Could I use this cage for a IRN?

[jess32247]

My mom and I are looking into the possibility of (eventually) adopting a Indian Ringneck and I was wondering out of curiosity if this cage could be used. It previously housed my chinchilla for a couple years, but while it's not a proper avian cage, I'm wondering if it has some potential in the bird area and would love to see what you guys think.

It's a Marshall Folding Ferret Mansion, the dimensions are 37" L X 25" W X 54" H and the bar spacing is 1". It has two small removable doors in the front and a full opening top- thoughts?

If it helps you get an idea of the size, here's a picture of it when I had it setup for my chin.

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Betrisher]

It's probably large enough for an IRN, but I'd be very, very nervous about the bar spacing. My Alexes are in 1" bars and I worried about them for a good while: if the bird can get its head between the bars, then there's all sorts of possibilities for injury, including broken limbs and a broken neck! So do think carefully before you go with this cage. Wait until some of our IRN owners chime in at least - I'd hate to think of wasted money or, worse, an injured bird just for lack of some info.

PS. LOVED the setup for the chinchilla! What happened to him?

 

[Mekaisto]

Besides the spacing, that cage doesn't have any horizontal bars.
Your parrot may still be able to climb up to the top without using the cage, but I find parrots like to use the cage to climb on, and get up nice and close to you

 

[jess32247]

Thank you two very much for the help! You two seemed to have picked out my two biggest concerns- the bar spacing and horizontal bars. Apologizes for not adding that in my main post!

Would covering it in hardware cloth (either metal or plastic/polyresin, but probably the plastic stuff) fix those problems? Wouldn't be the prettiest thing out there, but if it worked and was safe, I'd be up for using it.

Betrisher, thank you for the kind words! Bet the little turd would love to hear someone say that about her humble abode hehe. She passed away a couple months ago unfortunately, but buying that cage for her was the best decision I made for her- you can see how happy it made her!

 

[Betrisher]

ROTFL! That's the first time I've ever seen anyone call a chinchilla a turd! LOLOL! There has to be a story behind that somewhere?

Jess, covering the cage with any kind of cheap hardware stuff isn't going to solve the problems. Plastic or resin will be as confetti to an IRN and the affordable kinds of netting and wire are galvanised and therfore dangerous to birds. The only acceptable covering would be stainless steel wire netting and that's getting way into the $$$.

Of course, you could always try your bird in the cage and see what happens, but you'd need to have a back-up plan ready in case birdie gets wedged or can stick his head out. I was very dismayed when I paid megabux for our huge cage and then saw the very wide bar spacing when it arrived. I felt sure it would not be safe for the Beaks. I gave it a go, though, and luckily the Beaks can't get their pointy little heads through the spaces, not even much of their beaks: relief! I'm not so sure about an IRN, though, as they're significantly smaller than an Alex and have a smaller beak as well. Why not ask the breeder when you get closer to picking up your baby? I've never kept IRNs, so I'm not really familiar with their dimensions and could be wrong. I only caution you because it would be awful to pop birdie in the cage and then have some dire accident happen.

 

[jess32247]

You must not be familiar with chinchillas- spend a couple minutes with them and you'll (literally!) see what I mean about turds! Not many people believe it until they see it, trust me on that one. hehe.

Darn, that's such a shame, but I'm glad I asked first! We're going to meet with a breeder sometime soon, possibly even tomorrow, so I'll ask what she thinks. In the mean time, would a Critter Nation cage maybe work instead? It's about the same size of my cage but with 1/2" horizontal bar spacing- I think I even saw a picture of it posted somewhere housing birds in it, but again I figured I should ask first!

Yikes, you can probably tell I'm used to the rodent world! Going to take some getting used to birds, but I've always wanted to welcome one into my heart.

 

[Terry57]

I have the Critter Nation cage for my parrotlets and it is a great cage! It is very roomy and they climb all over the top portion. We have the bottom closed off from them right now as they have so much room up top

 

[jess32247]

Thanks so much, Terry! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear, I'm glad your little ones enjoy it so much.

Looks like I'll be selling the Marshall cage I have now and getting a double Critter Nation!

 

[Terry57]

Since I don't have an IRN, I am hoping someone who does have one will chime in with their thoughts on the cage as well

 

[Mekaisto]

That critter nation cage looks fine, as long as the ladders and platforms are removable

 

[MikeyTN]

I have seen others who uses Critter Nation's cage for their birds as well. It works fine but there's no bottom grate so you'll need to keep the bottom super clean often cause they'll get right in it to shred paper and such....

 

[DanR]

ROTFL! That's the first time I've ever seen anyone call a chinchilla a turd! LOLOL! There has to be a story behind that somewhere?

Chins are literally maniacal turd machines... it's just a constant flow of brown droppings everywhere they go. My chin has been gone for 4 months and I'm still finding them under furniture.

Seriously... I feel like this best illustrates my Chin's butt:

Dan

 

[Betrisher]

LOL! Dan, I hear and understand! AFAIK, there are no chinchillas in Australia - I've never seen one, except on TV. On an entirely different note, is that Till Lindemann in your illustration? (I really do need new glasses - I can't tell if it's Till, or Big Arnie or JC Van Damme)

 

[DanR]

LOL! Dan, I hear and understand! AFAIK, there are no chinchillas in Australia - I've never seen one, except on TV. On an entirely different note, is that Till Lindemann in your illustration? (I really do need new glasses - I can't tell if it's Till, or Big Arnie or JC Van Damme)

LOL that would be Arnie from a scene in T2

Dan

 

[Betrisher]

Ah! 'kay, then. For a moment, I thought I'd met another Rammstein fan.