Bird cage

[monica]

I hate the look of the regular bird cages so I make my own for my two parrotlets.

I made this cage two years ago:

I wanted to make a bigger cage since I've had a few ideas and the old one was small and difficult to clean. The old cage is 70cm x 50cm x 170cm.
The new cage will be 120cm x 75cm x 180cm.

I wanted to paint the new cage white so I didn't care what materials I used to make it.

Two sides ready!

The back....

And the front.

I used the Rasterbator to print out an image for the background. Not as colorful as I hoped it would be, but it won't show that well once the cage is filled with toys.

Front and sides done.

Two doors. The bottom door is for the food and water bowls.

The parrotlets door!

Dry fit. It's big enough!

This is horrible!! :lol:

Wheels! 8)

I really regret not having wheels on the first cage. So that's the first thing I bought when I was going to make this cage.

Bottom of the cage.

It's possible to pull it out for easy cleaning.

The "droppings drawer". 8)

There, all done! Ready to paint it white.

The cage is done! UV lights on top.

I covered the wood on the inside of the cage with aluminum. They like to chew on the wood! :?

I hope they like their new home. At least this girl looks happy!

 

[Russ]

Nice....

 

[xy mosian]

Hi monica, nice cage.
But, how do you know the parrot is happy, she looks bewildered to me

xy

 

[Paul Chapman]

Excellent.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[monica]

LOL! The pic was taken right after they flew in there. She was probably wondering why all their toys are in there and not at home. :lol: They are more active and playful after living in the cage for three days now, so I assume that they are happy!

 

[xy mosian]

Brilliant
xy

 

[mailee]

That's great Monica and such an unusual project. congratulations.

 

[Chems]

Loved the backdrop!

It wasn't long ago you built the first one was it? I remember reading the thread about it?

I bet the birds are very happy!

 

[monica]

Thank you!

I made the first cage in 2008. I only had one parrotlet then. I was going to make the new cage last year but I never got around to build it.

 

[Einari Rystykaemmen]

Very nice, Monica! 8)

Cheers!

 

[Eric The Viking]

That's really fun.

We used to have Amazons, and I miss them dreadfully. You've encouraged me to try something similar in hardwood (Oak probably won't taste nice!), with rounded corners on the inside. Parrot cages are very expensive, and almost always too small, even though ours spent very little time actually in theirs.

Have you thought about where to put a nestbox? My guess is that if they like it they'll want to breed...

Cheers,

E.

 

[monica]

I think I read somewhere that parrotlets are related to the Amazons. Or maybe it was something about parrotlets being just like an Amazon parrot, only smaller. I'm not sure if I want to give them a nestbox because I have no experience with it. If they take care of the babies on their own then maybe I'll give it a try later. I should probably read about it first.

I've let them out of the cage a few times now and they always want to go back in after about 5 minutes. They used to spend hours outside of the old cage. I guess they prefer to be in there instead of outside of the cage! I just leave the small door open and let them choose where they want to be.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I think I read somewhere that parrotlets are related to the Amazons. Or maybe it was something about parrotlets being just like an Amazon parrot, only smaller. I'm not sure if I want to give them a nestbox because I have no experience with it. If they take care of the babies on their own then maybe I'll give it a try later. I should probably read about it first.

I've let them out of the cage a few times now and they always want to go back in after about 5 minutes. They used to spend hours outside of the old cage. I guess they prefer to be in there instead of outside of the cage! I just leave the small door open and let them choose where they want to be.

It was the same with ours. Charlie (the girl) had her cage and climbing tree in the corner of the living room. If she thought we were staying up too late she'd fly back to her tree, climb down into her cage and pull the door closed with her beak.

Regarding breeding, I don't know. Parrots get really agressive and noisy when they've paired up, and you can't really keep them as pets thereafter (they mate for life, usually). Smaller birds lose their tameness too, but breeding isn't as stressful for the owners! I think all parrots breed better in groups than pairs. We used to keep budgerigars when I was a child, and had great success once we'd established a decent flock (about 20 birds). Before that, the hens liked to lay, but were often unsuccessful rearing the chicks.

If yours are happy and not stressed, they'll probably try to breed eventually. If you find eggs on the floor of the cage, it's probably worth putting a box in. Incidentally, if the hens do start laying, for whatever reason, they'll need mineral supplements and calcium (cuttlefish bone, for example) to keep them in good health. Egg production is quite an effort for small birds!

The UK has a Parrot Society (we used to be members). It's very good for advice and help, even if you only keep them as pets. There may be something similar in Norway.

 

[monica]

My male parrotlet is not as tame as he was before I bought the female. But it was worth it because I bought two Border Collies and spent less time in the condo. So I bought him a female as soon as I could find one in my area. He was so happy when I came home with her!
They both come to me when I hold my hand out and the male still likes to sit on my shoulder and make weird noises with me, lol! But I think the female will become more tame eventually. She's two years old so we have lots of time. I've never seen any eggs in the cage, but I thought they only lay eggs if they have a nest? I might hang up a nestbox and see what happens. If they don't want to breed they can use the nestbox as a chew toy! :lol:

Thanks for the info and the link.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I've never seen any eggs in the cage, but I thought they only lay eggs if they have a nest?

Some small parrot-like species lay eggs anyway, larger ones only do it when they pair up and/or there is a nest site available.

I'm not sure about yours. I think they're called Lovebirds (or Lorikeets - bigger) here and in the USA - if you Google you will probably find a lot of info.