Kiwi's new mansion!

Kiwibird · Dec 7, 2014

So Sir Kiwi's cage arrived last week along with his new swing (for in the cage). His reaction was classic Kiwi- Massively different cage, and his first reaction is to go to the food dish. Once finished eating he looked up and got this perplexed look like "something's different here but I'm not sure what...".

I am so pleased with the quality of this cage. You can just tell the difference in how it was manufactured, the powder coat is smooth instead of that textured stuff and since Kiwi isn't a lock picker (and we are doing a trial of allowing him to be cage free all day), I appreciate the simpler locking mechanisms over those dang "bird proof" ones. We opted to leave the seed guard off (kept it just in case) as all the old one ever did was catch poop. Everything else still made it onto the floor and that stupid thing was always a pain to clean/fell off when I took the covers off. So far so good with no guard. Another SUPER COOL and totally unexpected feature: A bird door on the side! What a great idea that is! Don't have to leave the front door wide open to bang into or him to poop off of. We have chosen to call it the parrot portal

It is just SO much roomier and he won't be brushing his tail on things anymore

The new linoleum topped particle board platform I made for the cage to sit on is also awesome. Easy to clean and doesn't sink into the carpet under the legs like a rug did.

Setting up the cage...Can I live in here???

All set up

The "Parrot Portal" and a freshly-bathed parrot exiting

Discovered the bells...

King Kiwi says "thanks for this fabulous new cage!"

Amanda_Bennett · Dec 7, 2014

King Kiwi looks so proud of himself for being so good you got him some new digs! Nice cage April, I'm sure he will be happy with it for years!

Allee · Dec 7, 2014

The emperor looks very pleased! Beautiful cage, April. The linoleum looks very nice too.

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

Wow, I LOVE that cage! Not only functional, but it's beautiful as well

. I love the shape of how the roof curves. Then you have the open top that I know you love for Kiwi

. The cages these days all seem to have those little "portal" doors

. Breeder box doors

.. I think they're better served as little fun side doors, though I don't use them since I'm afraid I'll forget to close it when I'm gone which it has to be in my situation. Stylish main door too!

It's a completely different color from Kiwi's old cage, I wonder if he's going "what?!

isn't my castle supposed to be black?" Lol. It looks like he's going to adjust fine. It will be interesting to see if he adjusts faster than Raven to his new cage? Since Raven has had his new cage (3 days) he is unsure, not eating his veggies (only eating his "comfort foods" lol), sitting in his bed more OR hanging out at Griffin's much smaller house for a change lol. I only mention this on your thread because I'm interested in seeing how Kiwi acts in the same situation as Raven. Amazons are typically more outgoing, so please keep us posted on that

.

I love your pic in the cage

thekarens · Dec 7, 2014

Great cage set up!

OOwl · Dec 7, 2014

That looks really great! I, too, struggle with using the seed skirts and getting fed up with bumping them and having them fall off or having to wipe them down all the time. But for some reason, when my birds eat their pellets, some shoot out the sides of their beak, ending up on the floor, so I do think they do a good job keeping SOME of that off the floor. Easier for me to vac off the seed shirts than the floor.

Who is the maker of the cage? It's really nice. I love your whole setup, swing and tree. Lucky Kiwi!

KimKim · Dec 7, 2014

Very nice!

Kiwibird · Dec 7, 2014

RavensGryf said:
Wow, I LOVE that cage! Not only functional, but it's beautiful as well. I love the shape of how the roof curves. Then you have the open top that I know you love for Kiwi. The cages these days all seem to have those little "portal" doors . Breeder box doors. I think they're better served as little fun side doors, though I don't use them since I'm afraid I'll forget to close it when I'm gone which it has to be in my situation. Stylish main door too!

It's a completely different color from Kiwi's old cage, I wonder if he's going "what?! isn't my castle supposed to be black?" Lol. It looks like he's going to adjust fine. It will be interesting to see if he adjusts faster than Raven to his new cage? Since Raven has had his new cage (3 days) he is unsure, not eating his veggies (only eating his "comfort foods" lol), sitting in his bed more OR hanging out at Griffin's much smaller house for a change lol. I only mention this on your thread because I'm interested in seeing how Kiwi acts in the same situation as Raven. Amazons are typically more outgoing, so please keep us posted on that.

