Sleep Cages, Out time and Related Questions

[WittyUserName]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. I wanted to start a discussion about cage size in relation to location, schedule and socialization.

For many years I kept parakeets and cockatiels. My avatar is a picture of Kocomo, my male 'tiel. I'm living on my own now and would like to adopt a green cheek conure.

We had a rather large, quite extravagant and expensive cage set up for the two tiels. For all that they preferred hanging out on top of the cage to being in it.

I live in a large house with my boyfriend and roommates, and we spend most of our time hanging out in our room. I plan on putting the bird in the corner of this room, as I feel it is the right balance of quiet with adequate social interaction. I don't feel there is any reason to stuff the bird in a large cage... The room is quiet and safe, with a couple windows to look out and no draft. I was planning on constructing a pretty sweet play stand, as I am the creative DIY type. (I know to make sure I use bird safe materials and construction techniques.. I used to build toys and play tops for my tiels all the time)

I've been hearing a lot of talk about sleep cages, and I feel like its a bit redundant to have a $300 cage, plus a $100 sleep cage? If the bird is getting ample shoulder/cuddle/social time with a luxurious play stand during daylight hours.. is a sleep cage adequate on its own? Is this irresponsible thinking? What is an appropriate cage size with this set up?

 

[Echo]

Are you in your room/house all day? No work, school, social activity and such? When you do go out, do you plan on living the bird unattended in your room or in a sleeping cage?

 

[WittyUserName]

Our work schedules are staggered, so outside of a brief quiet time between 3-6 pm, there will be someone with the bird. The room had been previously baby proofed, it isn't exactly abound with dangerous things... is something like this:

YML Open Top Parrot Cage with Stand | Wayfair

inadequate for afternoon rest, and sleep?

Ultimately the boyfriend and I plan on getting our own apartment, so I hauling a $300 wrought iron cage around seems impractical. I would like to strike the right balance between size, expense, quality, and what will make for the happiest and safest bird. If something like I posted above is appropriate for the current set up, then I would rather save my pennies and the extravagant, pretty victorian open top wrought iron roomy cage I would like... in 6-10 months when I have my apartment.

I'm just trying to get some pragmatic feed back specific to the set up, as I feel like most of the cage size discussion assumes that a) the cage in question is the birds life long cage, b) the owner is going to keep the bird in there a majority of the time.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[Corky]

our amazon is never shut in his cage, and hasnt had his wings clipped. But I suppose it depends on the personality of the bird. Our boy very rarely leaves his cage, and rope area (he has rope around a whole corner of the kitchen/dinner) So i suppose if you have a more adventurous bird he would need to be put in a cage for his own safety when you are out - or for the sake of items in the house if he decided to have a chew.

This is Corkys area

 

[Corky]

The rope also goes around the other side that you cannot see.