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Suggestions for portable cockatiel cage

sunnysmom

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I need to get Rosie, my 30 year old foster tiel, a new cage. My problem is, it needs to be light enough that I can carry it up and down the stairs. He initially was just in my travel cage because I was told he had some gripping/mobility issues. (He does just fine, I think.) But he really doesn't like to come out of his cage very much. So the travel cage was too small. Now the routine is, during the day, all the birds hang out downstairs. At night, the tiels go upstairs and sleep in the bird room/office. Because Rosie doesn't like to come out often, that means I carry his cage up and down the stairs every day. I ordered him a cage online but it ended up being too heavy for me to carry. I have since moved Rosie into a cage that was donated to the rescue, but I have decided Rosie needs an even bigger cage. His current one is one of the ones shaped like a house, and I think he has too much trouble moving in it- although it's light enough for me to carry and has a platform door which I like so when he does come out, it's easy for him to come in and out. Does anyone have a cage they like? I hate to just order another one on-line and have it not work again. And I'm leaning not towards a flight cage because Rosie really likes to move up and down and be up high, and doesn't really move around horizontally much. And although I'd like a platform door and feeder doors (I realize I'm probably asking too much), the biggest thing really is that it's light enough that I can carry (and of course, gives him more room).
 

Destiny

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Is there a reason why he needs to go upstairs each night? I'm wondering if it would be possible to get him a larger cage that stays in one spot all the time. Since it sounds like he doesn't like to leave his cage, he probably isn't getting much time outside his cage and that makes it even more important that he has plenty of room. I would hate to recommend a small cage in such a situation.

On a related note, have you had a chance to investigated why he doesn't come out much? You mentioned he is a foster bird, so I don't know how much time you have had to work with him yet or how long he has had to settle in. It might be an issue of not feeling safe outside his cage. If that problem can be overcome through positive reinforcement, perhaps it would not be necessary to move his cage daily. You could try working with him to tolerate being transferred between an upstairs cage and a downstairs cage, so carrying the entire cage is no longer necessary. Or transfer from a larger stationary cage into his travel carrier, then into the upstairs cage, so the trip up stairs is smoother.

Just some initial thoughts. You might have already tried it some of these things.
 

Monaco

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Are the bigger vision cages too small? I like their doors.
 

sunnysmom

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Is there a reason why he needs to go upstairs each night? I'm wondering if it would be possible to get him a larger cage that stays in one spot all the time. Since it sounds like he doesn't like to leave his cage, he probably isn't getting much time outside his cage and that makes it even more important that he has plenty of room. I would hate to recommend a small cage in such a situation.

On a related note, have you had a chance to investigated why he doesn't come out much? You mentioned he is a foster bird, so I don't know how much time you have had to work with him yet or how long he has had to settle in. It might be an issue of not feeling safe outside his cage. If that problem can be overcome through positive reinforcement, perhaps it would not be necessary to move his cage daily. You could try working with him to tolerate being transferred between an upstairs cage and a downstairs cage, so carrying the entire cage is no longer necessary. Or transfer from a larger stationary cage into his travel carrier, then into the upstairs cage, so the trip up stairs is smoother.

Just some initial thoughts. You might have already tried it some of these things.
I have a cockatoo who is noisy at night and a fiancé who stays up late watching TV. So the tiels sleep upstairs because it's quieter- and the whole tiels prone to night fright thing- I don't want my 'too to startle them in the middle of the night. I had hoped to just be able to take Rosie up and down the stairs or transport in a small cage. That's actually what I do with my other tiel Scooter. He sleeps in a smaller sleep cage but has a bigger cage that stays downstairs., but Rosie doesn't want to cooperate with that. I realize he needs to be in a roomy cage- I just need it light weight enough to carry. I don't know if Rosie ever came out of his cage regularly. I get the sense that he was a much loved pet but not really handled much. And he's old. Like super old- he's 30. I work with him a little all the time to try to get him to come out but he basically comes out when he wants to come out. And because of his age, I really don't want to do anything that's going to stress him out.
 

sunnysmom

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Are the bigger vision cages too small? I like their doors.
I am thinking that they are but will look at them again.
 
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Monaco

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I have a rat cage that I am using for melon. It's pretty roomy vertically with two big doors that I prop up for ledges. I really like the handles near the base to move it around. It's a touch heavy, but the handles make it easier.
 
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Tielygirl

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Though this next one is a bit narrow, it does have a stand which could be handy. You said he likes taller cages? My 18 yo tiel Lily loves horizontal spaces and she has bad arthritis so she gets heated perches and platforms.

 

sunnysmom

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Though this next one is a bit narrow, it does have a stand which could be handy. You said he likes taller cages? My 18 yo tiel Lily loves horizontal spaces and she has bad arthritis so she gets heated perches and platforms.

Thanks! I will check them out.
 
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Dona

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@sunnysmom How's the hunt going Michelle? The Vision cage was mentioned above by @Monaco . (I love the doors too) My large Vision cage is wide and super awkward to carry. I am tall with long arms and it's hard for me. Gigi used it for 4 months, then I replaced with a larger King's cage, but I've saved it for trips. I wouldn't think it's sustainable to carry up and down steps everyday. And I doubt it's big enough for a Tiel wingspan anyway.
 

scrape

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sunnysmom

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@sunnysmom How's the hunt going Michelle? The Vision cage was mentioned above by @Monaco . (I love the doors too) My large Vision cage is wide and super awkward to carry. I am tall with long arms and it's hard for me. Gigi used it for 4 months, then I replaced with a larger King's cage, but I've saved it for trips. I wouldn't think it's sustainable to carry up and down steps everyday. And I doubt it's big enough for a Tiel wingspan anyway.
It's on hold until this weekend. Thanks for the info on the Vision cage. I need to measure Rosie's current cage and then figure out how much bigger I need it to be. Really, if it wasn't the weird shape, I might think about leaving him in it. But I think he'd be happier in rectangular or domed shaped cage. I've decided too that I need to start looking for a new downstairs cage for Elvis. (The fiancé is not going to be happy. I wonder if I can sneak the new cages in without him noticing. LOL.)
 
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