Placement of things in your birds cage

[Lady]

Ok, Hope this is posted in the right place. I know we all have different birds and routines but does anyone feel certain things should be placed in certain places in the cage?
For instance, I don't have a cuttle bone in Lady's cage instead I have a mineral rock. Every time I put a cuttle bone in her cage she tears it up within a day. I keep one in a sealed baggie and every week scrap some of it in her food. I keep the mineral rock on the back side of the cage near the top perch as she eats from her food dish from this perch.

Anyway, I like to rearrange Lady's cage almost weekly except for her bedding area. Now she doesn't have a huge cage and I find everything has a place but do you keep your cuttle bone or mineral rock nearest to your birds food dish? And if you keep some type of pruning toy where do you put it?

At the moment all of Lady's toys are on one side of the cage because it is easier for her to come out on her own from the other side of the cage where she has a perch next to rope that is hanging on the out side against the cage.
It seems to be best also due to her method of bathing. She prefers to bath from her water dish. If I have anything hanging close to it she could get hit with it in her excitement.

Do you always put the food and water in the same dish on the same side of the cage or do you switch it up?

[PlaxMacaws]

Hi Alice... I think in-cage item/accessory placement falls both to caregiver preference and perhaps, more importantly, to each particular bird's preference. Some folks tend to crowd bird cages with toys... I'm talking about those cages you see with toys clustered and hanging in nearly every direction. Conversely, other folks seem to provide far too few in-cage toys for their birds. That's obviously terrible because parrots may easily become bored during cage confinement periods. I think there's a happy medium where a bird has enough toys in its cage, as well as enough room during confinement periods, and all of its other essential items within reach. It sounds like you've carefully thought out your cage item configuration. That's a good thing :). I think switching up periodically -as you do- is okay as long as it doesn't upset your bird too much.

Cuttlebones are not entirely essential for parrots these days due to other mineral sources. And while they are a great source of calcium, some birds will have little to do with them. Moreover, cuttlebones have a fairly high salt content, so alternatives may be worth considering. That's just my opinion, mind you. I should note, too, that quality bird pellets are fortified with calcium as well as other minerals... so if Lady eats pellets daily she is likely getting a reasonable amount of calcium from those. And since you have a mineral block in her cage, I think you're covered fairly well. I try to feed my guys egg whites with some of the shell pieces periodically - the shells are a great source of calcium as well.

As for water and food bowls being mounted near one another... that comes down to the individual bird as well. With Salsa and Maynard I'm forced to keep their water and food bowls on opposite sides of their cages. That's because those two are huge soup makers - I say soup, but it's actually more like thick stew when they're finished! They place all the solids within reach into their water, and they start doing so immediately after it has been freshly changed. I find myself cleaning their water bowls at least 7 or 8 times daily. Those scoundrels! ;) Jack and Zaf are fine with water and food inches apart.

So those are some of my thoughts.

[Lady]

Hi Tony,
Once again, I appreciate your feedback, it is so very helpful. I guess with all being said I will just continue moving things about to see what placement is helpful to Lady. I tend to watch her as she likes to hang out inside the cage more than anywhere else at the moment so, I want things to be safe and convenient.

It's good to know about the cuttle bone and the salt content as I was not aware and was thinking she just didn't like the way it looked in the cage. I have brought both flavored ones and regular but she just breaks them up till they are no longer able to hang.

Altho I don't see her actually use the mineral block, I do find I have to clean it off every other day or so. Lady does eat some pellets but she doesn't seem to care for them too much. She has done well transitioning from a seed diet/human food diet to a veggie, bean and grain diet. Fruit mid evening and a small amount of seed mix an hour or so before bed time.

Eating and toy making are the most fun times as that is when she wants to be all in whatever I have :) quite up close and personal.

Funny about your guys making soup/stew, I know what you are saying. Lady tends to dip some of her food into her water dish as if I didn't clean it well enough or it is overcooked and dry. But stranger than that she also likes to put her "favorite" toys in her food dish as well. Glad to know at least Zaf and Jack don't care much for stew~ Having multiple babies must be quite interesting to learn there different personalities and quirks.

Again, thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

[PlaxMacaws]

You're welcome, Alice. I hope some other members weigh in with their advice for you as well.

I should also mention that one very important consideration about hanging bird toys is that any chains, strings, wires, cords, narrow ropes, strips of rawhide, etc. have the potential to become lethal ligatures when enough bare length happens to be exposed. They can be especially dangerous when there is something hanging from the end. During play activities a bird may become bound and asphyxiated if the material gets looped around its neck and the loop is pulled tight by gravity acting upon the dangling object(s) below it. For this reason any possibility of such a weighted noose situation should be eliminated! A good method is to be sure that strung-on objects occupy the bulk of the length of any slender materials used to hang toy components, and at all times! If no loops can be created, there's no worry. While this is not a pleasant subject, it's an important caution to acknowledge.

[Lady]

Tony,

I would like to hear from the other members as well even tho cage set up seems like an easy thing to figure out. Everyone doesn't go about things the same way and may have found from their experience, the best place to put certain things.
Guess it may or may not confirm that I'm being silly changing and rearranging her things to much :th_ashamed3:.

