Sleeping cage size for macaw

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Hello all,

I've been doing a lot of research in preparation for my greenwing which should be arriving in about 3 weeks. It seems like a sleeping cage would be a good idea considering a variety of personal factors.

Its daytime cage is a decent size (about 5-6 feet long by 3-4 feet wide with the height ranging from about 4 feet to 8 feet (sloped ceiling). But I won't be able to practically cover it with a curtain. So now I'm looking for sleeping cages and was wondering what would be the minimum size? I'm currently looking at 2.5x2.5 feet with a height of 5.5 feet. It's a little crammed, I know, but will it be ok for sleeping?
 

noodles123

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Hello all,

I've been doing a lot of research in preparation for my greenwing which should be arriving in about 3 weeks. It seems like a sleeping cage would be a good idea considering a variety of personal factors.

Its daytime cage is a decent size (about 5-6 feet long by 3-4 feet wide with the height ranging from about 4 feet to 8 feet (sloped ceiling). But I won't be able to practically cover it with a curtain. So now I'm looking for sleeping cages and was wondering what would be the minimum size? I'm currently looking at 2.5x2.5 feet with a height of 5.5 feet. It's a little crammed, I know, but will it be ok for sleeping?

Do you have a room for him to sleep in? An alternative might be placing his regular cage in the sleep room and then getting a bunch of play-stands etc for around the house during the day. I always struggle with this-it's hard to find decent-sized, cheap cages for this purpose when you are dealing with larger birds...hoping other will chime in.

You can buy jumbo-size cage covers (really love them)---The brand is Cozzzy Covers and they are a breathable blackout curtain that is tailored to fit the cage-- they work wonders.
Also, blackout curtains for a room could be a possibility if you have a room for the bird to sleep in.
 
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Unfortunately, I don't have a separate room for him. And I won't be able to move his daytime cage anywhere since it's actually being built right into the house, kinda like a mini-aviary. But thank you for the suggestions!
 

noodles123

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You're welcome- sorry I couldn't help!

What are you using to build it?
Stainless is really important because they are subject to metal poisoning just from mouthing things like nickle and zinc...and they can chew through wood (some of which is also unsafe if pressure/chemical treated from hardware store).
Stains and paints are also unsafe because they can ingest particles from them, and because they off-gas VOCs.

Is there a reason you are building it onto the house, as opposed to making it stand alone or at least portable? And if you are doing that, couldn't you find a way to install a sliding panel (in addition to the cage vars) or something to block out noise while still allowing air-flow? Like...pocket doors or something?
 
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noodles123

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Well, it's not completed yet, but I just made a post with all the details of the cage (link below). I think you'll see why moving it will be so difficult, hahaha. Even curtains would be difficult to install.

Progress of my built-in cage - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Oh cool- at first I thought you were leaving the plywood and I was like mehhh....probably needs to be transparent (now I see).
That will look cool when it's done. Is there any way you could build a spot to attach a small network of perches or a platform so that your bird can be on his cage, but out of his cage? I only ask because most birds like hanging out on their cage tops from time-to-time, and that is one thing that will make this design slightly difficult (he will either have to be in his cage or totally off of it---and cage-tops are often a nice middle-ground for passive interaction (especially early on when still building trust etc)...but also later, when you are trying to do things and your bird wants to feel part of it from afar. I have found that mine is WAY more likely to climb off of her playstands than her cage because of the design (yes, she has climbed off both) but stands more frequently.
Also- just make sure his cage is very well lit, as having a closed top will make it seem cave-like to some, unless you find a way to safely add a bit more light to brighten it up under that ledge.

So where do you plan to put the sleeping cage if you get one? Noise COULD be in issue if it's super loud where you put him. Now, that isn't to say that he will never sleep with noise in the room, BUT they often just sit there quietly so you can't tell if they are actually sleeping or not (and I know most of the time, mine isn't if she is in the same room with all of the noise--unless it is something rhythmic like typing or TV
Do you have a large closet (non moldy of course/ no moth balls lol) that could fit a cage?
 
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We'll have tree-stand perch next to the cage so it'll be more familiar at first, but we'll slowly move it a little closer to us as time goes on (the cage is in the lounge where we usually hang out). It won't be far from the cage in any case since the seating area in the lounge starts about 6 feet away from the cage itself (you can see a corner of one of the lounge chairs in one of the pics).

