Busy vs Bland?

[Deleted]

Munchy's cage has gone through a lot of changes over the years. Sometimes it looks over-crowded and other times it seems barren. I'm trying to work out which is best. Neither makes any difference to whether or not he pesters to come out. He also doesn't play much with toys inside his cage, although maybe he just doesn't like the toys or does it when we're not around (because when we're there he will be pestering to come out).

Back when he was a little chicky he would play with beads on a string, like in this old picture:

There's the face that won my heart, before he became a right little tyrant!


Nowadays, he doesn't seem interested in those. He used to like things with bells, but I removed a lot of bells and the stainless steel ones I have now are so big they don't really go well on anything. I'm not sure whether to just ditch a lot of the beady things I have. Half the time I forget to swap things around, so I never really realise just how many bits of unplayed with stuff there are... Oops!


Anyway, here's a previous layout we had:

Including random bits I put together that were never used.


Since then, I bought two full width perches, so there isn't much room for anything else because of their width.

This is similar to the current layout. Swing now faces forward and we have new feeders which are both on the side where that seed feeder is in this picture. The big perches are roughly where they are now.

I find that low perches never get used, so they always end up being the feeding perches so that they actually get some used, but generally Munchy just tends to sit on the highest perch near a toy and snuggle up.

I like having less in the cage as there's more room to fly (not that Munchy flies in the cage but it's there if he ever wants it) and if I need to handle him there are less obstacles in my way. Plus I've never managed to get perches placed so he can't poop on lower ones!


I guess ideally I want a bigger cage, lengthwise, so that I can fit more perches (especially variety of perches) in without the overcrowding issue.


Anyway, which do you guys prefer? A busy cage with lots to do or a more open cage layout?

[OP]

You know the old story, the bigger the drawer the more stuff you put in it. Joey would be quite happy with a couple of perches and food and water. Play! What's that. Whiskers on the other hand will use everything in the cage. If it makes a noise by banging against the side of the cage, he is quite happy. He is quite happy going from one side of the cage to the other to collect one seed then make the journey back across the cage to chew on that one seed. Neither of them fly in the cage unless they stumble.

[ffiscool]

Bailey plays with everything in his cage. He only doesn't use one perch which is low, but he never goes near the bottom of the cage

[jellybean]

I'm trying to do a change of layout in the boy's cage too Ira, what a nightmare, I wish I'd never started it   I've changed it around now 3 times, and was never happy with how it looked, this afternoon, it's back to how it was in the beginning 

[Hezz]

Don't let the toys get in the way of movement - that's my mantra. I position the perches as far apart as possible on the top level while still leaving them room to turn around easily without wreaking their tails, and have room for the tail not to be up against the side of the cage once they have turned. Then the feeders go where they always go and the toys are basically put into the corners far enough away from the perches to not impede but close enough to be played with easily. Swings go in the middle of the top of the cage, but off to the side, again so that the birds can fly to and fro on the top perches. A few toys regularly replaced are better than a crowded cage of the same old thing. That's how I feel, anyway.

[Deleted]

I do my best to keep them between the perch and the bars on the side with the high perch, so there's plenty of room to fly, and the swing is as far back as it can comfortably be.

I think my trouble with not rotating things is that half the stuff he doesn't seem to play with, but I've known him to eventually try something if it's there for a while, and then I forget to move stuff. Gonna get all his toys out and do a big shift around today, I think





Random note: I just showed my grandparents the picture of Munchy as a baby and they both asked who's bird it was

[suesbird]

I thought Jo was getting bored in her cage so I thought I would do a quick change around, well 3 hours later I was still messing, she was out of her cage perched on a glass shelf with a look of disgust. Took her 2 days to explore! For the last month she has been playing on the cage floor with some of those wobble mirrors, eating the corners of her paper. This week will not touch them.

The best thing she likes is a rope ladder on the top of her cage and the bells hang through, anything to make a noise. I have a carried bag full of stuff I have made and bought and she is not bothered with, this weeks game is trying to throw 6 inch long glass horses off my windowsill. She has balsa blocks that she tends to throw about as well and those little balls with a bell inside.

I like picture one, he is so lovely. At least you do not have to spend half an hour getting him in, Jo is fine if she has been out for about 3 - 4 hours, she is hungry and goes in on her own, but other times she is terrible. She was out last night sitting on her glass shelf and we forgot she was there and then suddenly that tiny little chirp which says "I am here" so I had to put her in as she is moulting again and lost some of her mains feathers and flying is not as accurate as it usually is.

Sorry I am waffling on again (rofl)funny how long we can talk about our buds.

[Deleted]

I'm glad I'm not the only waffler suesbird!

Munchy loves bells too, or at least he used to. I tend to remove them now because I never know what they're made of. I've attached a big stainless steel bell to the bottom of some study old favourites. They probably don't tinkle nicely enough though

[skysmum]

Im all for less is more. Ive fiddled and faffed for years with beads etc etc etc but have learned that as long as they have some natural wood to chew, mirrors to admire themselves in, bells to bash and room to fly they are more than happy, baby buds seem to like a bit more to interest them though .

[ffiscool]

Bailey can't fly in his as not wide enough, but he does have either whole days or evenings, when he is out. He hates change, so I haven't moved anything in his cage around

[samwiseg]

I think you answered your own question Ira:

"I like having less in the cage as there's more room to fly (not that Munchy flies in the cage but it's there if he ever wants it) and if I need to handle him there are less obstacles in my way. Plus I've never managed to get perches placed so he can't poop on lower ones!"

Not only that just as long as he gets enough out time and as Hezz says dont let toys stop his movement then all is well

[Deleted]

Nov 17, 2014 13:20:39 GMT samwiseg said:

I think you answered your own question Ira:

"I like having less in the cage as there's more room to fly (not that Munchy flies in the cage but it's there if he ever wants it) and if I need to handle him there are less obstacles in my way. Plus I've never managed to get perches placed so he can't poop on lower ones!"

Not only that just as long as he gets enough out time and as Hezz says dont let toys stop his movement then all is well

He flew in there today! Chasing his favourite ball when I threw it in!

And yeah, he's out everyday from 11-12 until 6:30, longer on Sundays.

[JennyB]

Could you post the photo of little baby Munchy please? I'd love to see it.

[Deleted]

It's the first photo on the page JennyB

[milliej]

Yes I've also made the mistake of filling the cages full of things I thought Sid and Mischief would appreciate only for them to look at me as if.....oh no, not again! They don't like low perches and although they have a nice array of different swings and things (not too many) they still tend to hang onto the cage bars and not fly from place to place!? They do like the forked branch I bought from Natural Bird Products but I've removed a couple of rope ones so they have more room to fly, even though they tend to.....hang onto the cage bars mostly when going from feeder to feeder, especially Mischief!