Aviary Happenings

One of my customers sent me this picture. Is it adorable or what? This parrotlet's name is Tinkerbell and she is ready to take on the world with her little skateboard LOL! I really enjoy it when I receive pictures and updates on my babies. It warms my heart knowing they are well loved.

It's pretty quiet here at the aviary at the moment. The calm before the storm so to speak! I just pulled three lineolated parakeet babies from the nest. They are beautiful, fat and healthy! Looks like the oldest chick is a cobalt, not sure about the other two yet. I will post what colors they are on the website as soon as I know. My black headed caiques are on two eggs. So we should have some caique chicks in a few weeks!

Recently, one of my customers purchased an E-Z Care cage that the manufacturer states is suitable for conures, cockatiels, lories, etc. This cage was for a green cheek conure. When she got the cage set up and the put the bird in it, there was a large space in the bars where the side of the cage and the dometop panel meet. This space was large enough for the conure to escape from! The bar spacing on this cage was 3/4 of an inch. Too large for a small conure and certainly too large for a cockatiel. The gaps I mentioned were quite a bit larger. Luckily, they were home and her husband was able to place wire over the cage to secure the bird inside.

My customer said she will be calling this company and hopefully they will revise their product description and resolve this matter to my customer's satisfaction.

Here are some bar spacing recommendations to guide you when purchasing a cage for your bird:

Finches, budgies, lovebirds, canaries, parrotlets: 1/4" - 1/2"

Cockatiels, ringnecks, small conures (green cheeks, black caps, dusky, etc.): 1/2" - 5/8"

Senegals, caiques, mini macaws, large conures (cherry heads, patagonians, etc.): 5/8" - 3/4"

Goffins cockatoos, african greys, amazons: 3/4" - 1"

Large macaws and cockatoos: 1" - 1.5"

The above is a general guideline. If you have any questions about the correct bar spacing for your particular bird, ask a knowledgeable bird professional to help you. Some cages are built better than others. Be sure the cage does not have dangerous gaps that your bird could escape through or get stuck in. Feel the cage and make sure there are no sharp edges. If you have a choice, the smaller sized recommended bar spacing is usually a safer option.