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Pictures Adélies house set up

Zara

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So for a long time, Adélie was living in an 18x16x18 (the nursery/travel cage) while I observed her to figure out what she can and can't do with her closed foot.
I originally was going to wait until weaned before making a purchase because I wasn't even sure on what cage to get. But Adélie is still eating papilla and is getting older and really needed her own home.

So I picked up a 30x18x18 for her, and she has been living in it for about 4 days now.

Day one I started off by moving the stuff she had in the little nursery. Her perch she uses to flex her foot and ladders, bed etc.
IMG_20190319_152105.jpg

She immediately took a liking to the new cage, flying back and forth from the platform to the perch.
The long dowel is making sure the nest box doesn't slip around.
She was on her perch practising grabbing with her closed foot, raising it and trying to open it, and then grabbing the perch.
She likes the platform. It is only cardboard so it is soft on her foot and she can poop on it and wreck it and I'll change it.

Snuggling with bedtime buddy,
IMG_20190321_205833.jpg

As there's no grate at the bottom of the cage, I was finding it hard to clean, so I put the box on the wall and raised it. I had to quickly get the door and when I came back, Adélie was under it
IMG_20190321_222759.jpg
So that is something I'm watching. She hasn't done it since. I think it was because I hadn't put the paper down.

I added a little bridge, which she has been enjoying climbing over. She managed to do it well and hasn't fallen off it. She also likes getting inside it.
IMG_20190323_221745.jpg
She has fallen from the perch twice. The second time I had moved her parents house next to her and it spooked Aldora.


Today, afternoon nap with the bedtime buddy.
IMG_20190323_154501.jpg

This afternoon I added a swing. The swing was too high to hang as is, so I lowered it with a (string?) and added a ball. I have some beads on order, when they arrive I'll add some beads to the string.
IMG_20190323_222004.jpg
She hasn't sat on the swing. It is almost on the floor so she won't be injured when she falls. I posted a video earlier if her with the bells. Video - Adelie vs the swing! | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

So this is Adélies house so far...
IMG_20190323_221928.jpg
I am thinking I may turn the box so that I don't need the dowel to hold it in place, and then move the swing back as I feel it is in the way of her trying to fly.

I am adding toys and colour slowly day by day. I don't want to overwhelm her and spook her.

She is enjoying having extra floor space to play with her ball.

Also, due to the current flock dynamics, I have made her house be in the middle of two others. I am hoping it will spark some tolerance between some of the flock.
Adélie likes being on Sydneys side more.. I don't know if that has anything to do with Sydney or just she prefers that half of her house.
IMG_20190323_165235.jpg
On the other side of her, are her parents. The irony is pretty brutal considering, of 4 chicks, Adélie was the one that was adandoned and the only one kept, and is now housed 10cm away. But hey ho.

She is managing to get around well. I'm not sure yet what changes I'll make in the future. I am planning on adding a platform above the pedi perch with a ramp leading up there.

Each day is a new one :)


**If anyone is curious about the cage size. It is a good size for Adélie. It would be ok for one lovebird, but too small for two, unless they were out all day and used it only as a bed.**
 
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Zara

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It has been a couple of weeks.
There were some things that weren't working out and other things that I changed so I will update the thread.....

I turned the nest box like I had said and removed the dowel. And pushed the swing further towards the back, clearing the space for flying.

I added the beads to the green stringy bit above the swing.

I moved the wooden branch over and put a new perch in, this one is slightly smoother.

I have added some new toys, the rings and C links and another ball.

I was also having issues feeding Adélie. She can't eat from the dishes that came with the cage. Instead of trying to make some sort of contraption to help her eat, I juts removed them and added a SS dish near the top of the ladders, so she can sit on the ladders and eat.

Adélie enjoys climbing over and under the wooden tunnel/bridge and tossing balls about. I saw her laying on her back the other day under the swing kicking the bells - adorable!

She likes to have naps inside the colourful wooden beads toy and sat on the dragons face. I am looking into adding more soft toys for her, it must be comfortable to sit on and snuggle into. The whale is still inside the nest, she climbs in and snuggles with it at night.

I have not added ramps yet and I don't think I will. Adélie is flighted, although she is more a helicopter than an aeroplane, and she flies around her home to get to different bits. When I walk over to get her out for the syringe, she hovers in front of the door. I have purposely kept a good area clear so she can fly around, and she loves flying from the cardboard platform to the wooden perch on the other side and back.

