Cage ideas, for special needs bird.

[MissTee]

So my new budgie, Winston was born with only one eye. I thought that was the only thing developmentally wrong with him. Im starting to notice him struggling to get around. I think the struggling around is because he has left sided weakness. He is about 4 months old.

His cage now is too high and not good for him. Im looking for a wide and about 21 inches high cage. I want to make sure if he falls its not to far. ( I also will be putting soft fabric down so he has a cushion.)

Just curious if anyone has ideas on what I can get...

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

A friend of mine had a rescued cockatiel with no feet. She went out and bought him a rodent cage, about two feet long, two feet wide and a foot and a half high. She put in platform perches and made his food and water bowls available on the floor of the cage under an overhang of another solid perch to protect them from droppings. Eventually she found him a semi-solid ramp to walk up and down so he couldn't get his feet stuck between rungs of a ladder. He adjusted well to his new cage and was extremely happy.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Here is a single story Critter Nation as an example of a rodent cage: Amazon.com : MidWest Critter Nation Animal Habitat with Stand, Single Unit, 36 Inches by 24 Inches by 39 Inches : Home And Garden Products : Pet Supplies
There are other brands. Watch the bar spacing. 1/2" is good.
Here's a smaller cage:
83250 - Vision Bird Cage for Medium Birds (M01) - Small Wire - Single Height - 62.5 x 39.5 x 53 cm (24.6 L x 15.6 W x 21 in H)

 

[JLcribber]

Keep the "perches" very low in the cage say around 4" from the bottom. Anything up high should be big and beafy to provide lots of stability. Platforms work well for that. If you get a cage really wide then you spread things out so there is a lot of "ground" area (safest place to be for him). You can use larger flat dishes on the ground. Much easier to eat and drink.

Does he fly?

 

[MissTee]

Here is a single story Critter Nation as an example of a rodent cage: Amazon.com : MidWest Critter Nation Animal Habitat with Stand, Single Unit, 36 Inches by 24 Inches by 39 Inches : Home And Garden Products : Pet Supplies
There are other brands. Watch the bar spacing. 1/2" is good.
Here's a smaller cage:
83250 - Vision Bird Cage for Medium Birds (M01) - Small Wire - Single Height - 62.5 x 39.5 x 53 cm (24.6 L x 15.6 W x 21 in H)

He is in the Vision Cage medium birds but the tall one. I looked at that one just recently. Might be an option if I can't make this one work. Thanks!!

Keep the "perches" very low in the cage say around 4" from the bottom. Anything up high should be big and beafy to provide lots of stability. Platforms work well for that. If you get a cage really wide then you spread things out so there is a lot of "ground" area (safest place to be for him). You can use larger flat dishes on the ground. Much easier to eat and drink.

Does he fly?

These are all great ideas!!!! Im going to try these ideas first. Like get platforms for up top and move most of his toys and perches lower. I like the dishes idea. Might work with what the vision cages have now. Its on the bottom. I put new ones in up high thinking I was doing him a favor. Yup, not. So Im going to be remodeling his little home!

Ill post pics with before and after. Thank you everyone!!!

 

[expressmailtome]

There are many threads in this section that discuss setting up a cage for a bird who has special needs: Special Needs Crossing | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum . Not all of the members who posted threads still use the website, so they can not reply to this thread, however the pictures and information are still there.

 

[Jaguar]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NPX5BC/ maybe?

 

[JLcribber]

He is in the Vision Cage medium birds but the tall one. I looked at that one just recently. Might be an option if I can't make this one work. Thanks!!


These are all great ideas!!!! Im going to try these ideas first. Like get platforms for up top and move most of his toys and perches lower. I like the dishes idea. Might work with what the vision cages have now. Its on the bottom. I put new ones in up high thinking I was doing him a favor. Yup, not. So Im going to be remodeling his little home!

Ill post pics with before and after. Thank you everyone!!!

Another aspect of handicapped birds is to get their environment setup and then don't muk with it. Familiarity is what will keep them safe. They need to adapt to moving and doing things around the cage. Changing things will cause them to have to re learn.