New pineapple - double checking caging

[NikiP87]

I had started a thread in the general parrot forum to learn about parrotlets for my bf, which progressed to conure suggestions, & we just picked up a pineapple weanling yesterday

This is Vasily, an early Christmas present for my bf. We drove 5hrs to so he could have pick up multiple individuals & colors. The breeder prides herself in quiet family friendly birds.

He/she is proving to be a nice gentle bird, although it is going through the mouthy phase. The bf is teaching it Russian commands to go with the Russian sniper name

This is the cage I bought, saw it recommended several times on here:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F5L0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00]Amazon.com: Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch: Pet Supplies[/ame]

Despite some issues getting it together, the cage is surprisingly huge for such a little bird!

Currently Vasily has four toys, a hanging hut, a calcium perch, three wooden perches (came with cage), a bottle (yep, bottle trained!), two TP rolls, two feeders divided for 4 sections (cage came with 4 feeders = 8 sections, decided not to put all in. One section catches any water drips, one has pellets, one has a few pieces of a nut/fruit mix, & one has fresh veggies), & a cuttle bone.

Funny, when we went into the pet store to buy everything, minus the cage & what it came with since I ordered online, the eyes of the guy at the checkout got really big & he asked how many birds we had. When he heard we had just one, he commented that we must have one spoiled bird. REALLY? We *only* bought four toys outside the sleep hut & necessarily perch/feeding items. I was thinking how few four were & how we'll need to find others to swap out regularly with.

Eventually we are going to be adding a play area to the top of the cage, a table top play area to a table in our livingroom, & a standing play area to the upstairs computer room. These will happen slower to allow for the dogs to adjust to the bird & we are planning on building some of these things ourselves

If anyone sees anything else we need, please point it out. We've both had cockatiels in the past so this is a bit of a step up.

 

[strasia93]

Vasily is beautiful! Congratulations on your little bird!
It looks like you have everything pretty well set up.

 

[Birdlover11]

Yay ! You got your gcc ! He is quite a looker ! The pet store guy probely didn't know the size of the cage. I think it would be great to add a trimming perch which wears down the nails so you don't have to trim they're nails. Also I think it's your choice and it depends n where you live but I just got my fids a Thermo Perch which they love ! Since its getting closer to fall and winter the nights start to get cold so it's a great addition. It also never overheats so you could leave it on forever .

 

[Karigan]

Sounds like you have anything under control. Maybe get some natural branch perches, Java from the store or anything you may have around that is bird safe; it's great for their feet and fun to chew.

 

[NikiP87]

I don't think we'll need a warming perch The cage is setup in my critter room, I have snakes, geckos, tarantulas, & scorpions so the room stays pretty stable as far as temps go. And yes, everyone is in secure housing.

The calcium perch we bought said it trims nails & beaks? The ones in the past that i'd bought did a pretty good job.

 

[aliray]

Congrats on your new baby and belive it or not he will eventually use the whole cage. mine climbs all over and they really do need a suprisingly big cage for the size of the bird and all their toys and swings and a rope boing is a fun toy for them and all my birds really enjoy them. I love the cage ,perfect.

 

[silvertiger3450]

what are the toys you bought

 

[wenz2712]

Congrats on your new Baby. He is adorable

That Cage is perfect for him.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Congrats on your new family member! You will just love the companionship that Vasily will provide! My only recommendation is to add a small perch on at least one side of the hanging hut. It will make it easier to get in and out and it will make it easier for Vasily to begin using it. Also, your calcium perch will also suffice for a manicuring perch. Lastly, Vasily is beautiful. Enjoy your baby!!

 

[NikiP87]

silvertiger, I can't remember what the brands are that we bought. Tried to find them on the pet store's website, but they don't have as many listed as they sell. Can see them in the pic; two in the upper left hand corner, one in the middle on the right hand side, & one towards the bottom on the left hand side. We tried to make sure everything had different components, although they all have wood pieces.

Molly, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[MonicaMc]

I'd recommend to put perches near the dishes. If you have a perch for trimming nails, use that near the food dishes rather than a sleeping perch.

I'd recommend to get rid of the perches that came with the cage unless you like them. Better to replace with natural wooden perches and rope perches! Look into getting a boing for the cage, too! And maybe some platform perches!


In a cage like that, I'd probably put more perches and toys in it! Look into foraging toys, noisy toys, destructible toys, shiny toys, acrylic toys, foot toys, etc! Just stay clear from anything with mirrors. (don't recommend them period for any bird)



Cute GC! Was he DNA sexed?

 

[NikiP87]

No, not DNA sexed, but is on our list of things to do!

We will be filling the cage with more stuff as it comes around Right now it hasn't taken much interested in anything, but it's still only day one. May have to get different bowls as the bowls came with perches attached. Even with the standard perches in there, I want to add more perches, like the mentioned ro & wooden ones. I also plan on us adding more climbing things that stretch from top to bottom.