I love your pic in the cage

Kiwi's been in the new cage for 3 days too (I set it up the day it showed up). He just went in it and that was that. He's fairly agreeable to new things though. Once it's declared as 'yours' (his) he goes right for it (our 'yours' and 'mine' thing we do with him

) Only took his a few minutes to figure out where his new bird door is and how to hang off it to grab his big swing and jump to go on a really wild ride. He did explore inside and deemed the new swing (especially those bells:52

his new fav spot in the cage, and has a serious vendetta against the new wacky wood perch up at the top (that will be splinters on the floor by next week) and completely chewed the end off the wood dowel included with the cage by the end of the second day so I just put his big rope perch there instead. He also hated the new hut and almost immediately began trying to take it down (literally, trying to bite off the loops). I am working on ripping the seams out and repairing his old one because that ratty thing is apparently much more acceptable to sleep in

I guess he'll let me know when I slip up and give him something he doesn't like... He's usually so gentle with everything, so I don't know how else to take it besides it HAS to go

He wasn't scared of anything at least and has had a plenty 'healthy' appetite

. I personally prefer white if the option is there, but when we got the old cage, they had that style (the biggest cage in stock) in black and dark green, so I took the black. I don't think HE cares too much about color though.

I'm guessing Raven's been a little freaked out by his new cage then

? I remember when my mom tried to buy her amazons bigger, modern cages (they have very old stainless ones that are a bit small by todays standards). She could not entice either one to go anywhere near those cages, they reacted though they were radioactive. She eventually (after a few weeks) returned them. At least Raven went in his, even if he's a little upset by the upgrade. If it helps, you can tell him I think it's a VERY nice cage! I'm sure once the 'shock' wears of, he'll really enjoy the extra room seeing as he frequently hosts parrot parties

Especially when he discovers that "rooftop balcony"

getwozzy · Dec 7, 2014

Wow! What an awesome cage and setup His Highness has there!! Love the new cage!

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

OOwl said:
That looks really great! I, too, struggle with using the seed skirts and getting fed up with bumping them and having them fall off or having to wipe them down all the time. But for some reason, when my birds eat their pellets, some shoot out the sides of their beak, ending up on the floor, so I do think they do a good job keeping SOME of that off the floor. Easier for me to vac off the seed shirts than the floor.

Who is the maker of the cage? It's really nice. I love your whole setup, swing and tree. Lucky Kiwi!

I agree about those poop catchers. Uh, I mean "seed guards"

. I hear you about the pellets shooting out when they crunch them, but I think it's still harder to clean with them on. Also, the last time I used them, I'd keep running into them with my legs (painful). In fact, I don't recall ever reading something 'nice' about seed guards!

I'd also like to know the brand of the cage.

Kiwibird · Dec 7, 2014

OOwl said:
That looks really great! I, too, struggle with using the seed skirts and getting fed up with bumping them and having them fall off or having to wipe them down all the time. But for some reason, when my birds eat their pellets, some shoot out the sides of their beak, ending up on the floor, so I do think they do a good job keeping SOME of that off the floor. Easier for me to vac off the seed shirts than the floor.

Who is the maker of the cage? It's really nice. I love your whole setup, swing and tree. Lucky Kiwi!

Kiwi is pretty neat with his wet foods and very little migrates outside the cage. Most just falls on the tray right under where he's eating. He doesn't get much seed actually. He gets lots of cooked grains and fresh produce (and the merciful 'bird gods' gave us one who doesn't make a terrible mess with it lol!) The little bits of dry foods I find my vacuum takes care of pretty well on the floor. I rarely found food of any kind in the seed guards of the old cage actually, just lots of poop and small foot toys he dropped and then pooped on:52:

It's the "Poipu Palace" from birdcagesforless.com. For the price, I'm really happy with the quality and they were very patient answering all my questions before I finally decided to buy the cage. They also have a bigger version and it comes in other colors.