She and her mum still hate each other dispite being neighbours.

Here's some pictures:
IMG_20190413_133228.jpg

IMG_20190413_133249.jpg

IMG_20190413_133305.jpg

IMG_20190413_133332.jpg

IMG_20190413_133637.jpg

Screenshot_20190413_172409.jpg

IMG_20190413_170956.jpg
 

saroj12

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❤ the setup and Adelie ❤
 

AmyJas

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The cage looks great! Perfect low-to-the-ground set up.

But can I ask, why do you have a nest box in the cage? Are you trying to breed?
 

Zara

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But can I ask, why do you have a nest box in the cage? Are you trying to breed?
You can ask me anything.
She is a ¨baby¨. I suppose technically she is now an adult, but still eating formula twice a day. 100 days | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

It is filled with wood shavings (or whatever they are called) so she can rest her feet.
She will live alone for life and will never breed (this is the forum for special needs birds, and Adélie has a bad foot ergo not a candidate for breeding).

My Sydney has a nest box too (empty, no wood shavings) and not a special needs bird. Always had one since a baby, and it is safer than a snuggle hut. If it were to cause issues I´d remove it but so far it´s been fine. Sydney also lives alone and doesn´t get covered at night.

My two bonded pairs of birds do not have boxes. They have a nice long natural branch high up in their cages to reduce laying.
 

Begone

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Nice set up. :)
You really do everything you can for your birds so they can have a great life. ❤
I like that you let them sleep in those boxes beacuse huts can be really dangerous.
 

AmyJas

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@Zara I see, I wasn't aware she was still young. I totally get the use of hideaways for young birds. I'm not a big fan of them for adult females personally since they can encourage egg-laying and other hormonal behavior as I'm sure you know, but I'm glad you haven't had any issues.

I had to ask. I've just seen too many owners lately who aren't aware of the issues of having a nest box and then ask for help online about how to stop their bird from laying eggs, etc... :chin:
 

Zara

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I like that you let them sleep in those boxes beacuse huts can be really dangerous.
They all like the boxes, but unfortunately they can´t all have them. I was looking for some sort of bed for Sydney years ago, but never found a good one so the box stayed :) I have swapped it over the years for hygiene. Sydney isn´t protective of it or anything like that. Just uses it to sleep at nighttime in, not during the day.

I wasn't aware she was still young.
She was a slow grower too. So she only got to start eating food later. She was about 2-3 weeks behind. I just counted, she is 16 weeks old today. Wow, she´s 4 months old! Omg where has the time gone?!

We will have to see what happens with the nest box. I am hoping she will be like Sydney and can keep it.. time will tell :)
 

EkkieLu

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That looks great!!! Good job!
 

Lady Jane

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Looks like a little dollie house with all the trimmings. What is the toy she sleeps next to?
 

zoo mom

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What a great setup for the precious little girl.
 

Zara

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What is the toy she sleeps next to?
Sometimes, she climbs the bars and sleeps ¨inside¨ the beads (second to last picture), Sydney also has the same toy and sleeps inside it with the bell on his head, but Adelie has had the bell removed from her toy.
But usually she snoozes sat on the dragons head - the soft toy over in the back left corner.
At night, she will get in the nestbox and sit on top of the stuffed whale - it was a Mcdonalds soft toy from National Geographic, I gave it her the day she was the last chick left, when Blue went to his/her new home.

I wanted to make her home nice and colourful, and interesting. We are still adding stuff, and figuring things out. :)

Edit:
She's just having her afternoon snooze, usually she sleeps on the dragon but not today...
IMG_20190414_132613.jpg
 
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Cockatielier

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What a great ecosystem you've created for Adelie!

Have you had any trouble with using wood shavings for bedding? I use pine shavings for my chickens and thought about putting them as the base layer of Bertie's cage, but I wasn't sure if he would try to ingest shavings.
 

Zara

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thought about putting them as the base layer of Bertie's cage,
Nothing worse than wood shavings in the bottom of a bird cage - as soon as they flap their wings POOF you now have wood shaving all over the place!
I havn´t hadf any issues with wood shavings in the nestbox. Adelie climbs inside at night to sleep with her whale. Because the box has a hole, she seldom drags out wood shaving with her.

