Help with decorating cage for baby/young CAG

[SammyAndyAlex]

Hi.

As some of you may know I am getting my CAG, Andy, in 4 weeks. I have his cage built, but due to his young age (4 months old) and his size, I am expecting him to be quite clumsy. I therefore have some questions to people who have had/have large parrots as babies/are knowledgable:

-What can I do to minimize the risk that he falls and hurts himself? I have heard that lowering the perches/toys can help with this, is it true and can you recommend I do it?

-What else would be good to keep in mind when decorating the cage?


-What other tips are good to know of welcoming a CAG home? I obviously have experience with Sammy, but not a CAG.

-I am planning on using a sleep cage for him to minimize the risk of him hurting himself during a night-fright. I only plan on doing this when he is young, but I may continue it depending on if he likes it or not. What do you think about this?

 

[Tami2]

Hi SA,

I have a very large cage for Levi. So when he was little I layered the bottom with thick fluffy towels for months until he was able to navigate his cage safely.

Can you post pictures of his cage?

Thx

 

[SammyAndyAlex]

Here are some pics:

https://imgur.com/a/he8F2cg


*full grown Labrador male for scale*

The perches/toys in the pic are only so that Sammy can see that there are perches (so that he maybe can prepare himself for Andy's arrival). The cage is 1x1x2m.

 

[Tami2]

YEAH, that's big for a baby grey. In addition to padding the floor I would add a lot more perches & ropes for him to get around.
Levi's cage bar spacing was too large for him when he was little as well. I made sure he was able to get to all of his bowls & toys via rope perches etc...

 

[SammyAndyAlex]

YEAH, that's big for a baby grey. In addition to padding the floor I would add a lot more perches & ropes for him to get around.
Levi's cage bar spacing was too large for him when he was little as well. I made sure he was able to get to all of his bowls & toys via rope perches etc...

Yep. As mentioned previously, the perches in the pic are only for Sammy to get used to the idea of some areas and items not being his.

How did you pad the bottom? I am curious about different solutions.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Hi SA,

I have a very large cage for Levi. So when he was little I layered the bottom with thick fluffy towels for months until he was able to navigate his cage safely.

Can you post pictures of his cage?

Thx

Good Idea


I use either news paper, or other clean paper in Enzos cage. This is refreshed and put in recycling bin every day. This on top of towels i would imagine to be perfect as its a soft and clean landing. Maybe initially you place the majority of perches and food low down with just a single sleep perch a bit higher up.

sometimes I use doggy padded towels as well in the base of her cage, again cheap and recyclable


fantastic cage/flight by the way, well done.

 

[Scott]

Wonderful cage! By starting with perches and toys low you'll have plenty of space and time for gradually raising his living space. Greys are notoriously averse to change, so you'll have to be careful and incremental. But certainly better than having to change cages as he matures.

 

[SammyAndyAlex]

Here is the updated cage set-up:

https://imgur.com/a/rGIYoYe

Let me know what you think and what improvements I could make.