I’ll start this post in a way to not take sides.
Here’s a few points to think about to put size into a better perspective.
- The bird needs room to move
- Room for the food bowls
- Multiple perches of different sizes
- Room for toys while still having the room to move listed above
___This goes with facts and more of my opinion___
My Grey and my family’s Greys all have 10x10 rope swings that would take up that space plus room to swing leaving less than half of the 24x24 cage useable for other items.
I couldn’t see that swing fitting in a small cage let alone toys, perches or the bird.
My cage is 36x28 and is too small. It already looks too cramped with his toys, perches and bowls. I want to double the length of my boy’s cage. He’s disabled (half a wing and only 1 foot with only half his toes) doesn’t get around as well as other birds. I can’t get a normal parrot cage as it’s to tall and a fall risk but I can double the length (by attaching 2 cages) so he has more room for toys and moving around and that’s what I’m looking to do.
I personally believe the money for the cage and all needs should be the 1st thing researched (learned by experience sadly). Money then sat aside for before the purchase of an animal. Some times we run into animals and can’t do this but research and items needed should be the top 2 priorities if at all possible. Maybe if you’re getting a bird from a breeder you can ask if they will put the deposit on a different baby giving you more time to save up for a large cage that should work for the birds life time it’s a lot cheaper than buying a cage that’s to small and upgrading later.
I live in a small trailer home so don’t really have the room but I’ll make it work as that’s part of having him. My bed room still has room for all my clothes, bedding, bed and computer. I believe my animals should also have room for all their places to sleep, play, eat and whatever else they want to do. We can leave our rooms and even our homes they’re stuck in their cage (“rooms”) unless we let them out.
I also believe your line “The bird will be living in my home ....I will not be living in his.” Is a VERY bad way of looking at it when you get a bird it’s now the bird’s house too. Everything a bird sees is the birds.
If you let the bird out of the cage it’s going to chew anything it can and use the house as a bathroom too. That’s just part of having a bird you have to accept.
As for having birds for years… Just because you have had birds in the past doesn’t mean past care or beliefs are correct. Time we as humans have spent with animals we have learned past care info is wrong. Best example I can come up with is fish related. When I was a kid under gravel filters were good filters and the nitrogen cycle wasn’t a big thing. Now we know more about the nitrogen cycle and how under gravel filters may make the water look clean but keeps all the bad stuff in the tank. Gravel filters are now mostly avoided and advised against.
Please do always try to find new up to date info and be willing to look at it with an open mind. Even human care and needs are now understood differently and have changed the same goes for our animals.
_____For a little more context______
I got my baby as a kid still living with my parents and we had only had parakeets and cockatiels up till then. We didn’t know what we needed to know going in and I already had to upgrade his cage once from a 32x21 to the 36x28, as he’s disabled as a younger bird his 36x28 cage worked well for him. He had a lot of problems getting around and falling. As he’s got older falling is still a problem but he can now get around better and could use the room he should have had some time ago. In some ways I want to say going with to small a cage in the beginning was a mistake I wish I could take back but with him going through cage sizes up to a point was the right option. He was too unstable as a baby. He’s overdue for an upgrade now and I’m now at a point where I don’t have much money. I need to set money aside every month while still buying all his food and toys to build up what I need for a 2nd cage. One thing I wish I could have done was kept money aside in case he got better at getting around and I could have then already upgraded cages again. If he was a normal healthy grey I would be VERY mad at myself for going through cages and not just starting in his forever cage. The money on my end and stress on his end.