Yes, indeed it is most important! I have had this happen with Lady before. I don't remember exactly what the object was but I remember the bite my husband took as I cut the toy from around her to set her free as our hearts raced with fear.

[Robyn]

Guess it may or may not confirm that I'm being silly changing and rearranging her things to much



I move/rearrange things on a daily basis in Riley's cage so no I don't think your being silly. I normally like to have the the food and water dishes on seperate sides and corners of the cage for exampe if her water is in the back left corner I put her food in the front right corner. However for now they are next to each other as she has had some difficulties getting around the cage (she's young and clumsy and had NO tail when I got her). I keep a cuttle bone in her cage though she has yet to touch it I have never seen her touch her mineral block either however a couple days ago half her beak was purple (I have the purple grape one in her cage) which freaked me out thinking she had hurt herself then I realized there was some purple on her face and so I wiped them both off. She has 12 perches (counting her swing and ladder) in her cage one of which is a concrete pedicure perch that has a smooth top and bottom with rough sides. She also has anywhere from 9-12 toys in her cage at any given time. As well as a water bottle that I am trying to teach her to drink out of. I also just added a larger food dish yesterday where I used to have her regular one the bigger one is for her sprouts and dried leafy greens. She doesn't seem to mind but then again this has been going on since I brought her home. Now in case you are worried about her not having enough room to move around her overall cage dimentions are 31" L x 20.5"W x 53"H with 1/2 inch bar spacing. So even with everything in there she still has room to move around. Also I normally put the food and water dishes just above the highest perches so that they don't go potty in them. But thats just how I do things.

[Lady]

Hi Robyn,

Thanks for your reply. I noticed how roomy Riley's cage is when you posted the pics in your album. And it looks great to me. I like the triangle swing and I hope that I can get Lady a larger cage by Christmas. The one she has is good but I want more room for her just because the more room she has the better. I would really love a bird room for her but it isn't possible right now.
Wouldn't it be nice if real bird owners got to design cages. I mean, it would be nice if we had better choices for how many and where we want the food and water dishes, as well as treats. Where we would prefer large doors and how many. I would also like to see better perches as far as how they go in the cage. Lady also has a perch with sand on the front and back to keep her nails from getting to sharp but what I like most is the way it goes onto the bars. As you know it is not just a steel piece with washers, but big heavy plastic that goes around the bars and has a nice easy to open and close nut on the other end. And why don't they ever consider a wash area. I move Lady's water dish from one side to the other because it seems it is beginning to get rust from where the water doesn't get dried. Okay, I better stop, this is beginning to sound like a rant.
Thanks again for you ideas and letting me know I'm not the only one who likes to change things around!

[Robyn]

I actually took out the sand perch and got a concrete pedicure perch the kind thats smooth on the top and bottom. Rileys cage is quite big for a tiel but it will be great for when I'm allowed to work again as she will have room to move around and keep her self entertained while i'm gone but I have no idea when I will be allowed to work again I may just go back to work anyways a month of doing nothing is making me grumpy and screwing with my sleep cycles.

[Lady]

I actually took out the sand perch and got a concrete pedicure perch the kind thats smooth on the top and bottom. Rileys cage is quite big for a tiel but it will be great for when I'm allowed to work again as she will have room to move around and keep her self entertained while i'm gone but I have no idea when I will be allowed to work again I may just go back to work anyways a month of doing nothing is making me grumpy and screwing with my sleep cycles.

Yes the pedicure perch is what I was speaking about also.

[Robyn]

Oh ok I just wanted to clarify as to what is currently in her cage because I haven't uploaded any pics since the first day I brought her home.

[kendrafitz]

Hi Lady - my GW Rosie doesn't spend much time in her cage. Just to sleep and for and hour or two if I run out for errands during the day.

Her tree and stands have toys, which she pretty much ignores. Unless she can unscrew them, she loves that! I'm not sure if she enjoys the BANG! as the toy hits the floor or seeing me jump out of my skin in fright more. ;)

Her cage does have lots of toys, both on the inside and outside. Some she completely ignores and some she destroys within hours. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to it. I wish there was so I would make sure she always has toys she likes. She has 2 sand perches, a rope perch, a heated perch and a wood perch in her cage. She seems to prefer the sand perches. Her food and water dishes are always in the same spot. She drinks but rarely eats in her cage. Like most macs I have read about, she loves to make soup with her water. Food, toys, foraging paper, it all goes in. So icky to clean, but I guess it's fun for her.

[Lady]

Hi Kendra,

How nice that Rosie is able to be out of her cage most of the day and hangout on her tree and stands. Lady gets to stay out only when I'm home from work and all day on my days off if I'm going to be home as well.

I started this thread to see if anyone has found that having certain things in particular places in the cage was better than moving them about. I'm sure most things are okay to move and more than likely things can also depend on where and why we have there cage at to begin with.

I am curious too if anyone has found that their bird has preferences. You know, likes and dislikes within where items are in the cage.

I have noticed that Lady will also dip some of her food into her water and some foods she likes to eat with me. Then there are foods she takes and puts into her bowl herself and eats there.
Maybe as the days go forward and I finally decide which new cage we are going to get her, I will find things will change.

Maybe they are such loving sweet creatures that as long as they have access to what they need or want they are happy and don't really mind where things are placed.