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

Kiwibird said:
RavensGryf said:

Kiwi's been in the new cage for 3 days too (I set it up the day it showed up). He just went in it and that was that. He's fairly agreeable to new things though. Once it's declared as 'yours' (his) he goes right for it (our 'yours' and 'mine' thing we do with him) Only took his a few minutes to figure out where his new bird door is and how to hang off it to grab his big swing and jump to go on a really wild ride. He did explore inside and deemed the new swing (especially those bells:52 his new fav spot in the cage, and has a serious vendetta against the new wacky wood perch up at the top (that will be splinters on the floor by next week) and completely chewed the end off the wood dowel included with the cage by the end of the second day so I just put his big rope perch there instead. He also hated the new hut and almost immediately began trying to take it down (literally, trying to bite off the loops). I am working on ripping the seams out and repairing his old one because that ratty thing is apparently much more acceptable to sleep in I guess he'll let me know when I slip up and give him something he doesn't like... He's usually so gentle with everything, so I don't know how else to take it besides it HAS to go He wasn't scared of anything at least and has had a plenty 'healthy' appetite. I personally prefer white if the option is there, but when we got the old cage, they had that style (the biggest cage in stock) in black and dark green, so I took the black. I don't think HE cares too much about color though.

I'm guessing Raven's been a little freaked out by his new cage then? I remember when my mom tried to buy her amazons bigger, modern cages (they have very old stainless ones that are a bit small by todays standards). She could not entice either one to go anywhere near those cages, they reacted though they were radioactive. She eventually (after a few weeks) returned them. At least Raven went in his, even if he's a little upset by the upgrade. If it helps, you can tell him I think it's a VERY nice cage! I'm sure once the 'shock' wears of, he'll really enjoy the extra room seeing as he frequently hosts parrot parties Especially when he discovers that "rooftop balcony"

Click to expand...

That's great that Kiwi took right to it. I forgot to mention I like that swing. I've seen those before. Is it from MSBS?
Aw, too bad he didn't like his new hut! I thought it looked great, but then again I'm not a certain BFA... oh well, they have their preferences and opinions about their personal stuff just like us!

Yes, at least Raven didn't act like the new cage was radioactive LOL.. but I can tell he feels displaced. I don't know if it's just him, but I think being a Pionus has something to do with it. They're very reserved in new surroundings. Guess who made themselves right at home? Griffin and Twigs LOVE IT!! They come over and party in his new house while Raven stays in his bed lol. What's funny is Twigs the budgie is still kind of baffled about getting over to Raven's house. Since the roof is a different shape now, he doesn't quite know where to land, so he flies around for a little longer first. Once he's inside though, he's eating the parrot food, playing with big parrot toys, AND even pushing around Raven, pecking at him! He better be careful... He challenges the parrots when they're eating, and last week Griffin had him by the flight feathers and didn't let go until he struggled away! Thank God he has flight feathers or else he'd have been injured maybe badly. I'll have to watch closely when they eat.

I was wondering also about the main perch all the way across. You use a rope perch. Do you prefer those, or is there any other reason you don't have a natural wood one? Raven's cage came with a Dowel, but his cage is not really a standard width, so I can't seem to find a natural wood one that would fit. I might have no choice but to go that route. Do you find it gets dirty really fast with poop or wiping his mouth on it?

Kiwibird · Dec 7, 2014

Kiwi won't chew on a wood toy, but he will chew a wood perch right out from under himself. It's happened on several occasions and it's dangerous since he can't fly and 'catch' himself. The perfectly fitted dowel that came with this cage made it just shy of 24 hours before he chewed off the end. I even see some nibbles on the dowel on the swing today. He does not try to chew rope perches, so I use them quite a bit. If I could find natural-shape plastic ones like on his play tree for his cage, I would so buy them in multiple sizes. Same with stainless, he really seems to like the feel of that stainless perch. I'm not sure if he doesn't like the feel of wood perches or what. His prior living situation may have something to do with it. I keep trying every so often, but he typically gets right on top of the offending perch and chews it until it breaks and he goes hurdling down to the floor like a beanbag

He typically wipes his beak on his dish or pedi perch, but he will occasionally wipe it on the rope perches. I try to position the rope perches out of the line of fire so it would be difficult/impossible to poop on them. I used to scrub them under hot water, but now that I have the steam cleaner, I can clean them and his other perches in-cage using the bristle attachment. It's not like the jungle is sterile, so I don't worry too much about it so long as theres nothing nasty, no big chunks of poo/food on them, or a layer of grime or something (which theres not).

Poor little Twigs getting picked on by Griffin

. Twigs just wants some friends as a social-by-nature budgie. I'm glad he wasn't hurt, but I think while WE may not see it, those birds know how to be firm without injuring each other. That is how the communicate points in nature after all, nipping and chasing each other. That naughty little gray bird is really becoming the aviary bully though isn't he? Everything I hear about him, it leaves me amazed at how much attitude and nerve he has

Sounds like poor Raven is just getting picked on by everyone though! So much for his buddies coming over to cheer him up... Maybe an extra couple treats in his foraging would improve his mood and get him to explore a bit

.

