yep, you are so right!! Budgies are such chickens! I found myself peeling away all the toys they have decided were scary and of course, never ever approached, so now without the toys they have twice as much place, not because the toys took much room, but because the security perimeter around them took much room...
As for the travel cage... Pfff... I bought a nice, large, toy one for Pichu, he doesn't like it, probably because is it too enclosed, he prefers the other one but it opens on the top so he doesn't like to have to jump down. So basically I have 2 travel cages and can't use either...
IF ONLY the manufacturers made travel cages that are all bars, with a front door panel that OPENS all the way!
Like maybe all sides are 15" wide, and height 18 inches.. but the front door panel swings out all the way on a hinge!
You know the one that mine are FINALLY going in now is a dandy cage, but it would take two of me to lift it since it's so heavy. And seriously, I'm not getting any younger, and I'm not supposed to be lifting anything heavy, so by the time it is cool enough in Texas to go out on the porch with them I won't be able to lift the darn thing. OHHHH if only I could design my own cages! Hey, maybe we could all pool our unused travel cages and go into business LOL!!!