new bird new cage?

kimcmrn

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Sep 10, 2021
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Cockatiel named Stevie
Greetings to everyone. I am brand new on this site, thank you for having me. Anyway, previously we had a green cheek for about 2 years. we were traveling to FL for Christmas in a larger, what we called her "travel cage". as we have traveled with her before. On Christmas Day we put her in the back room to be away from the chaos and loudness of my in-laws. LOL. we checked on her frequently and she did great, but when we were going to bed and doing our last check she had a seizure and just died. Anyway, we are picking up our new cockatiel very soon and the people we are getting him from says that our large $400 cage could kill our bird and is adamant bout getting a new cage as apposed to disinfecting the old cage. does anyone have any knowledge of this? or had any similar situations? I, of course, will definitely get. a new cage if it really isn't safe for him, but will be difficult to just discard a beautiful pricey cage. thank in advance for the info,
 

wrench13

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Cage bar spacing would be one thing that might harm the new bird, you want spacing close enough to prevent his head from going thru. For cockateils that is a pretty small spacing. Never had a 'tiel so I cant say what that spacing should be.

Disinfecting the old cage, properly, should prevent any germs, bacteria and microbes from affecting the new addition. Cages are expensive, but if its not the right type for the bird, its better off not being used. Aside from the 2 points above, the old one should be fine. Could the seller be trying to get you to buy a new cage from them? THats shady practices, trying to scare you into the purchase.
 

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a 36x36 or a 40x40 cage is good bar spacing should be a inch or an inch and a half
Inch to inch and a half?... Waaaay too big for cockatiels. That's just asking to get their head stuck, leading to tragic consequences. Please consider something with smaller spacing, no wider than the distance between their eyes, so there's no possibility of fitting their head through the bars.
 

Zoruace

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Inch to inch and a half?... Waaaay too big for cockatiels. That's just asking to get their head stuck, leading to tragic consequences. Please consider something with smaller spacing, no wider than the distance between their eyes, so there's no possibility of fitting their head through the bars.
BUT MY CAGE IS ONE INCH-
ill look for a new cage online-
i have deleted the comment
 

Skarila

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Greetings to everyone. I am brand new on this site, thank you for having me. Anyway, previously we had a green cheek for about 2 years. we were traveling to FL for Christmas in a larger, what we called her "travel cage". as we have traveled with her before. On Christmas Day we put her in the back room to be away from the chaos and loudness of my in-laws. LOL. we checked on her frequently and she did great, but when we were going to bed and doing our last check she had a seizure and just died. Anyway, we are picking up our new cockatiel very soon and the people we are getting him from says that our large $400 cage could kill our bird and is adamant bout getting a new cage as apposed to disinfecting the old cage. does anyone have any knowledge of this? or had any similar situations? I, of course, will definitely get. a new cage if it really isn't safe for him, but will be difficult to just discard a beautiful pricey cage. thank in advance for the info,
I honestly don't see what's the cage what you have, how big and how big is the bar spacing? If it was fine for a GCC, it should be fine for a cockatiel too (at least the size)

From my experience 1.6cm is very much ideal for a cockatiel. 2cm is already bit too big. The 1.2cm is bit small but nothing serious would happen, just their feathers might get frayed more often if they love cling on the cage. One thing to keep in mind is the thickness of the perches- cockatiels have relatively long fingers/feet, so a couple of thicker branches here and there would be nice! I like having lots of thickness variety of the branches in my cages.

As for your current cage, you can disenfect it with alcohol or benzin for cleaning (both of these chemicals do not leave residue nor smell), check for ANY parts or spots which might have rust or painting coming off. Clean really thoroughly and you should be fine. Cages are way too expensive these days. Also you get bonus points if your cage has powder coating because it's indestructible and REALLY easy to clean, which I love and adore.
 

fiddlejen

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Reading over your post, the assumption is that you're being instructed to not to place the bird into cage in which another bird died, due to possible contamination.

BUT is that indeed the reason you are given? Or is it for some Other reason related to the cage itself?

So there are some details that might make a difference.

First, as already discussed, is the bar spacing. Are the bars too widely spaced for the new bird, or alternatively, are the bars themselves too thin and thus not secure?

Second, I know you said the cage is "Large," but you did not specify the dimensions. Different people have different meanings for "Large." Does the breeder feel your cage is not large enough?

Third, the type of cage. Does it have paint that could be chewed-upon, or other hazards? Is it Round? (Not good for happy bird.) OR alternatively does it have a dangerous playtop-opening top? (These have been know to lead to bird fatalities.)

