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Can a cage be too big???

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Can a cage be too big???

Postby joeyhilson22 » Sun May 19, 2019 3:39 am

Hi everyone! My family and I recently got an adorable grey cockatiel from a local shop. He is still unweaned and we're waiting for him to be ready to come home to us. We have had a cockatiel in the past and it's been years since then and we are finally ready for a new addition to our family. The place we got him at requires people to have a cage and I told them we already have two cages. One that's around 20in x 28in x 29in tall and one that is around 24in x 22in x 34 in tall with 1/2in bar spacing. (I know the first one is on smaller side which is why we have the second cage!) When I first sent them pictures of the cages, they told me they were both too big for a baby cockatiel and we had to get a cage from their shop. When I tell them the actual dimensions of the first cage, they told me that its way too small. I completely get that which is why I said we have the larger cage but they said it was too big and that we had to get a new one since both cages were bad. Can a cage be really too big if the bar spacing is okay? The cockatiel will be around 4 months old when he comes home to us and we really just want what's best for him. It's not about the money of getting a new cage, it's more of we already have two and don't want to get another one if it's not entirely necessary. Are we being unresponsible owners?
joeyhilson22
 

Re: Can a cage be too big???

Postby Pajarita » Sun May 19, 2019 8:30 am

Welcome to the forum! No, you are not being irresponsible, they are lying to you. Plain and simple. For one thing, at four months of age, a baby tiel has already fledged so the 'the cage needs to be small' is bullcrap UNLESS the bird is severely clipped in which case you need a cage that is not high at all (because without wings, the bird can fall and hurt itself if the distance to the floor is big) - but I do hope that you are not even considering getting a clipped bird!

Now, the cage that you consider big is not really that big - not for a cockatiel. They need flight cages (meaning both horizontal AND vertical room) so although the depth and height of this cage are OK, the width is not because a bird needs to be able to flap its wings at the very least five times from one end to the other of the cage and, at only 24 in, the bird would not. The other thing is that these high but narrow cages are always too close to the floor and tiels do not like this. I recommend this kind of cage for a tiel: https://www.amazon.com/Products-Wrought ... way&sr=8-8

Also, please get two of them. Cockatiels are intensely flock oriented birds and, in all honesty, they are not happy unless they live with several other tiels but, a companion or mate goes a long way toward satisfying their needs. A lone cockatiel is not a happy bird and an unhappy bird is a stressed out bird and a stressed out bird is an unhealthy bird. So, please, get another one so your bird can have a reasonably happy and healthy life.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Can a cage be too big???

Postby andrewsmith » Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:17 am

Here are the sizes you all need when comes to birds

Finches: 18" x 30" x 18" minimum cage size with 1/4" to 1/2" bar spacing
Canaries: 18" x 24" x 18" minimum cage size with 1/4" to 1/2" bar spacing
Budgerigars (budgies, parakeets): 18" x 18" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" bar spacing
Cockatiels (tiels): 20" x 20" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" to 5/8" bar spacing
Lovebirds: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" bar spacing
Parrotlets: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" bar spacing
Ringneck parakeets: 24" x 24" x 36" minimum cage size with 1/2" to 5/8" bar spacing
Quaker parrots: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Conures: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Poicephalus: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Caiques: 24" x 24" x 36" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Pionus: 24" x 24" x 36" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Jardines: 24" x 24" x 36" minimum cage size with 5/8" to 3/4" bar spacing
Amazon parrots: 24" x 36" x 48" minimum cage size with 3/4" to 1" bar spacing
Mini macaws: 24" x 36" x 48" minimum cage size with 3/4" to 1" bar spacing
Goffin cockatoos: 24" x 36" x 48" minimum cage size with 3/4" to 1" bar spacing
African grey parrots: 24" x 36" x 48" minimum cage size with 3/4" to 1" bar spacing
Large cockatoos: 36" x 48" x 48" minimum cage size with 1" to 1.5" bar spacing
Large macaws: 36" x 48" x 60" minimum cage size with 1" to 1.5" bar spacing
Diamond doves: 24" x 24" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" or less bar spacing
Ringneck doves: 24" x 36" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" bar spacing
Pigeons: 24" x 36" x 24" minimum cage size with 1/2" bar spacing
andrewsmith
 

Re: Can a cage be too big???

Postby Pajarita » Fri Dec 20, 2019 9:28 am

Hi and welcome to the forum but, with all due respect, the sizes you posted are all too small. Passerines and aviaries need to be able to fly inside the cage and they need both vertical and horizontal space - and companion parrots need a lot of stuff in their cages so, although some of the sizes are not bad per se, the inside space would be too small once you put all the stuff in them.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Can a cage be too big???

Postby Pajarita » Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:50 am

Welcome to the forum and I agree 100% with you. Wild animals should live free in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, parrots that were hand-fed do not have the necessary skills to survive PLUS their natural habitats are being destroyed so there are no trees for them to nest in and not enough food to sustain the species for much longer. One could say that these birds should then only live in large aviaries - and, again, this would be 100% correct. But people want what they want and hardly ever do enough research before they get an animal. And, once they bring them into their normal households, they cage them because they are very dirty, destructive and, most of all, a human home is not a safe environment for them. Is there a solution to this problem? Yes, but people would never go for it out of their own initiative and as all animals are mere property and the animal protection laws are obsolete and completely inadequate, there is no way of making people do the right thing.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Can a cage be too big???

Postby dariya » Sun Jan 07, 2024 11:42 pm

Generally speaking, there's no such thing as a cage that's too big for a healthy bird. In fact, a larger cage provides numerous benefits to your feathered friend: :amazon: unlinked :amazon:
dariya
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Amazons
Flight: Yes


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