Parrot Bird CagesMany common behavior problems in companion parrots may be traced to lack of suitable parrot bird cages. The problems are not usually directly caused by lack of a cage. They may be the result of stress compounded by lack of a suitable cage, inappropriate bonding to a person or place due to lack of a cage, lack
of exercise, interrupted sleep periods, inappropriate photo periods, harassment by a cage mate, or any one of several other physical and social
processes. Failure to provide a cage during the developmental period can lead to many difficult-to-correct problem behaviors. One of the most common causes of parrot bird cages-related behavior problems in companion parrots is failure to provide a cage. Surely, a bird needs an open perch or playpen, but a bird also needs a cage. A room of one's own: Whether a bird is so gregarious it's always into everything or so shy it seeks privacy, a roomy cage out of traffic is needed for good long-term emotional health. A shy bird requires security; a social bird must learn to play alone, thereby preventing the development of dominance behaviors through demands for attention. A bird doing poorly in a shared cage may need to be isolated for protection from abuse by other birds. A personal gymnasium: A healthy bird is an active bird. Most pet parrots—for reasons of safety and habit—express their energy through climbing, swinging, and flapping. A bird on a 2-foot long (60-cm) open perch has only 2 lateral feet (60 cm) in which to walk back and forth. Adding a 4-foot (1.2-m) rope triples the space to 6 feet (2 m) of climbing and flapping space. A cage only 2 feet square has 4 square feet (.37 m2) on every side and the top—20 square feet (1.8 m2) inside and 20 square feet (1.8 m2) outside—a total of 40 square feet (3.7 m3) of climbing space! There is 20 times more climbing surface on a 2 by 2 by 2-foot (60 x 60 x 60-cm) cage than on a 2-foot (60-cm) open perch. Of course, you cannot put a full-sized macaw in a 2 by 2 by 2 foot cage and you can put a macaw on a 2-foot perch. It is a less than ideal situation that should not be considered permanent housing. A corner to hang out on: Parrots with nonaggressive territorial tendencies may be housed with the cage door open almost all the time. However, at first remove the bird from the cage on your hand in order to maintain social dominance. A well-adjusted bird will spend a good deal of time sitting on the cage on the corner closest to people when there might be a little attention to be had; but it will eat, drink, sleep, and entertain itself inside and outside the cage. Size: If the cage is the only place the bird has to spend the majority of its time, that cage should be very large indeed, with width and depth and height all being at least 1 % times the bird's extended wingspan. If the cage is smaller than that, the bird should be provided with a foraging or commuting lifestyle. Configuration: The shape of the cage should include corners. Some birds will be noisy, self-mutilating, phobic, or otherwise ill-at-ease in a round or cylindrical cage. Also, avoid a cage with a solid top. Choose one with a wire top or one composed of bars. Territory and parrot bird cages: I do not recommend the cage as the only approved location for a companion parrot to spend time. During most of the year, territorialism, not sexual fugues, appears to be the primary motivation for aggression in medium and larger hookbills. In captivity there appears to be a direct relationship between the amount of space a parrot commands and the intensity with which that territory is defended—the smaller the space, the greater the fervor with which that territory is defended. |
