Need guidance please

[Theoo]

So I am stressing over the cage for my future ekki. I am renting a home and can't have him make a huge mess each and every time he eats. So I am looking at acriylic cages BUT to get one even barely big enough with all the things he needs I am looking at almost $2,000 after shipping!
Cage here:
Hybrid Bird Cages : 36"H x 36"L x 24"D H2 finch aviary, conure cage, parrotlet cages

Is my worry about keeping him from making a mess sound? Is this really nessicarly the best thing to do? I am kinda lost on this part :/

 

[Parrotmamma]

I don't think you have to worry about the mess that bad . My birds are messy , but it's not anything a broom or a mop can't handle. And if your cage is on carpet like mine you can get one of those mats that you use under an office chair to protect the carpet. They work really well : )

 

[beck]

That is a biiiig investment! If that's what you want, I say go for it, but there are definitely cheaper ways to harness the mess.

Like Parrotmamma said, those plastic office mats are great if you have carpet. You could also try Tidy Seed Bird Feeders. I don't use those myself, but they look really nice. I do have this for my CAG for her pellets. That way, the cup is in the middle of the cage and the waste stays inside. I also LOVE these wipes for stray poos.

Just a few suggestions, I'm sure others will chime in!

 

[Theoo]

I don't think you have to worry about the mess that bad . My birds are messy , but it's not anything a broom or a mop can't handle. And if your cage is on carpet like mine you can get one of those mats that you use under an office chair to protect the carpet. They work really well : )

Great ideas, I may well do that. Is just a little office delay enough to catch what you need? How far out past the cage are we talking? Thank you!

 

[Theoo]

That is a biiiig investment! If that's what you want, I say go for it, but there are definitely cheaper ways to harness the mess.

Like Parrotmamma said, those plastic office mats are great if you have carpet. You could also try Tidy Seed Bird Feeders. I don't use those myself, but they look really nice. I do have this for my CAG for her pellets. That way, the cup is in the middle of the cage and the waste stays inside. I also LOVE these wipes for stray poos.

Just a few suggestions, I'm sure others will chime in!

You shared some great things! Thank you for taking the time to link all that.

 

[Theoo]

Here is another question along the cage lines. (still open to advice on the original question as well)

Do you need some special kind of light over your cage for the bird? I saw something about a UV, but it can't mean real UV light or that would cook him. Ahhhh! LoL, I would rather not make a $1,000 chicken breast.
(hope you see I am kidding there)

 

[cdog]

Unless your bird is out in the sun everyday for at least 6 hours you have to get a UVA/UVB light bulb and keep it on him for 6-8 hours a day. I use floor lamps that way they cant get to the bulb and burn themselves. Make sure your bird cannot get within 6 inches of the bulb or else it can cause serious injuries.

 

[Parrotmamma]

I don't think you have to worry about the mess that bad . My birds are messy , but it's not anything a broom or a mop can't handle. And if your cage is on carpet like mine you can get one of those mats that you use under an office chair to protect the carpet. They work really well : )

Great ideas, I may well do that. Is just a little office delay enough to catch what you need? How far out past the cage are we talking? Thank you!

My mat measures 48"x 36" and my cage measures 32" x 23" and it works really good : ) Plus it's clear and doesn't show up to bad . I did not want to have to keep news papers around the cage all the time.

 

[dishgal1]

If my bird were in the sun 6 hours / day he would be roasted green cheek in our Texas weather.
You can't leave them in direct sun it would be to hot for them. Even in the wild they get filtered sun thru the trees. Some people might wrongly assume they should be in direct sun.

 

[Purl]

Unless your bird is out in the sun everyday for at least 6 hours you have to get a UVA/UVB light bulb and keep it on him for 6-8 hours a day. I use floor lamps that way they cant get to the bulb and burn themselves. Make sure your bird cannot get within 6 inches of the bulb or else it can cause serious injuries.

I have an overhead fixture in the sunroom where Purl is. Can I just put in UV bulbs in there and keep them on? How close to the bird do they need to be?

