New cage for Edgar. Advice please

[Imogena]

I think Edgar's cage is too small for him but... When I'm at work, he sits on his perch almost all the time. I have different working hours but usually it is no more than six hours of my absence at home. Anyway, Edgar sits on the perch. Sometimes he eats, sometimes he plays with his toys but mostly just sits, naps or meditates. He is not using the space inside of his cage. His current cage is: 59X54X128 cm inside. Bar spacing 2,5 cm. I checked several times if this spacing is not too big for him, but I'm sure it is ok. He is not able to squeze his head throught the bars.
When I'm at home, Edgar is out. It is like 90% of the time I'm at home, he is out. About two hours in the morning and then the rest of the afternoon and the evening. And then he is active. He is not afraid of his climbing wall anymore, he has additional perches and a stand and he is using all of this to entertain himself. Plus playing with me and our training sessions.
I'm considering Montana Manhattan cage which for Polish standards is quite expensive but if I use my savings and then tighten my budget, I could afford it. The Montana cage is 101X77X177 cm. Bar spacing is 2 cm.
The problem is that I don't know if Edgar is calm when he stays home alone because it is the way he is and therefore there is no sense in purchasing bigger cage, or Edgar is calm because he has not much to do in his current cage.
I know that there is no such thing as too big cage but I wonder if in Edgar's case it is neccesarry.
I have a few questions:
1. Should I go for 2 cm bar spacing? I know that 2,5 is ok for him, but I'm afraid that the cage will not keep the exact measurements and some space will be bigger (in the current cage I measured every space). In this case 2 cm would be safer
2. Should I buy bigger cage right now (I would have to wait 3 months anyway because this is the time they take to transport the cage) or should I wait until Edgar is older (like a year old or older. Now he is 7 months, 310 grams)
3. What is your opinion about Montana cages?
The problem is that in Poland it is very difficult to buy a proper cage. I've looked everywhere and I found only one shop with good cages (Montana) and nothing else.
Thank you very much for your opinions and advices

 

[Dona]

mostly just sits, naps or meditates.

I don't have any advice for you about the cage, but had to comment on Edgar meditating while you are out. I've been trying to meditate for years with little success and I'm quite impressed with your boy.

 

[Sylvester]

That seems like a decent size cage. Can you post any images of his cage with him in it? Yes, when it comes to birds, bigger is always bigger. Fred, my U2, wouldn't even play with his toys in that cockatiel cage his former owners had him in. There was just no room.

 

[Imogena]

This is Edgar in his cage

What you see in the left upper corner are the ropes from his toys. He just cut them yesterday so today I will hang them again. And again and again because this is Edgar's favourite way of playing. Cutting the ropes.
At the beginning I thought that he doesn't like the toys and that is why he is cutting them off. I made different toys. More elaborate, then less elaborate, then very simple, differet textures, hang them in different places because maybe Edgar doesn't like the place I put them. Every time Edgar just cuts them off. So I figured it is the cutting he likes the most. Now his toys are very simple but I made him toys corner where I hang quite a few for him to cut.
He is completely not interested in the toys that are hanging lower. Doesn't touch them.
I made this picture just after morning poop so forgive the deposit on the cage floor.

What is interesting thought, Edgar plays with his toys which are on his stand and climbing wall. They are similar to those in his cage. And he doesn't cut them off.

 

[Sylvester]

You think that cage is too small? It seems like his has ample room to spread his wings, and I like the fact that the height is all cage, and not stand.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Edgar could probably use some more toys and foraging opportunities rather than more room. Sif has multiple types of perches because the straight dowels are bad for their feet. Inside are textured & rope perches. She has a swing & paper tape toy to unroll. Along with various chew toys. I plan on adding a foraging ball with a bell along with another foraging ball with cardboard and chewables.

 

[Kodigirl210]

This is Isen’s cage & perch as well as Sif’s perch. Even though Sif is blind she still gets the same play opportunities. CAGs are very clever & need multiple puzzles/toys etc to keep themselves busy, whether we are there or not.

 

[Fuzzy]

I like the Montana cages. I think they are one of the best quality in Europe. Unfortunately the UK has stopped selling the bigger ones so I got 2 of mine shipped from Germany. I would agree with Cali, and having a bigger cage you could have more toys etc. inside without cramping his space. My birds never really use the bottom half of the cage so I think tall cages are wasting space. My Amazons have the Montana Castell with playtop... which gives them another area to hang out on. This is Ollie's:

 

[fashionfobie]

It says you are in Poland on your tag. I am not sure what type of parrot friendly branches you can find in nature there. Also I know it is winter for you now, hopefully spring is around the corner.

My birds love ripping leaves off of paperbark branches. They also rip off the bark. It is a very exciting thing for them to do and since I can get them from a tree in my yard I know they are pesticide free. If branches are safe, free from parasites, pesticides and any other harmful diseases it can make a wonderful toy. My birds will always shred leaves and bark before they decide to play with purchased toys.

Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.

 

[Imogena]

You think that cage is too small? It seems like his has ample room to spread his wings, and I like the fact that the height is all cage, and not stand.

