Kings travel cage

[marie83]

Can anyone who owns one of these cages tell me if a padlock can be fitted to the cage door? I can't really see on the photo's. Am reluctant to order one without seeing the cages because they are just so expensive but nowhere round here seems to do them. From the pics I'm assuming I would have to buy some chain to go round the door and side of the cage in order to fit a padlock (I want to stop other people from getting bird out without permission)

Also I can't make up my mind whether to order the small or medium size, how big a bird would the small one house comfortably for a night or 2? I should think the small one would be ok for my current birds but I think its safe to say I will end up having a bigger bird at some point.

[Grey_Moon]

I have the large size and love it!

I'd say go with the medium as the small is quite small (about a foot by a foot) and does not come with bowls etc. The large is 20 by 28 by 20 high. The cages could definitely be padlocked---but you'd need a length of chain to go around it (which you then would padlock).

[Michael]

Padlocking the door closed as a security measure is silly because the food doors can still be opened, grate/pan removed, or entire cage stolen.

You can see more photos and a review of the cage here:

http://TrainedParrot.com/Travel_Cage_Review
http://TrainedParrot.com/Travel_Cage

[marie83]

Thanks for the replies. Not worried about him being stolen, just someone thinking its clever to try and get him out for a cuddle. I've already read your reviews for the cage and seen the video. I guess if the food pots are that big to allow a bird through then I need to rethink and get a different cage or go for the smaller one that has no bowls in it. Surely the gap between the grate/pan and actual base of the cage is minimal though? A budgie couldn't slip through the gap on Ollies normal cage :S
Thats a hell of alot of money to spend if I cannot secure it well, the cheapest I've seen it is about £200 and I wont be using it that frequently. Using an old budgie cage atm but worry that the bottom will fall out, the bottoms starting to go brittle so securing it wont really work.

[Cage Cleaner]

Gl

[Michael]

Surely the gap between the grate/pan and actual base of the cage is minimal though?

You don't understand. The bottom goes like this. Grate, pan, nothing. The pan is the last thing closing the cage. There is no other base. So if some jokester pulls those two out, the bird can be extracted out the bottom. Likewise, the food doors are definitely big enough to remove any small parrot (Senegal for sure) or even stick a slender arm in. This is why a padlock wouldn't stop anyone intent on getting the bird out.

The size of the small cage is fine for you but I wouldn't recommend it. There is no grate and the bottom is the only thing between the parrot and outside world. The bottom is removable and not well secured. Under the right circumstances the bottom could be pushed into the cage and fall out entirely.

Honestly, for a gcc (and my Senegal included) a modified plastic cat carrier or wire budgie cage are good enough to travel around in for up to a few days. The medium kings travel cage is good but it's still darned heavy. I wouldn't bother lugging that around for the Senegal. Even though there's more room in it, it's still only two perches (ok as opposed to one in the carrier, not a huge deal). The only reason I keep it is because Truman is too crammed in the carrier for longer periods. He's more playful and needs me to fit more toys there for him. And it's so he doesn't step in his poop and can turn around freely. I got it all because of his clumsiness and size. I wouldn't use it for a smaller parrot unless we needed to travel for longer periods of time together like 3-10 days.

Finally, I would put more effort into seeking a lockable room to leave the bird cage/carrier in than padlocking just the cage shut. If you're in a situation where people might have access to the cage without your permission, even if they don't open it they could taunt the bird or feed it something it shouldn't have. If you're in a place with family or few enough people just explaining not to interact/handle the bird in your absence. If it's a big home with people coming and going it may be best not to bring the bird or to find a lockable room to give it total privacy when you're not around.

[marie83]

Ah got you, I assumed the cages had a base to them rather than just a pan and grate.

The plan was taking Ollie to the place I'm doing my animal management course and staying in the cage to start with to accimatize to the new environment before I start work on a project. Although he will be in a locked room when I'm not with him I just wanted a bit of extra peace of mind. At the moment its just an idea and nothing more than that. This is why I was asking so I would come to the right decision which will now be option 2 which is filming everything for my tutor to assess which is looking like the better option although I was reluctant to shell out on camera for something I'm only going to use once, whereas actually taking him into college would broaden his range of experiences and socialization + the cage would be used time and time again in the future so to start off with that seemed like the better option. I was going to use the cat carrier idea and modify it to start with but I don't think Ollie would be happy being stuck in a dark confined space for more than an hour or so. The travel cage can wait til after I've filmed my project.

Thank you for all the help everyone.

[Cage Cleaner]

yup

[Michael]

The small has no grate or feeding doors but it does have a removable pan. It doesn't slide out like a grate, it gets pushed up and into the cage and then removed back out through the bottom (or the door). This is why I think it is a major parrot security concern. Given the right circumstance of bumping/dropping the cage and the pan can fall inward as it is held down by nothing but gravity. The medium travel cage and up have a rotating piece to hold the grate/pan from sliding out.

[Cage Cleaner]

Yes