Must Have Cage Items

[Kimberly1985]

So I will be going to purchase a cage tomorrow. This will be Yoshi's cage and Zazu will get Yoshi's cage.


Zazu's cage already has a rope perch, feeding dishes, mineral block, cement perch, 2 wooden dowels, swing, and 2 toys.

This is what I have for Yoshi's cage so far: Feeding and water dishes, one cement perch, 1 large toy, 3 smaller toys, and a happy hut.

I've heard really good things about the rope bungees/boings. Anyone have any input on these? What size is best for a lovebird....small or medium?

I know that I need a mineral block or cuttlebone. And a few perches. I want to get some natural ones and a few plain wooden dowels. I know that they need a variety in size with the perches. What is the minimum and the largest width he'd need?

Just wondering if anyone has suggestions on "Must have" items for a lovebird's cage?

 

[GlassOnion]

A small boing sounds good for a lovie. I personally don't like wooden dowels, they seem so slippery.

 

[lotus15]

Personally, I would do away with the wooden dowels altogether. Natural wood is so much better for their feet and doesn't lead the the problems associated with the uniformity of wooden dowels. For a lovebird I would probably keep the average perch diameter from 1/2 to 3/4" but for variety you could go as thin as 3/8" up to 1". My English budgies are close to lovebird-size and have a full range but 1/2"-3/4" is probably the most comfortable for them.

Rope perches and boings make great additions to a cage as well

 

[Kimberly1985]

I really like the natural perches but I haven't found too many that span across the whole cage. I would make my own but I am unsure of what types of trees I have in my yard.

 

[lotus15]

I really like the natural perches but I haven't found too many that span across the whole cage. I would make my own but I am unsure of what types of trees I have in my yard.

We have some great vendors that can make long and double-bolted natural perches for you in custom sizes for your cage. Check out Bird on the Rocks or the Birdsafe Store in the Marketplace section of the forum.

 

[GlassOnion]

Things for Wings also carries some very nice perches.

Perches, Platforms & Swing Parts

 

[Kimberly1985]

Thanks ya'll! Things for Wings seem pretty reasonable on their prices too. I'm headed to check out Bird on the Rocks.

 

[BirdsFTW]

Mika's got a medium sized boing in his cage because I wanted one that would span the entire height of his cage (Raptor's got a large 1" diameter boing that spans the entire height of his cage as well). He's also got perches of all different diameters and textures. He's got natural wood, rope, sisal, Sandy, and cement perches. Everything in there ranges from less than 1/2" to 1". I don't have anything bigger than 1" for him in the cage, though. I also have the T4W platform perch and he seems to like that!! I absolutely love boings and think they're a must for cages.

I also have a foraging basket in his cage. He's got all different types of toys: mirror, bell, plastic, shreddable, etc. I'm able to put a lot of variety in the cage without it being too cluttered because of where I place things. You usually want to place toys so they'll be accessible from the perches, and not just hanging down in any old random place.

I'm personally not a big fan of perches that span the entire cage and here's why: I like to utilize as much of the cage as possible, top to bottom, all while arranging everything so nothing can be pooped on from anything above. If I were to use a perch that spanned the entire width of the cage, it'd limit me in where I can place all other perches. I tend to stick my boing in the middle of the cage and work my perches around that so the bird can always get from one perch to another. I'm not a fan of having to clean poop off perches/toys, so my arrangements save me from having to do that.

If you look at placement in my cages for both Mika and Raptor, you'll see I have things placed from top to bottom, left to right. I try to utilize as much space as possible without letting anything get pooped on. I keep seeing people's cages where everything is placed in the top half or top 1/3 of the cage and all the space below gets wasted. What's the point in having such a large cage if you have nothing in the space below for your bird to explore, right?? Mika aside, lovebirds are very active and would appreciate having things to do all over the cage.

Oh, and as for dowels? We never use them in the cage, but we save them for if we want to cut them up and use as toy parts and stuff. The ladder on our living room playgym is made out of two dowels we cut in half.

 

[Kimberly1985]

Maya, you have an excellent point about the perches that span the width of the cage. They do seem to be aggravating. I try to criss cross them and it never seems to work. I only really want one to be the width of the cage. Near the bottom, in front of the door. That's usually where Yoshi steps to come out of the cage.

I know I've probably seen your cage setups when you post pictures of Mika and Raptor, but I can't remember. Do you have one of their cage setups, so I could get some ideas from them. Thanks.

Oh and I was looking online and ran into the sisal perches you were talking about....what's the difference in these and regular rope perches?

 

[Kimberly1985]

Maya, I see that you sell perches and toys? Do you only sell locally?

 

[BirdsFTW]

Here is the newest set of photos I took: http://forums.avianavenue.com/toys-cages-bypass/54362-mika-raptors-updated-cages-playgyms.html. I'm going to be rotating around some of the stuff on the living room playgym because I'm preparing for my next Things for Wings order to arrive. I bought some toys specifically for that playgym.

The difference between rope and sisal is texture. Rope is softer because it's made out of cotton. Sisal is made out of a hard natural fiber. It's more on the rougher side, which is why I only put one sisal perch in the cages, if at all. Right now Mika's got one but Raptor doesn't. Because of where Raptor's food/water dishes are located, it's more difficult for me to arrange his cage with EVERYTHING I'd like to put in.

We do sell perches and toys, but only as a hobby. When we have branch stock and when I have time to make toys, then we usually post an ad on our local CL. A few people, including SandraK here, have bought my toys though and their birds really love them. As of right now, I've got a batch of toys ready to be sold and we're in the process of making perches and will probably have them done sometime this weekend or so.

 

[Kimberly1985]

Thanks Maya! That gives me plenty of ideas to help me out.

 

[BirdsFTW]

No problem! I think half the fun of having birds is arranging their cages and decorating their playgyms!!

 

[AZReno]

I agree.....perches are better when they don't span the whole cage and I prefer natural perches. I also don't get why you go for the concrete perches, they're hard on feet. Natural perches will naturally keep nails in shape. Don't forget to get another swing =) That's a must IMO even with a boing......personally I think the more things you can have that move with the lovebird the better, they like the movement.

 

[Kimberly1985]

I am only gonna have one concrete perch in there. It will be kind of low so he won't perch on it for too long.

Yoshi didn't seem to like his swing so I passed it onto Zazu and he loves it. I still might get Yoshi one just to give him the option.

 

[BirdsFTW]

My cement perch is one of those small 5" ones, put in a place Mika only goes a few times a day (basically the springboard for him to come out of the cage). For me, I see no problem with concrete as long as it's not put in a location where the bird is going to "hang out" because then, yeah, I agree it'd be too much for their feet.

Funny, Mika didn't care too much for his swing either (but loves his boing)... so I moved the swing onto the living room playgym. I do have Oliver's Garden swings coming in so he may like that one better - we'll see.

 

[Kimberly1985]

Yep. I got the cage! Whoo Hoo! It's gonna be huge once I get it all together. I hope I have enough stuff to fill it up. I couldn't find a boing at petsmart. Looks like I'm gonna have to pay the shipping costs and order it online. Thanks everyone!

 

[BirdsFTW]

What color did you get?

 

[Kimberly1985]

Well I didn't get the HQ flight cage. I ended up buying my cage accessories at Petsmart and bought a different cage from Saluda Pet Supply. I got a good deal on it because it was a returned item. Don't worry I sanitized it even though I don't believe a bird was ever in it. It's light gray. It looks a lot like Raptor's but I think it's a little smaller. Pictures will be coming as soon as I get everything set up. Probably tomorrow sometime.

 

[BirdsFTW]

Cool. Can't wait to see.