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

Oh I see... Well, if I can't find the perches I'm looking for, that is always an option. My birds always wipe their beak on the perches, so it might get dirty a little quicker with them. Kiwi sounds like such a neat and tidy boy for a large species! All my perches are strategically placed so they shouldn't get pooped on, but somehow Griffin always manages to do it

.

That makes sense what you said about them not seriously hurting each other. I hope so. At least I think if they really hated him they'd be showing way different behavior, and I'd never have let Twigs be their playmate if that were the case. Griffin actually exchanges kisses with him sometimes! Twigs really has some nerve though, and I can swear that he irritates the parrots on purpose at times to see how far he can push them, and he's only 30 grams :52:.

Good news is finally Raven is eating his veggies tonight. I guess he's feeling slightly more comfortable. I'm sitting by his cage eating my own dinner, so we're eating together lol.

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

I did look at birdcages4less.com and it looks like they have their own brand? I didn't see one in a size/style I wanted for Robin. Maybe I'll look again to see if I didn't miss anything

.

Kiwibird · Dec 7, 2014

How sweet to eat with Raven

At least he knows his mommy loves him

That is some nerve for Twigs to harass the big boys

It's a good thing parrots aren't predatory, and probably explains a lot why happy, well adjusted ones don't typically intentionally injure one another. Probably wise to supervise their interactions because of the size difference, but I bet Griffin just wants to 'correct' Twigs, not hurt him. I hope those kisses don't turn to regurgitation in the future:52: It's not harmful in any way, but it sure is nasty! Lucy and Barney feed each other and oh man, it GROSS to see:26:

I wouldn't discredit rope perches until you try them. They are really durable actually, and so long as you wash them regularly, they don't get gross.I have seen some nasty rope perches before, but those are from people who haven't washed them in a long time:52: There are actually some people who run them through the dishwasher, but as we don't have a dishwasher, I never have, but if you have one that's another cleaning option!

RavensGryf · Dec 7, 2014

If I wash rope perches, how do I dry them? It would take so long in cooler weather. The clothes dryer?

Robin doesn't ever soil his boing, but I know a perch inside the cage would get dirty. I washed his boing once in the dishwasher and on heat dry, but even then it took so long to really dry.

aether-drifter · Dec 7, 2014

Looks awesome, and I love the platform!! How exactly did you make that? Sorry if you already explained and I missed it (I need to keep up with this board better.

).

JerseyWendy · Dec 8, 2014

What fabulous new 'digs' for King Kiwi!!!

I love it that he just made himself right at home.

Great photos, especially the one with you standing in the cage, LOL.

I'm also quite fond of the swing with the bells. Pretty sure my Sam would have a blast with something like that.

Kiwibird · Dec 8, 2014

aether-drifter said:
Looks awesome, and I love the platform!! How exactly did you make that? Sorry if you already explained and I missed it (I need to keep up with this board better. ).

I just has home depot cut down a large piece of 1/2" thick particle board to the size I needed. I also got a roll of 6X8 linoleum, which was the smallest they had, but according to my husband, you can buy smaller 'remnants' at flooring stores sometimes. I cut down the linoleum to the size of the board, and it cut easily enough with a good pair of scissors. On the back of the linoleum and top of the particle board, I drew a matching "grid" of 6" squares in pencil. Then I put a small X of contact cement on each intersection of the grid (so the 2 pieces would match up) and followed the direction of the contact cement to let dry then press together starting on one edge (carefully, as it is not repositionable). Then I cut to size and used regular hot glue to glue the white edging on. To be perfectly honest, unless you plan to move the cage a whole lot on the surface, you could probably use a high-quality regular glue instead of the contact cement, which was a pain to use. If you do roll your cage around, use the contact cement, it is a much better adhesive even if it's a PITA to use!

*I think all Home Depots sell pretty much the same stuff, but I know the one off Murray and Cornell has everything (thats where I got my supplies

) I'm sure those guys would just be thrilled to see a second person in there buying the materials to make a parrot cage platform, even better if you bring along a small car lol (I had to go back 3 times due to having a small car the materials just barely fit in:54

Kiwi's new mansion!

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