My 'tiel, Cricket, has lived outside of his cage for nearly a year now. I have a “wonderland” of natural twisty perches, toys, and a “dining area” on top of his 23" x 16" cage which he loves. He walks around and under the multi-branch perch, and perches on it too. And spends a great deal of time on my shoulder, too.
But I’m moving, which introduces some complications into the mix.
He will still be able to live “free” but I need to think about how it’s going to be. Right now his cage sits on top of a dresser, which it won’t be doing after I move, so at the very least I need a stand for the current setup. Then I need a better seed-catcher solution, like a tray with angled sides, which I can put under his cage, that will catch some of the chaff a little better. I’ve looked all over for something like this tray I’m imagining, but just haven’t found it.
But then I thought about the fact that unless we travel (for which I have a separate carrier), he doesn’t really even use a cage anymore, so I started fantasizing about an open-air setup like you see for larger parrots.
Any suggestions, solutions?
This thing would be awesome, but the price! >choke!<
I could even build something- I’m crafty like that- but the “apron” part I would need to figure out!
For George, my budgie, I have a bench. On the bench is a pot with a driftwood tree that has a few fake wisteria and greenery. Next to that is the cage that George no longer uses. On top of the cage is his food station. Underneath the bench is one of those big plastic mats that you put underneath your office chair. The mat catches seed and is easy to vacuum up. I can take the fake plants off the tree to wash when necessary. Newspaper under the pot and cage also clean up easily. George spends most of his time on the tree.
I had also thought about a tray, but just couldn’t find one big enough.
Well, we have a dedicated bird room, so they’re out all day and only caged for sleep or safety (strong winds might break a window, so we cage them during major storms). Don’t know if you’re able to dedicate that much space.
In general, with cages, the larger the better, with the caveat that the bar spacing shouldn’t allow the bird’s head to get through (lest he or she get stuck).