Parro’Talks Shelter - from Cage to Cleaning

The ideal size, use of perches, cleaning routine & not-so-Happy Huts

The Cage — Size & Features

As a general rule, the bigger the cage, the better. Okay, that’s great — but what’s practical? First, regardless of size, you need to ensure that the cage you purchase has the correct bar spacing, which is no bigger than 3/4 of an inch between bars. Any bigger, and you risk having your bird’s head getting caught between the bars. For smaller birds, 1/2 inch spacing is much better. In fact, I’d just default to the half-inch spacing, just to be safe.

So, for cage size, at a minimum, you’re going to want enough space for your bird to spread its wings, if it so chooses to. Three feet by two feet is probably going to be the minimum width/length to comfortably house a small to mid-sized bird. As for cage height, having enough room for your bird to move around horizontally is going to be much more important than moving around vertically, so a good height is going to be between two and three feet. Keep in mind, these are minimum cage sizes — the bigger the better! Also, these dimensions are for housing one bird. For more birds (I don’t recommend housing two birds in one cage, anyway), you’re obviously going to need something bigger. There needs to be enough room to flap, eat, drink, bathe, play with toys, AND climb.

Another thing I’d recommend is installing a shelf below the eating area (like this one) in order to catch dropped/uneaten food. By keeping the food off the dirty cage floor, it allows your bird to get a “second chance” at eating it. My birds will typically scrounge through their food bowl or dish to fist find their favorite things to eat first, and then discarding the rest in the process. As the day goes on, they give their discarded food a second chance, and will pick it up off the shelf to eat. You can choose to hand-pick and re-offer uneaten healthy food pieces (ONLY if they’re healthy enough to consume. No contaminated food from the cage tray!)

Finally, I’d recommend keeping the food and water dishes at separate sides of the cage — this is to prevent food from intentionally or unintentionally finding its way into the water. My bird could go thirsty for dangerously long amount hours but not drink the food-mixed-water.

The Perch(es) — Quality & Quantity

So, first thing that most people will tell you is that a variety of perches is what’s best for your bird, and I agree. However, there are a few perches out there that I think should get a little bit more of a presence in your bird’s cage, and some that shouldn’t make an appearance.

Perch comfort is a big deal. Remember, your bird is standing on its feet, all the time, every day. While their bodies are designed for this, you can help build their gripping strength by varying the width and materials on which they perch. That said, I’d recommend staying away entirely from perches with abrasive qualities — perches such as coral, concrete, or sandpaper, which are designed to help keep dull your bird’s nails, are incredibly rough on the skin of their feet, as well. What’s more, is that none of these perches are going to do enough for your bird to not need a good nail trimming every couple of months, so there’s really no great reason to add these to your perch arsenal.

The perches to really stock up on are going to be ropes and different types of wood perches, like manzanita or dragonwood twigs and branches. Wooden ladders offer a lot of entertainment for your bird, as well. Ropes are great because they’re really easy for birds to grip, and easy to contort to suit the cage. What’s more, ropes are so soft, they’re going to be the easiest on your bird’s feet. Ropes also offer an additional chew toy factor.

NOTE: Just be sure to be diligent about trimming any loose threads that may pop up after a chewing session to avoid any hazards.

In terms of perch number and placement, like I mentioned earlier — you’re going to want to give your bird enough room to stretch its wings and flap, if it so desires. As a result, you’ll want to position the perches in such a manner that your bird can still move around and enjoy some free space. Use your best judgment, but I feel that sometimes people tend to “overload” their parorts’ cages, thinking that gives them the most entertainment value. However, to me anyway, the right cage setup for a bird is going to look just a little sparse.

The Cleaning Schedule — Weekly. Yes, Weekly!

Your bird’s cage should be cleaned weekly. Yes, weekly. This might be a huge pain for you, but considering how messy birds are, it’s completely necessary. Poop, food, poop, feathers, and poop are going to rapidly accumulate on the bottom of the cage, as well as on toys, perches, sides of the cage, and even the walls behind the cage. Add onto this the fact that birds love to bathe and splash around in their water dishes, and you’ll find that wet bird mess grows bacteria at an accelerated rate. Cleaning the cage involves taking out all perches and toys, cleaning them (either by soaking in cleansing solution or running through the dishwasher), as well as cleaning the walls/floor/ceiling of the cage with cleansing solution. Also, about twice a year, you should disassemble the cage and take the pieces outside for a good cleaning with a hose, followed by cleaning solution. Nothing disinfects better than sunlight!

Regarding the cleaning solution, this is a tough decision. Many people use vinegar and water, which isn’t typically strong enough to kill all the bacteria that the cage will collect. Others will use a bleach and water solution, which if not properly diluted or removed afterward, can be very harmful to your bird. I buy the stuff in concentrate and use a bucket to dilute it. I’ll use the solution and a rag to first wipe the cage, then I’ll throw the toys and perches in the bucket to soak. I’ve found this to be a very effective and efficient way to clean cages. For rope perches, I’ll first throw them in the dishwasher, then wipe down with the solution. If anyone’s found any different commerical cage cleaning solutions, please let me know! Here’s a commercial alternative.

The not-so-Happy Hut

Let’s get this straight — birds LOVE happy huts once socialized with them. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, they’re these fuzzy tent-looking things that hang from the cage and give your bird an enclosed space in which to burrow and cuddle. It’s also freaking adorable when they do so. Have added a GIF with Time, one of my birds, for you.

So, why is it bad? Well, birds also love chewing and destroying things, and the happy hut is no exception. Unfortunately, the way that happy huts are constructed, they contain a lot of polyester threads that with a little bit of beak work, can become separated and entangle and strangle a bird, or can be swallowed and wreak havoc on your bird’s digestive system. Plus, the occasional hormonal aggressions bring a whole new set of issues.

I can’t stress this enough — if you end up getting one, do not place a happy hut in your bird’s cage, or allow any unsupervised access to one. There are too many stories out there of people coming home to a bird with a caught foot, neck, or wing, causing permanent injury or death.