For myself, i can't imagine I could be happy placing a new bird into a cage where a previous bird had died, unless I felt 100% certain that there had Not been any illness. OR unless I fully believed I had FULLY decontaminated it. Personally I'm not sure, myself, that I could comfortably believe I had succeeded. BUT especially where it has been almost a year, for an expensive cage it might well be worth it. (Again, if there are no other issues with the cage itself.)
 

Skarila

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✻RIP -Sunny the budgie
Reading over your post, the assumption is that you're being instructed to not to place the bird into cage in which another bird died, due to possible contamination.

BUT is that indeed the reason you are given? Or is it for some Other reason related to the cage itself?

So there are some details that might make a difference.

First, as already discussed, is the bar spacing. Are the bars too widely spaced for the new bird, or alternatively, are the bars themselves too thin and thus not secure?

Second, I know you said the cage is "Large," but you did not specify the dimensions. Different people have different meanings for "Large." Does the breeder feel your cage is not large enough?

Third, the type of cage. Does it have paint that could be chewed-upon, or other hazards? Is it Round? (Not good for happy bird.) OR alternatively does it have a dangerous playtop-opening top? (These have been know to lead to bird fatalities.)

For myself, i can't imagine I could be happy placing a new bird into a cage where a previous bird had died, unless I felt 100% certain that there had Not been any illness. OR unless I fully believed I had FULLY decontaminated it. Personally I'm not sure, myself, that I could comfortably believe I had succeeded. BUT especially where it has been almost a year, for an expensive cage it might well be worth it. (Again, if there are no other issues with the cage itself.)
I'm not sure how are the prices in US, but 400 dollar cage, how big do you think it could be?

Also never thought of that play-tops could be dangerous :0 But to be fair, regarding disinfection of the cage, while I myself would also be very wary using the same cage again (and I did have an ill bird in one cage, after their passing it went through rigorous cleaning and disinfecting, was sitting for few months before our budgie took it over, 3 years later the budgie is still live and well and healthy, thank lord.), but even if it was an illness, wouldn't that mean that the pathogens would be pretty much everywhere where the previous bird was? Meaning, that all the surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected?
 

fiddlejen

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I'm not sure how are the prices in US, but 400 dollar cage, how big do you think it could be?

Well I don't know but it seems they mentioned using it as a Travel Cage. So, theoretically, could be Very Nice Very High Quality but small-ish cage. (IF so, I'd image it would probably be More dis-infectable.)

, but even if it was an illness, wouldn't that mean that the pathogens would be pretty much everywhere where the previous bird was? Meaning, that all the surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected?

Likewise, they mentioned it as a Travel Cage and seem to indicate they had traveled With bird To the In-Laws. So all the surfaces of concern would be elsewhere.... Oh except of course regarding concern of any long-term-developing illness... but hopefully in their own home they will have already disinfected all surfaces during the past nearly-a-year?
 
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kimcmrn

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Sep 10, 2021
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5
Charleston, SC
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Cockatiel named Stevie
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I honestly don't see what's the cage what you have, how big and how big is the bar spacing? If it was fine for a GCC, it should be fine for a cockatiel too (at least the size)

From my experience 1.6cm is very much ideal for a cockatiel. 2cm is already bit too big. The 1.2cm is bit small but nothing serious would happen, just their feathers might get frayed more often if they love cling on the cage. One thing to keep in mind is the thickness of the perches- cockatiels have relatively long fingers/feet, so a couple of thicker branches here and there would be nice! I like having lots of thickness variety of the branches in my cages.

As for your current cage, you can disenfect it with alcohol or benzin for cleaning (both of these chemicals do not leave residue nor smell), check for ANY parts or spots which might have rust or painting coming off. Clean really thoroughly and you should be fine. Cages are way too expensive these days. Also you get bonus points if your cage has powder coating because it's indestructible and REALLY easy to clean, which I love and adore.
thank you for your information. I appreciate any help.

There wasn't a concern if the cage was appropriate for a cockatiel but whether the cage was covered in bacteria from our previous bird. The breeder insisted this is why the cockatiel wasn't gaining weight. I did take her to an avian vet and he said she seemed to just be a very slow weaner and tested her and didnt find any kind of bacteria etc that would be making her lose weight. He told me there is no reason we shouldn't be able to use our previous cage, especially since I paid a lot of money for a good cage, after we disinfect it appropriately. No bad spots found with rust or paint chipping. I am disappointed in the breeder for sure. Our bird came back to her to gain weight and when we got her back she has been very hand shy. Prior to her going back to the breeder she would at least sit on our shoulder. I have a feeling that the breeder lavage fed her and this made her not like being held. Any help with getting her to step up would be greatly appreciated.
 

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