Thanks!

 

[Spiritbird]

There is no tidiness when you have a bird. Mess is the natural nature of birds so they can spread seeds and have more grow. Personally that cage looks much too fancy to me. I prefer them functional. If you are going to spend that much you might get a stainless steel cage.

 

[dishgal1]

Those are super nice cages but I just feel like the bird wouldn't feel as much a part of the crowd with an acrylic cage. It just seems suffocating to me and I can only imagine how he would feel. Maybe I am just weird. LOL

 

[wingspan]

I feed all my birds the soft messy foods in the kitchen on the table. Cover the table, that way you can just pick it all up when they are done. This gives them social time with you too. They like it when I sit and eat with them too. I only give the pellets and small amount of seeds in the cage. There's not much to clean up in the cage. Just changing the bottom tray is all that's needed. No food gets flung on the walls either. You can vaccume the stray seeds.

 

[echoskybound]

Birds are just messy, but I find that those plastic office mats are lifesavers. If you're worried about a messy eater, you can look at something like Friendly Feeders. They're bowls with plastic hoods over them to keep the bird from dropping or throwing food.

If you do decide on the acrylic cage, make sure you find a way to properly ventilate it. There are some hybrid acrylic cages as well, like these from Cages By Design: Bird Cages : parrot cages, birdcages, aviary, bird aviaries, birdcage, aviaries, macaw cages, bird supplies, finch cage

They have covered feeders, built in full spectrum lighting, and part of it is wire so the bird can still climb and you can hang toys. Expensive, but worth checking out.

 

[Theoo]

Yea I think you guys are spot on here. I am not going to put him in a solid looking case where he feels (possibly) isolated. I don't care if there is a mess, it's about him.

I found a nice big metal cage with 1" spacing that seems perfect for him.

 

[friedsoup]

I use the tray that goes under the washing machine from Home depot cost is like $20.00

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Unless your bird is out in the sun everyday for at least 6 hours you have to get a UVA/UVB light bulb and keep it on him for 6-8 hours a day. I use floor lamps that way they cant get to the bulb and burn themselves. Make sure your bird cannot get within 6 inches of the bulb or else it can cause serious injuries.

I have an overhead fixture in the sunroom where Purl is. Can I just put in UV bulbs in there and keep them on? How close to the bird do they need to be?

Thanks!

You'll really need to do the research on this as each manufacture has different specs and I tend to take those with a grain of salt. Some say 12-18 inches and some say within 36 inches. Good luck!
Full Spectrum 15w light bulb by FeatherBrite
BirdCagePortal.com - Pet Bird Supplies, Parrot Supplies, Cages & Bird Products - Pet Bird Lighting
etc...

 

[dishgal1]

I read somewhere that maybe this full spectrum lighting isn't what they have claimed it to be for birds. Has anyone else heard that? Makes you wonder if it isn't another way to sell products. You know how we pet owners are.

 

[Oedipussrex]

XD ekkies can be a bit messy, but i dont think you need to have a completely enclosed cage. Its just when they shake their heads after eating wet foods, and splatter their food all over your walls that most people will be warning you about.

i bought one of these boxes which we feed pickle all his fruit/veggies/musely/pellets when we mush them (basiclly anything wet). and even with nuts and some seed elsewhere in the cage and toys, now most of his mess can simply be swept up, or dealt with in a regular cage-clean

Tidy Seed No Mess Bird Feeder Review for Finches, Budgies, Cockatiels, Parrotlets and Parrots

i cant remember the site i bought mine from >_< -that link is just the first thing i googled which shows you a picture of what i mean.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

I read somewhere that maybe this full spectrum lighting isn't what they have claimed it to be for birds. Has anyone else heard that? Makes you wonder if it isn't another way to sell products. You know how we pet owners are.

I too have heard/read about this recently. All I can say is neither is definitive and at the moment I live in overcast/rainy Seattle, WA. When I move to AZ in a few months from now I will not worry since my babies will see sunlight daily!