Bit anxious and concerned i have done the right thing.

[rozenda]

Edited as I realsied that I should have just put China and be done with it.
Hi everyone my first post was last week about a mineral block and mentioned that I  have anxiety and depression, I promise not to mention it again but felt I needed to for this post.

I decided which cage I wanted before I even found a breeder to get the boys from, it is the Vision MO1 and now I think I have made a really bad mistake. I got a cheap cage from the breeder to use while I got the spondulas together for the Vision and finally, after they had been staring at it for a fortnight as it was next to them, moved them into it yesterday afternoon. It was a straight forward move and they immediately started preening and talking.

However by the middle of the afternoon I was convinced I had made the wrong purchase as they wouldn't go down to the bottom of the cage to feed/drink and I couldn't work out a way of getting them down there. Eventually I used the long white cup thingy you can see and they are ok with that, it is a little fiddly to get onto the cage bars but at least they use it. Sort of. The seed gets into the water really easily and after much swearing I managed to get an ordinary bath set in the door way which they are using to drink from...they will go to the water fom the feeder thingy if they have too but I can't keep removing seed from it all day.

So my questions are;
Do budgies get used to feeding on the bottom of the cage and how do I get them down there as the bottom sides to the cage are plastic with nothing for them to grab hold of. also will they get used to walking on the grate at the bottom of the cage.  I would rather they use the feeders at the bottom of the cage so that they have the rest of the cage to clamber over and also the feeders at the bottom do have a cover over them to stop poop getting in.

Have I got the cage set up right, on and off I spent a good four hours yesterday setting things up then moving them again which I know is not good for the boys. I have bought them some of the colourful toys you find on Amazon/Ebay etc but have I done wrong to do so, hey were made in China, and are stained wood. If no then can you please recommend some toys I could buy them, I am restricted as too how often I get out of my home and buy things online mainly as pet shops don;t seem to cater much for indoor birds in store so if it is ok to name places online and the suitable toys then please do.

As you will see from the second photo I have tried to cover the bottom grate with sand sheet to help me when it needs changing. I have back problems and although the cage is quite light, even with the big hunk of wood in it, it is awkard for me to lift and remove the bottom tray. Having said that I can sort out a way involving a pile of magazines on a lower table bringing it level with the other that would make it much easier. I need to use up the sand paper first but I have seen that you can buy paper that is safe for the birds if they decide to peck at it, or is it cheaper and easier to use newspaper under the grate and let them get used to having to stand on the grate.

They first picture shows the set up last night and the second one the set up I did this morning.
I know I have more questions but to be honest this thread is way over long already, thank you for reading my blurb.

[ladybird]

Hi Rozenda, I have the same cage as you so I can help a bit. It’s a bit difficult to see your pictures, but I do think you seem to have a few too many things in your cage.
I don’t use or like the grate at the bottom of the cage, so I have removed it . Also sand sheets are bad for your buds feet so remove those. I just use newspaper it’s perfectly safe…… I see you have a ladder lying on the bottom of the cage…you could attach this to the wire rung just above the plastic.. The green dishes : I have seed and grit at one side of the cage….and water at the other side….. your buds will soon find the food and water, try not to worry . I can’t really see the big piece of wood you have in there……if it’s making the cage heavy….do you really need it? As for toys, if you are worried about where they come from, I know there are web sites in the uk who make toys…….our members can help you with that. The toys you have in look ok, just watch out for any rust on the bells…..
I like the vision cage, very easy to keep clean……and you are not talking blurb ……. Ask away our lovely members are always happy to help.

[rozenda]

Hi Ladybird and thank you for your reply, I have had a little play around with the perches but I am still not happy however the boys are chatting and singing away quite happily and have been doing so all the time they have been in the new cage.

The big lump of wood is actually a really good perch thingy as it has various branches going this way and that and the boys love it so I am going to leave it in the cage and I have worked out a way...amazing what you can think up when you stop panicking....to sort out the bottom of the cage that is better for both me and the boys.

I must admit I wanted to make sure the boys could get where ever they wanted to go completely forgetting that they can fly and can use the cage sides...once again panicking before thinking....so I will remove one of the wooden perches tomorrow when my brain and body are in proper gear.

I have put the green feed/water dishes back in but left the covers off for the moment so that they can see where the seed and water is. I keep forgetting to buy grit, is there a better brand or is it all the same ?!

I have looked at the websites you mention and they do have lovely things...edited to say sorry I mean the kind of websites you mention....

