the manufacture (who actually sold me the cage at $400 less) is a good idea. I will send them pictures of the bent part. I think I have it pretty good with the nail punch and hammer but it will need a bit of filing as will one other spot. Using newspapers over the grill seems my only option and it is good to hear that works for other folks. If I do that and watch to see if the newpapers are good enough at catching debris, I may be able to break the welding on the 3 bars below and then have a small shelf. That will take some planning and work as the bars might be welded to go into the the frame as opposed to just sticking to the frame. Perhaps they misunderstood my question but I kinda feel they were wrong with knowing what I was asking. Maybe they can send me a thin piece of staninless steel to put over the grate?? Plexiglass? I am pretty salty about it but will try to focus on it will be cleaner, easier to clean, and give Louise more of the room she needs. It also has better a better door, better/stronger/easier to clean doors and good bar spacing. I do expect I will replace it in 3-5 years for an eh cage and someone will get a good deal on a ss cage. Who needs to retire anyway.
It is wider than her current cage so getting toys mounted on the back will be interesting- I don't have the wingspan to hold from the inside and screw from the outside and just doing it from the outside, well its hard to balance and hold the toys and screw them on. Sometimes living alone sucks.
not sure what to do about the toenail grabbing corners. I will need to line it with something bird proof yet malleable enough that I can get it to the right size. foam or batting would fill the gap but be an ingestion hazard. maybe hanging rope perches from top to bottom in the corners??? do they make them in primary colors?
 

BeanieofJustice

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It is wider than her current cage so getting toys mounted on the back will be interesting- I don't have the wingspan to hold from the inside and screw from the outside and just doing it from the outside, well its hard to balance and hold the toys and screw them on. Sometimes living alone sucks.
not sure what to do about the toenail grabbing corners. I will need to line it with something bird proof yet malleable enough that I can get it to the right size. foam or batting would fill the gap but be an ingestion hazard. maybe hanging rope perches from top to bottom in the corners??? do they make them in primary colors?


I have a big corner cage for Sam and how I set up the perches in the back is kind of tricky but if you can get your fingers between the bars to the outside of the cage while you're on the inside of the cage and finagle it enough you can get the wing bolt on and twist it with your fingers through the bars. If that makes sense, if not, I can try and take photos of what I mean. It's not easy, but hopefully it helps. I live alone too so I understand.

Can you wrap the corners in vet wrap? Stuff some in the opening and wrap around the rest? No idea if it's a good idea or not, it was just the first thing that came to mind.
 

greys4u

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Don't do anything to the cage until you hear from the manufacture, he may reduce the price, offer to ship it back, who knows and also don't mention you can fix it, that will give them a way out.
 

ode.to.parrots

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Thank you for the replies. at 175 pounds, I just don't have the ability to return it.
When I returned my cage, I didn't have to lift it at all. The manufacturer sent a UPS guy to pick it up, so he did all the heavy lifting. :roflmao: The whole process didn't cost me a thing!
 

iamwhoiam

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So sorry that there are issues with the cage. Definitely contact the seller and the manufacturer. When I've had issues I've been sent replacement parts and one place even gave me a small refund as well as sending me replacement trays.
 

Sweet Louise

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When I returned my cage, I didn't have to lift it at all. The manufacturer sent a UPS guy to pick it up, so he did all the heavy lifting. :roflmao: The whole process didn't cost me a thing!
did they pack it up too?
 

ode.to.parrots

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did they pack it up too?
No. My cage was such a mess that I noticed problems with it as I was taking it out of the box. I didn't even assemble it. I just put it back in the box and taped it all back up.

I do think it is worth asking if it is possible for the UPS guy to pack it up for you, especially if you don't have the original packaging. I don't see any harm in asking.
 

Sweet Louise

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That is so frustrating!!!

I had a similar experience when trying to buy a second cage for Buckbeak so he could move out and have his own space. I order the same exact cage that I had purchased for my tiels a year ago, but the cage I received was NOT the same! They must have changed manufacturers or something. Same dimensions, but the feeder doors no longer locked shut - they just slid. Also, the quality of this new model of the "same" cage was HORRIBLE! I counted at least FIVE different places where the bars were bent, and one of the feeder doors was so badly jammed and bent up that it would not close. I had it returned and got my money back.

For the grate/tray, I know this is not ideal, but perhaps you could lay your paper over the grate itself? That way there would be no gape, and you would just change paper on top of the grate. Again, not ideal, but if you are trying to avoid returning this cage, it's an option.

As for the other stuff... I have no idea. :confused:
most of the stuff worked out and I really liked your idea of newspapers on the grate, that got me to thinking...and @lotus15 had a similar idea.. so I had a ss sheet cut to size to permanently put over the grate and put the newspapers on that...then took out the exterior bars between the grate and tray and can use the tray for newspapers. She seems to enjoy the extra space but is still tentative about some of the new stuff like the how the playtop is different. Gaps have all been made safe I believe....
 
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