DQTimnehs
Ri-DQ-lously crazy 4 TAGs!
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
August 2017 Feathered Estates Highlight
I am very pleased to announce this month's showcased member
@SandraK
:congratsbig:
Family Room Setups/Multi-Room Setups
I am very pleased to announce this month's showcased member
@SandraK
:congratsbig:
Family Room Setups/Multi-Room Setups
Though the birds are set up mainly in a portion of the family room, they have a Wingdow, perch and a couple of hanging things on the bay window. The bird section has 2 bookcases facing in towards the room; the one at the north end (closest to the gcc cages) has bird supplies on it and the other (at the southern end closest to the tiel cages) has the tiel nest boxes.
There is a small stand on the top of the fridge (which we’ve covered with heavy duty paper and which has a plastic overhang over the doors) and corner stand in the kitchen near the kitchen table. We usually don’t allow them into the rest of the house (front room & 3 bedrooms) – I think only Tikki (sun) and Beni (gcc)will go out there but usually when riding a human. There is a sheer curtain hanging in the hallway to the front room to prevent the occasional stray fid though when windows are open the curtain sways. The tiels have figured out they can walk around this and the gccs have figured out they can fly through the space ....
1~ What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
My flock consists of a sun conure (Tikki) and 4 Quakers (boys JJ & Baby Blue, girls Daisy and Loofa). The flock also includes # cockatiels – some of them named and others not; not all are hand friendly. There’s Theo, Indie, Beeker, Dizzy, Jason, Bosley & Charlie (they were supposed to be Charlie’s Angels but turned out to be boys), Chick Pea, Paloma, Baldy and Jay. Then there are the green cheek conures – all 16 of them. Beni and Loki are the patriarch and matriarch. There’s also Spot, Dodo, Screech, Gimpy.
2~ Is your setup for a handicapped bird?
One of my cages is set up for Quaker Loofa who has splayed legs and is battling arthritis.I found a brand of cage that is for different types of exotic pets so instead of having perches only it also came with ramps. The ramps have made it much easier for Loofa to navigate the cage though she physically does not have a problem climbing anything when she puts her mind to it. I’ve wrapped some of the ramps/platform perches in vet wrap to make it easier for her to walk. Instead of a sleep hut for her and companion Daisy, she sleeps in a timothy grass hut which is easier for her to grip and hold on to. I also use timothy grass mats as platform perches – just zip tie them to the cage sides.
3~ Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
You do have to shop around and look for the deals with cages – but pay attention to the quality of the cage. A cheaper cage isn’t always a good deal if it’s crappy.
4~ Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?
My set up is changeable though we haven’t changed it for a while. We’re presently looking at changing it around a bit.
5~ Where did you find your materials if you made it yourself or where did you purchase the setup and do you have favorite places to purchase safe toys and/or supplies that you find reliable?
I’m horrible at inventing toys for my fids though I do have replacement “parts” like the straw finger traps and popsicle sticks. I prefer to stick to toys that are chewable or made of natural material.
6~ Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
The items the gccs seemed to appreciate the most (believe it or not) were things like ferret hammocks and any hanging nets.
7~ If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
I'm not that creative with toys - I usually take something already made and add things to it - as in I'll take a net that has nothing and hang things from it.
8~ Did you incorporate into your setup any foraging toys and how did your bird(s) take to them and was age or inactivity a factor?
The gccs and Quakers seem to appreciate the foraging toys the most.
9~ What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
We ran into some problems with aggression so we rearranged cages so that the tiels, the sun conure and Quaker JJ and the Quaker girls cages are at one end of the room while the gccs and Quaker Baby’s cages are towards the other end. The gccs and Quaker boys are caged for half the day while the tiels and sun are loose all day. We found the gccs were going after the tiels and if any of the tiels were “nesting” even on fake eggs, both the gccs and Quaker boys would attack inside the box. Now when the gccs and Quakers are let out, the nest boxes are all turned around so that nothing can get in or out. That said, we still had to put weights or books on the tops of the boxes to stop the gccs (especially) and Quakers from trying to slide the side door open or lift the covers. The gccs still tried getting in by chewing on one of the tops.
We ran into anything we hung on the walls the birds would perch on (expected) but we didn’t count on the little varmints chewing on the walls while perched. The tiels also decided it would be fun to chew the wall around the cable t.v. cable at floor level. They even took out the black plastic thingy the cable guy had put into the wall around the cable. So we’ve had to put up hard see through plastic on the walls around any hanging items. They most recently chewed on the cable for the Austin air purifier and hubby Fred is presently out on the deck fixing it. Fortunately for everyone involved, no fids were hurt and the house didn’t burn down either. BTW this system was cleaned and vacuumed last week.
The tiels, in spite of having nest boxes (so we could swap out eggs), are getting smart. One couple (I discovered a couple of days ago) opted to nest underneath the bookcase closest to the tiel night cage. Big hitch since I can’t kneel now that I have 2 bionic knees and Fred can’t get that low down to see under there either so we’re very carefully vacuuming around the area as little as possible and I’m waiting and hoping that nothing hatches. For everyone reading this, remember, you can think you’ve closed every loophole but your fids will find the extra ones and they won’t tell you.
10~ What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?
I’d love to have more space and possibly a room for the birds by themselves but right now they see and hear people all day which means they’re fairly socialized even if they aren’t all hand friendly. If they were in a bird room by themselves I don’t know that they’d be that socialized. The possibility of having a bird room with it’s own air purifying system would be a dream too – especially with the tiels as they are very dusty (see comment on Austin air purifier).
11~ What do you like most about your setup?
Right now, the birds do have their own “section” of the family room. Whoever wants to fly out and visit with humans can and those that prefer not to don’t. The room runs along the entire width of the house on the back (32 ft x 22 ft) and they have a third of the room; unfortunately it faces north.
12~ Did your bird(s) take to the setup right away or did they approach it tentatively needing time to adjust and do you feel their age was a factor?
Some of my flock were moved here from the previous house which was much smaller but at that time the flock was easily half the size that it is now. When we moved, I think it helped that we had moved all the furniture so that when the fids were moved all the familiar furniture was there – just a little more spread out. We had initially placed the cages along a portion of the room closest to the east side of the house for the light from the bay window and sliding door but eventually moved all the cages to the west side of the house. The ”kids” were still living with us and I was always worried that one friend or another would be lax about watching for birds when going in or out to the deck.
I believe the fids were okay with the move overall and adapted very well. The younger ones had their parents and since the parents were a couple of years old (at least) they were pretty calm all considered. We also moved during the day, which I was told was better, so that they could see their new surroundings while it was still light.
13~ Any future renovations planned?
We’re hoping to make some changes in layout, including a deep cleaning, adding some nets and are presently washing and rehanging the curtains that separate the fids from the rest of the family room at night. With a son’s wedding coming up in mid September I’d like to have everything so organized that I can close the curtains to the bird room while/when people visit and not have to worry about the fids freaking out or the people (there are some that think they are like bats and want to roost in your hair). I have W. family members coming in from England (SIL & adorable niece), K's coming in from TX and CA (and possibly FL too) and bride’s family coming from FL.
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