Cage placement on balcony?

Zazu123

New member
Mar 30, 2019
32
1
Hello,
I am trying to figure out a good placement for my lovebird. I currently have him in the den of my apartment, which is a bit secluded from the living room and doesnt have any windows. I wanted to put him somewhere next to the windows of my apartment because I feel he needs more of a a view haha to keep him from getting bored when I am gone. He is always out of his cage on his playstand or on my shoulder when Im home. But since I am a college student I do spend a few hours a day out. My biggest fear with him is boredom and Im trying to do everything I can to keep that from happening. I was thinking of putting his cage outside on my balcony. I live in Miami so the weather is pretty much perfect for him, and my balcony never gets hit by direct sunlight. My only concern is that I live in a high rise that is right in the center of a very populated area. Im worried the city noises, like sirens, music, and barking dogs, might scare him and cause him stress. Does anyone have any advice?
 

Wingnut

Member
Feb 25, 2016
85
9
South Carolina, USA
Parrots
Kiwi The Lovebird
Hi Zazu!

I too live north of you in the Fort Lauderdale area. The weather here is absolutely perfect I think for any parrot. Regarding your Lovebird, personally I would not keep him/her outside. Now i dont know exactly how your balcony is setup, but if its shaded then it should be fine. Leaving a bird outside in the Florida heat can actually kill if not careful. I would maybe suggest leaving him NEAR the balcony window indoors? As long as he has plenty of toys and you play with him everyday, I dont think he'll be bored. :)
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,643
10,007
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
Great advise above.
Most cages have wheels and if yours does, consider placing in the most active part of the apartment when you're home and near the balcony windows as stated above when not.
 

EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
3,979
65
State College, PA
Parrots
Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Yeah, definitely NOT out on the balcony!!! Many pet birds have died from their owners doing exactly this, either from heat-exhaustion/heat-stroke, or from PREDATORS!!! Whether we're talking about predatory-birds like Hawks, Vultures, Crows, or other Raptor Birds that can easily get their talons inside of a cage and/or knock it over/off the balcony, or Rats and other small rodents (even if your balcony is enclosed with screen or mesh/netting of some kind, they still somehow always find a way to get through it)...

If you always make sure that you have at least 6-10 different types of toys with different purposes inside of his cage at all times, and that you rotate new ones in monthly, and as Sailboat mentioned you move his cage near (BUT NOT IN-FRONT OF) a window IF it's possible to do without the sun beating in through the window without heating him up at the same time, and then always move his cage back to the main-room of your home where you usually are when you're at home, then he should be totally fine...For example, one toy for chewing on/up, like a wooden toy, one toy for shredding, like the "Shredders" braided rope you can wrap all throughout his cage bars, one toy that encourages "active-foraging", like the toys you put his favorite treats inside of and that he has to work at to get them out, etc.

Also, it's always a good idea to make sure your parrot always has "a job to do", meaning something that he has to work at...I bought several metal-skewers at Petco that are meant to put pieces of veggies and fruit on and that have little wooden pieces shaped like fruit and veggies on them...Then I removed all of the wooden pieces of fruit/veggies from the skewer, and instead I buy cheap, thick paperback books, like the cheap romance-novels you can buy at the grocery-store, and I stick the skewer through them from front to back, and I will purposely tear-up the front and back cover and some of the pages throughout the book but leave them hanging in/on the book, then I hang the skewer inside of my Senegal's and my Quaker's cage (they are the two that love doing this)...They will literally start working on the books first thing in the morning when I put them inside their cages and I leave, and they are typically still working on them when I get home in the afternoon...

Another one is making a "Foraging Box" for them and putting it inside of their cage. I make them at night and then put them in first thing in the morning...I just find a cardboard-box that will fit inside of their cages, and then I fill it completely with crumpled-up pieces of paper, other pieces of cardboard, etc. until the box is completely full, and while I'm doing this I hide a bunch of their favorite treats throughout the box, in-between the crumpled paper-balls, and even inside the crumpled paper balls, and then I'll throw some treats right on the top and just under the first paper-balls, so that they can see that there are treats down there to attract them to the box...Once they go down to get the treats on the top, they either eat them and see the ones underneath in the meantime and start going for them, or the ones on the top actually fall down-in the box when they try to get them, so then they start ripping and shredding the paper and finding the treats, and this can go on for hours....Just make sure that you take the box out of their cage when you get home, because you never want any kind of boxes, tents, "Happy/Snuggle Huts", Hammocks, etc. inside of their cages that they can get inside of or underneath because it causes their hormones to go nuts...
 
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