Old Cage for a New Senegal?

[owlyssa]

Hey, all! I'm hoping I can get some feedback regarding a concern of mine.

As I've mentioned in another post, I recently became the new owner of a young Senegal. I'm so excited to have them home! I have about a month to prepare everything for them, and I'm making the most of that time to have everything ready to go.

I have a cage in storage that had previously been the home of my late 12-year-old Cinnamon Pearl Cockatiel (18''W x 18''D 30''H). I am considering reusing this cage for my new Senegal, but I have two concerns:

1. Is this a big enough cage for a Senegal parrot? Some sites I've looked into lists this as the ideal size, others recommend bigger cages.

2. Is it safe to reuse this cage? I unfortunately did not have a necropsy done when my 'tiel passed away, and while I don't think she had any sort of upper respiratory illness, I'm not 100% sure what her cause of death had been.

I'm looking forward to what you have to say. This seems like a great site with well-informed and experienced bird owners, so I'm relieved to have found you guys as I move onto the next chapter of my bird ownership!

[Chantilly]

I think that this cage would be an ok size.
While being on this forum I have learnt that the minimunm cage size reccomended for a bird is its twice the birds size (an 5in bird would need 10x10x10) so as it can open its wings and have enough movement room. a senegal parrot is about 9 inches long, so if this is 18in x18x30 it should be good .
As for seeing as you cockatiel may have been contagious, think that if you bleached it really well (and rinsed of with detergent) it should be fine, but I am not certain about that. Perhaps you could Pineoclean it, I am not sure how parrit safe that is though.

[Wolf]

Sorry, but I have to disagree and say that the cage is too small . 18 inches is the birds wingspan so in an 18 inch cage the bird could only fully flex its wings if it were in the center of the cage. So this should be doubled one more time to get the minimum size of cage which is 36inches and then the cage needs to be tall enough so that the highest perch, about 10 inches from the top is at eye level. As I said this is the minimum size and even then your bird should receive about 4 hours of out of cage time daily or you would really need a much larger cage.

If you wish to not go through the doubling and redoubling process you can also go with multiplying the birds length by 5 which gives the bird a little more room, but I always like to advise that once you know the minimum acceptable size, get the largest cage that you can then afford, in the long term you will not regret this.

[Pajarita]

Yes, it is too small. My canaries have larger cages than that. I like to make their cages 5 times their height and three times their wingspan in width with a depth of never less than 21 inches (my senegals cage has a depth of over 40 inches)

[owlyssa]

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone! I appreciate it. So, given the recommendations for a bigger cage size, would this cage be sufficient enough for a single Senegal?

http://www.petsupplies.com/item/a-and-e-medium-elegant-bird-cage/533765/

Again, thank you all for your help!

[Wolf]

I would look around for a larger cage it does mot meet the minimum size requirements for a Senegal sized bird which is 36 inches in any direction. Your older cockatiel cage can be used as a transport cage, for things such as a trip to the vet, etc..

[owlyssa]

I might be able to get my hands on a cage that had been an African Grey's, so I imagine that should be big enough. I'm waiting to hear back on the measurements, but fingers crossed--it should be the appropriate size!

[Pajarita]

It pays to get the right cage from the very beginning... And the small cage can be used as a sleeping cage, too.

[owlyssa]

It pays to get the right cage from the very beginning... And the small cage can be used as a sleeping cage, too.

Exactly! I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with Kona; I'm doing everything within my capabilities to ensure that their environment will be exactly what they need and more. It's a challenge, but it also adds to the excitement of welcoming a new feathered companion into the home!

[Chantilly]

Sorry, but I have to disagree and say that the cage is too small . 18 inches is the birds wingspan so in an 18 inch cage the bird could only fully flex its wings if it were in the center of the cage. So this should be doubled one more time to get the minimum size of cage which is 36inches and then the cage needs to be tall enough so that the highest perch, about 10 inches from the top is at eye level. As I said this is the minimum size and even then your bird should receive about 4 hours of out of cage time daily or you would really need a much larger cage.

If you wish to not go through the doubling and redoubling process you can also go with multiplying the birds length by 5 which gives the bird a little more room, but I always like to advise that once you know the minimum acceptable size, get the largest cage that you can then afford, in the long term you will not regret this.

Aah, I was thinking that as is with humans, when a parrot streches out its wings, tip to tip is the same length as head to tail.
Sorry owlyssa!