He is able to spread his wings. Sometimes even he "flies" from upper perch to the front wall of the cage. It is like jump with one wings flap. The top can be oppened with additional perch.
So in your opinion the cage is ok, right?

 

[Imogena]

Edgar could probably use some more toys and foraging opportunities rather than more room. Sif has multiple types of perches because the straight dowels are bad for their feet. Inside are textured & rope perches. She has a swing & paper tape toy to unroll. Along with various chew toys. I plan on adding a foraging ball with a bell along with another foraging ball with cardboard and chewables.
View attachment 295704

So in your opinion the size of the cage is ok, yes? I should only put some more toys and foraging things, yes?
Edgar had a rope perch inside, but he was chewing on it. The perch lasted two weeks and then became dangerous. I was afraid that he will tangle his foot in those lose threads he chewed. So after four destroyed perches I decided that I will put the new one on his stand rather than in the cage. Now he has two ropes on his stand because I can supervise him there.
I cannot give him paper toys because he started to eat the cardboard and paper.
But I can give him more wooden toys and some foraging toys as well.
What size is Sif's cage?
Edgar also has multiple size perches, but mostly outside. I just bought him another perch but right now Edgar is scared of it so we need some time before I could put it somewhere for him to sit on it.

This is the new perch

 

[Imogena]

I like the Montana cages. I think they are one of the best quality in Europe. Unfortunately the UK has stopped selling the bigger ones so I got 2 of mine shipped from Germany.

In Poland there is one shop with Montana cages. In fact one of the only two shops with decent cages. I bought Edgar's current cage in one of them but they have only this cage and another one bigger but the bar spacing is too big.

I would agree with Cali, and having a bigger cage you could have more toys etc. inside without cramping his space.

Yes, that is what I've been thinking as well. Hence the idea of new, bigger cage. I thought I would put the current one on the balcony so Edgar could go there for an hour or two in the summer to have some fresh air.
But to be frank, the new cage is rather expensive so if necesarry, I would of course buy it. If not that necesary, I would let Edgar stay in the current one a little longer.

 

[Imogena]

It says you are in Poland on your tag. I am not sure what type of parrot friendly branches you can find in nature there. Also I know it is winter for you now, hopefully spring is around the corner.

Yes, I'm waiting for spring. I don't know how to call it in English but in Poland many people have very small piece of land and small hut outside the city. They go there on the weekends or on the holliday in the summer. So I plan to ask my colleagues who have something like this to bring me some branches. They have apple, cherry, plum trees. Additionally I plan to go to the forest which is quite close to my flat and take some branches. In the spring I will know which tree is which because I will be able to recognize them by the leaves. In winter I wouldn't be sure if the branch is safe.

 

[fashionfobie]

When I lived in Denmark we also had Kolonihaver. I think the closest English word is allotments, but I am not sure how popular they are.

It sounds like a wonderful way to get some natural perches and toys!

 

[Sylvester]

He is able to spread his wings. Sometimes even he "flies" from upper perch to the front wall of the cage. It is like jump with one wings flap. The top can be oppened with additional perch.
So in your opinion the cage is ok, right?

Yes I think it is big enough. In fact, I had a hard time at first finding Edgar. LOL!

 

[Imogena]

Yes I think it is big enough. In fact, I had a hard time at first finding Edgar. LOL!

Yes, now he looks quite small in it, but when he wants to get out, ooo, then he is quite visible. Wings away from his body, moving from foot to foot and calling. He is not that loud but what he cannot do with loudness he does with persistency. He will make this one high sound over and over and over untill he gets what he wants.
Thank you for your opinion about the cage.

 

[Bokkapooh]

It is quite small. The cage is quite bare of toys and looks quite boring to be honest. I think he doesn't want to move around his cage because its soo tall and narrow. Not much to do in the cage. No offense. I highly recommend the larger cage since you also think it would be best for him. Get him more toys and perches too Review the Cage thread here on the forum to get an idea on how to make the cage a fun place to be.

 

[Kodigirl210]

@Imogena - I’ve never been good with centimeters. Going back over it, the cage is a little narrow but at the same time Edgar does not appear to be that large. Do have a measurement on grams in him by any chance?

Sif’s cage is 81cm across, 59cm deep and 95cm tall inside & 178cm tall overall. Edgar might benefit from a wider cage. Until you can replace the current one, definitely add more foraging items. I can’t tell but if there isn’t you can add cuttlebone & mineral block. If he is tearing up rope/cardboard you may try leather toys. Banana/palm leaves. There are also foraging toys where they have to figure out how to get a reward out of it.

 

[Imogena]

It is quite small. The cage is quite bare of toys and looks quite boring to be honest. I think he doesn't want to move around his cage because its soo tall and narrow. Not much to do in the cage. No offense.

Non taken Appreciate honesty. Tank you for the opinion. For now I will put more toys inside because for the new cage I have to wait at least three months (delivery time).

 

[Imogena]

I’ve never been good with centimeters. Going back over it, the cage is a little narrow but at the same time Edgar does not appear to be that large. Do have a measurement on grams in him by any chance?

I'm not that good with inches . Edgar's cage is 23,5 "X21"X50". Edgar is 310 grams.

If he is tearing up rope/cardboard you may try leather toys

Great idea. I haven't thought about leather toys.