@Cockatielier I hope my setup gives you some ideas for Bertie :)


At first I was moaning that there was no grid at the bottome of the cage.... but now that we have had the cage a while, I prefer it like this. I´m sure a grid would be so uncomfortable for her.

She really enjoys her stuffed toys to perch on, especially the dragon in the back corner. It is clipped in place so it does not fall. She will climb up and use its face and sleep. I always keep an eye out for flat ish soft toys that I can give her to perch on.

I am very careful of what goes in her cage. I can´t use cotton perches as her nails get stuck in them. Once she´s hit first moult and weaned, I will look into putting a platform in the top right corner... I just want to be sure she could get up and down with no issues :)
 

fashionfobie

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I use pine shavings for my chickens and thought about putting them as the base layer of Bertie's cage, but I wasn't sure if he would try to ingest shavings.
I use straw for my chickens. It is softer and fluffier in the nest boxes. I have also used oaten hay.

I would stop using pine. Lots of fumes and carcinogens come off pine. Chickens are tough birdies but they still have fragile bird air sacs.

:) They can also eat the grasses and straw so it really is a safer choice.

:joyful::xflove:
 

Zara

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Wow, it´s been a while. So much has changes so this thread warrants an update.
I did post a whole thread about my cage setups and I did mention Adelies;

¨The cage is 18x30x18 inches, no grid at the bottom. She has a good open space at the top of her cage so that she can fly in there. She has a swing that has been lowered with a shoelace and acrylic beads threaded on for safety (and to make it look nicer). The large platform is cardboard that I cut to fit and secure with bulldog clips. This creates a soft platform that I can throw away and make a new one as she still poops on the platform. When she stops I will make a wooden one. Ladders to climb up, a wooden bridge to climb over and under. She has numerous soft toys to sit on, favourite is the dragons face. She sleeps on the tiger a lot too. The turtle toy is tied to a cheapo plastic perch to create a soft perch. I use the same cheapo perches to balance the cardboard platform. She then has a two storey house to sleep in, her whale in in the bottom half, this is where she sleeps. The house is evaluated daily as she is now coming of age and I do not want to induce nesting. So far she uses it to sleep in and no more, she is not aggressive defending it so for now, she can keep it. She had the whale toy since she was a baby and her brothers left. She has seeds and pellets in the porcelain dish, the edges are rounded and easy for her to get in. The dishes that came with the cage are not suitable for her. There is a SS ring at the back there for a SS dish but I don't use it. Her veggies are served in another porcelain square dish near the swing. Her water is in the silo to avoid her falling in a dish of water.
She has a mini Hagen (Living world) pedí perch, mainly for her beak and her good foot. But I don't think she's ever used it. (Her nails get clipped by the vet). She has a wooden perch that is smooth so that she doesn't hurt her skin on her leg.
The cage is OK. It is not heavy duty at all so I try not to move it too much. It is a good size for my single special needs bird. The cage has no guillotine doors which is good. The two feeder doors are springs and I don't use them. I don't like the main door, I prefer something a bit more secure.
Wooden Bridge and the house are from the rodent section, there are some great finds there for special needs birds; ramps, ladders etc¨

To elaborate,
The smaller Y-perch got removed. We were at the vets office one day and he said to me that she had a red bit on her foot where it´s restng/walking on stuff. So I thought best to remove the Y-perch because it was quite rough and I fifn´t want to further any discomfort or increase the chance of sores.
She still hasn´t rubbed her beak on the pedi-perch.
Adelie has since weaned so she is now eating all by herself and her flight has improved greatly. As you can see, I did add a SS bowl, but I don´t use it because it does not look comfortable at all. I think I will give that dish to another bird.
The bed was upgraded from the box to a little rodent house. She loves it, and still no issues nesting. She has started spreading wings and following Sydney around hopelessly seeking love but so far no behavioural issues or aggression because of the house.
She shreds the paper on the floor because there´s no grid, but no other major nesting behaviour, and she´s not quite grasped the art of paper tail making just yet.
The water silo is working well for her. I worry over giving her a bowl of water because she´s quite wobble on the side of bowls/dishes.

(Edit; The whole front part of the cage at the top is kept clear so there is room to fly in the cage, and Adelie flies a lot in there. The swing is not even half way toward the front, it is more towards the back wall, allowing her to pass with open wings without obstruction)

Some pictures,
one.jpg
two.jpg
three.jpg
 
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