 

[ConureLady]

I just wanted to throw this out there...
I once had a client come to me with a parrot she claimed was inactive and scared of everything.. when I did a house visit to see how the cage was set up and tell her any tips i could..
the conure was housed in a wonderful cage but in a room with a snake, tarantula, and a bearded dragon.. parrots are very keen eyed and aware of their surroundings.. i would definitely recommend keeping the bird in a room that doesnt have predators. birds love to be a part of the family. maybe set the cage up in the living room or where everybody spends their time. my conures are right next to the tv and by the dinner table.

 

[ConureLady]

also, you can DNA test your bird very easily by going online tohttp://www.avianbiotech.com/SexingCenter.htm order a kit, when the kit arrives you pull 4-6 chest feathers and send them off for testing. its about $22.00 never take them to a vet to do it.. they surgically set or cut a toenail pretty deep for blood. not very nice if you ask me.
and its going to cost a lot more at the vet.

 

[ConureLady]

also, teaching it russian commands would be kind of silly. i'm russian born in ukraine. what means one thing in russian can sound a lot like another in english.. i think this would confuse your bird and make it harder to train. unless your bird is constantly hearing russian, you need to train in a language they understand and have been around their entire life. there is no step up in russian, its come around. which is going to make you look silly around russians. and step down sounds like you are saying bunny rights.. if you arent a nationalist, then whats the point in confusing your pet?

 

[NikiP87]

Just got done ordering a bunch of stuff from a website that sells bird safe parts & pieces. Got a large assortment of stuff for making more toys Shredding stuff, bells, plastic/metal chains, plastic rings, leather, etc etc.

The room it's in is just fine for now. There is a large window with filtered light plus brightly colored walls. There are literally only three snakes (I have no large boas or pythons) & the fish (as in real fish) tank it could see out of everything in the room. It'll come around to the toys. It's only been around for one day after coming from a multiple bird aviary. Will be looking at a table top play thing tomorrow & parts to work on the standing play area. We are working on the livingroom being an option. We have a chow mix who would probably be fine, a dachshund x beagle who is obsessed with small critter but will get aggressive if she can't see them, & my dachshund x australian shepard who cannot be around the bird unsupervised right now & may never be 100% bird safe. Currently don't trust him even if the birdcage was on a large table. The standing play tower will go in the computer/man room. This room has zero windows & the bf will easily stay up until 1-2am playing games involving lots of yelling. Good room for him to have free reign in during the day.

And as for the Russian, it's the bfs bird. He's an exmarine who is a complete nerd & has lived over seas. I'm sure the bird will learn an interesting assortment of commends. As long as a word is clearly connected to an action & he teaches me what words he is using, I don't really see a problem with what he chooses.

We are very close to buying a house, which we can make better modifications in

 

[MonicaMc]

I actually recommend Zoogen over Avianbiotech. Besides, there's no need to wait for any 'kit' to arrive!

About DNA Bird Sexing


ConureLady, different avian vets use different methods for sexing birds. SS can be a great method if the bird ever has to be put out for examination, however it is only as good as the a-vet who's doing the procedure. Taking blood can be done in a multitude of ways - usually by cutting the nail too short (which is one of the recommended methods to obtain blood yourself if you're doing the blood sexing over the feather sexing), inserting the needle right above the nail, inserting the needle in the leg, or, and this is the method my a-vet uses, by inserting the needle into the jugular vein in the neck to obtain blood. Done right, taking from the neck can be quick, and once you let the bird go, the site of the injection of the needle is closed off, so there's no bleeding!



Niki, it sounds like you are off to a great start! BTW, do you know your conure's parents mutations? It's a possible way to sex him/her without having to get a test done. If your conure's mother is not a pineapple, you have a little girl! If she is a pineapple, you could have a male or female.

Best of luck getting the house! I'm sure it'll be great fun setting it up for your critters!

 

[chickymonkey]

also, you can DNA test your bird very easily by going online tohttp://www.avianbiotech.com/SexingCenter.htm order a kit, when the kit arrives you pull 4-6 chest feathers and send them off for testing. its about $22.00 never take them to a vet to do it.. they surgically set or cut a toenail pretty deep for blood. not very nice if you ask me.
and its going to cost a lot more at the vet.

I want to have our new yellow naped amazon sexed and was going to take him to the vet...until I saw this! BUT I also can't imagine pulling chest feathers out. Any recommendation on how to accomplish this?

 

[chickymonkey]

And to the OP, I'm interested in hearing how your pineapple does as time goes on!

 

[Rio Mom]

I agree with the recommendations for different perches. Dowels are hard on their feet. Better to have a variety of natural perches, and rope.