I'm planning to put the sleeping cage in the far corner of the living room which is pictured a few steps lower in the background. Hardly anyone uses that area and gets no direct sunlight. It's not very far, but I think it's better for undisturbed rest since the current cage location puts it right next to my bedroom door as well as close to the lounge. (And we have a bit of a nocturnal lifestyle, usually awake until around 5am and not waking up until around noon). The parrot itself should have a slightly more normal schedule since we will have helpers to uncover the sleeping cage and move the bird to the daytime cage while we're still asleep.

Lighting is an issue I've thought about, but I think we'll be ok. The lounge has bifolding window doors that span 2 walls, and we have a decent (but not great) number of recessed lights in the ceiling in the lounge. That said, it does at times (like on a cloudy day) seem a bit on the dim side. Still considering additional lighting because of that.

All good food for thought. Still need to figure out if the sleeping cage is big enough. Kind of surprising that it's hard to find info on this.
 

noodles123

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Could you just buy a cage? A regular one? It might not hurt to have one and you could probably find a decent one (large enough for sleep, but not large enough for long-term use) for under $400....

Like, this, for instance--- is not a good normal cage, but could work as a sleep cage depending on bar spacing etc--- DO check into the powder coating to make sure it is non-toxic, but if you had something like this, you could also get a custom black-out cover for under $80...
https://www.amazon.com/SUPER-DEAL-C...?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1591899952&sr=1-2 <---I think the company EXAGGERATES the appropriateness of this cage for larger species, as it could NEVER be a permanent home for a Too or a Macaw--- BUT, could work as a sleep cage if the bars are thick enough...and safe (depending on wing-span and bird-size ---some macaws are on the smaller side..again- I DO think this is small, but if you browse, you will find related cages w/possibly larger dimensions).
IDEALLY, you would find a cage that allowed your bird to fully spread its wings-- in the event that it flaps in the middle of the night- you don't want broken blood feathers happening-- so that cage may actually be too narrow, but my bird often gets startled, clings to her perch and flaps. If the cage is too skinny, those wings slam into things (because when they are sleeping, they don't think about the dimensions of their space).
 
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wrench13

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48,000,000 micro in. x 48,000,000 micro in. x 60,000,000 micro in tall. Would a good size.
 
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Noodles, that cage you linked does indeed seem too small. 18" x 18" is even smaller than the sleeping cage I was looking to buy which is 30"x30".

Wrench, 48"x48" seems quite large. I think there are some daytime macaw cages that are that big, which makes me wonder if it might be overkill for a sleeping cage. The ones in my area that are that size cost twice as much as the 30x30:17:
 

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Well consider the size of the macaw. I suppose he might fit into a 1 foot x 1 foot by 3 foot box, but really he is not going to just sit on a sleep perch and turn himself off to sleep.
3 x 3 x 5 I would think the minimum for any temp or sleeping cage.
 

noodles123

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Noodles, that cage you linked does indeed seem too small. 18" x 18" is even smaller than the sleeping cage I was looking to buy which is 30"x30".

Wrench, 48"x48" seems quite large. I think there are some daytime macaw cages that are that big, which makes me wonder if it might be overkill for a sleeping cage. The ones in my area that are that size cost twice as much as the 30x30:17:

I didn't post that cage based on dimensions-- it was intended to be a starting point for other cheap cages that were larger in the Amazon worm-hole (but I didn't make that clear). I assume you were looking at tiny, portable things (that's why I talked about the need to flap).
When most people talk "sleep cages" they are looking at much smaller cages than what they would normally put their birds in--- but like I said, wings need to be able to safely spread and have proper bar spacing and gauging. I have never been able to find a cage that is big enough for my Too to sleep in unless it's a regular cage..so I have 2 full cages ---one for a place I travel often (or did-before COVID) and one for my house (plus play-stands). I also bought my house with with doors in mind (its 1870s, so it has doors EVERYWHERE on the main floor lol! PERK!)--I guess they were all about doors for controlling drafts, smells and generally directing airflow before central air and heat, but it's a perfect set-up for a parrot because it's like 5 rooms on the main floor and each one has 2 doors...and there was a door in the hallway at one point too lol---seriously....they were OBSESSED with doors! HA-- I LOVE being able to block her off from all of the smells and sounds etc--- and I can do it like 3x over because all of the layers of doors-- good ole' Victorians.

At my parents' house (also old) they removed many of the swinging doors that used to be there, so in the past, I have used a door off the hinges to cover the gap at night, and sometimes I even use a tension rod + a shower curtain (but that is way worse at blocking sound). I still cover her cage at night in both places and control the lighting in the room. It's definitely harder in a more open-concept house...I am grateful that my house and my parents' house = compartmentalized.

Whatever his wing-span is, make sure he can flap with at least an inch on either side of the cage...and with enough room for a perch etc
 
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