The newer cages available today did things right and have spring loaded latch knobs. No way can birds foil that. But it's a problem with the older cages that have the circular hasp just hanging there. No lock.
We'd been using duct tape to keep them shut, because the birds had been a little too clever, figuring out how to move the hasp out of the way and get the doors open. The duct tape works... as long as it remains dry.
We'd had a problem with one of our Eclectus birds. This fine mannered male is rather smart and tenacious. When he wants to get out and feed his mate nearby, he takes a bath, soaking the tape on the door so it weakens, allowing him to pull hard enough on the hasp to free it of the tape! Bugger.
:18:
We looked into the possibility of retrofitting a spring latch knob, but it would require soldering... and given all the costs involved, it would make more sense to get a new cage.
MEANWHILE... I wanted to come up with something that might work. I'd bought a spring loaded wire with grab ring from a reputable place that ensured the metals were free of nickle & zinc. BUT, I unfortunately discovered the spring is VERY stiff. Not as extendible as I'd hoped. It was too short. So, I went to a craft shop and bought these blanks with holes in them. Using small split rings I was able to create the latch arm. To attach it, I drilled a hole in the hasp.
Here's how it looks:
He can't move the hasp. And, the spring hooks onto the cage in such a way that it doesn't provoke any interest. The bird wouldn't be able to undo it anyway, because the tension is too strong.
When unhooked, it's easy to gently hook it above, keeping the hasp out of the way as the door is opened/closed. It's not a perfect solution... the better choice would've been just a longer spring wire. But I couldn't find one, for a reasonable price anyway. The ones I'd gotten was like $8 for a pack of 10. Btw, if you look closely in the 3rd panel of the photo montage, you can see the bird's beak as he tries to move the hasp. Foiled!
We'd been using duct tape to keep them shut, because the birds had been a little too clever, figuring out how to move the hasp out of the way and get the doors open. The duct tape works... as long as it remains dry.
We'd had a problem with one of our Eclectus birds. This fine mannered male is rather smart and tenacious. When he wants to get out and feed his mate nearby, he takes a bath, soaking the tape on the door so it weakens, allowing him to pull hard enough on the hasp to free it of the tape! Bugger.
:18:We looked into the possibility of retrofitting a spring latch knob, but it would require soldering... and given all the costs involved, it would make more sense to get a new cage.
MEANWHILE... I wanted to come up with something that might work. I'd bought a spring loaded wire with grab ring from a reputable place that ensured the metals were free of nickle & zinc. BUT, I unfortunately discovered the spring is VERY stiff. Not as extendible as I'd hoped. It was too short. So, I went to a craft shop and bought these blanks with holes in them. Using small split rings I was able to create the latch arm. To attach it, I drilled a hole in the hasp.
Here's how it looks:
He can't move the hasp. And, the spring hooks onto the cage in such a way that it doesn't provoke any interest. The bird wouldn't be able to undo it anyway, because the tension is too strong.
When unhooked, it's easy to gently hook it above, keeping the hasp out of the way as the door is opened/closed. It's not a perfect solution... the better choice would've been just a longer spring wire. But I couldn't find one, for a reasonable price anyway. The ones I'd gotten was like $8 for a pack of 10. Btw, if you look closely in the 3rd panel of the photo montage, you can see the bird's beak as he tries to move the hasp. Foiled!
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