I am now going to put my feet up and listen to an audio book while the boys have a snooze and we all wish for the heat to go away.

Once again thank you for your reply and help, I really appreciate it.

[ladybird]

Glad you have got things sorted a bit….your lump of wood sounds good…think I want one lol. About grit… some people think it’s necessary and some don’t, but mine is oyster grit and he does use it. I think you take a worrier just like me, we just love our buds don’t we. Enjoy your book 👍🏻

[rozenda]

I forgot to ask if you have the Vision bath for your budgies and if so how long did it take for them to get used to it ?
It's not expensive so I would happily give it to a charity to sell if my boys didn;t like it but I would be intereted to know either way.
Thanks re grit, I never know whether to get the oyster one or another but I am sure I had the Oyster one for another budige I had.
Yes I am a worrier, if they invented a pill for it I would take it !

Right now I am definately settling down before the heat readuces me to a wibbling mess.

Thank you again.

[ladybird]

Yes I did buy it, and he wouldn’t go anywhere near it. I can’t understand why they made it dark blue. My Charlie is very funny about anything new, so your buds might like it……..but it hasn’t got good reviews….I gave it away!………Also, it takes a lot of room up in the cage.

[rozenda]

Yes I have seen the reviews too, so it will be a shallow dish in the bottom of the cage then...avoiding branches they can poop from !

[Hezz]

In my opinion a cage that size needs at most three perches, if your budgies are able to fly. Position them towards the sides of the cage so that the bird(s) can fly back and forth - the more exercise they get the better. Position toys also around the sides of the cage, leaving the centre of the cage as open as possible. Moving things around in their cage is not a big deal. It only becomes one if you never change things and then suddenly do. Budgies are very adaptable creatures and it is good for their mental health to have to think about where things are rather than serve everything up to them in the same place. I can’t really critique your cage setup as the photos do not enlarge.

[rozenda]

Thanks for you reply Hezz, sorry the photo's are too small, hopefully these ones will be better. The first one shows the cgae set up yesterday and the second how is it today, the third is of the boys Sam is the blue and Olly the grey. I have ordered a the Tweety Pie swing from the Natural Bird Company to replace the one in the cage as I think it will be better for them.

[rozenda]

Damn they are the same size, help to download bigger pictures will be gratefully received

Anyhoo, I removed the two shorter pearches so that the boys have a better place to fly but would it be better to move the large hunk of perches -which they love- a little lower so they can fly higher up which would complicate the ladder access to the bottom of the cage for food and water.
I will be starting training again soon...still suffering from the heat and back ache so not in the best mood to start straight away...which will have to be from the beginning with a view to getting them out of the cage during the day. They have escaped a couple of times which was a bit of a panic for the three of us but I got them back into the cage eventually with a dowling perch.

I forgot to say the the picture of the boys was in their old cage and also that they are now c15 weeks old

[ladybird]

I see Ollie has found the food dish ok 👍🏻……not sure you have the food covers on correctly? Definitely looks better with fewer perches. Do your buds come out ?

[rozenda]

The water one isn't covered at the moment as today is the first day they are using it but once they use it ok I will put the cover on. I probably haven't got the cover on the seed properly, it took me 2 hours to put the cage together and by that point I frankly didn;t care where anything went
I need to start training again from the beginning and hope to let them out in the next couple of weeks, they certainly want to come out as they have escaped a couple of times already but I want them to be able to trust me enough to land on me when they come out properly the first few times.

Or I will just dress up as a piece of millet.

[blueelephant]

They are gorgeous sat together on the ladder! I find that if I want my birds to find something new, putting a small sprig of millet next to it works wonders. It's amazing how brave it makes them. The food and water covers are a bit of a faff but they should sort of snap into place and will help stop stray poos ending up in there.

In terms of cage set up it looks like you have lots of interesting perches. This is a good thing as you can redesign the cage layout frequently and swap things in and out.

The other option is to attach the odd perch to the outside of the cage so they have somewhere to sit when they do start coming out more.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Normally when people post pictures, I can just click on it to see an enlarged version. That doesn't work with your pictures. I did find that if I right click on the picture and select the option that says "open in new tab" that will get me the enlarged picture to look at.

Your buds are very handsome!

[rozenda]

Thank you all for your replies, they got a small sprig of millet today as they had put up with me faffing around I suspect it is all gone now but will move it anyway to see if that works. Sounds such an obvious thing to do that I should have thought of it myself.
Thank you for saying the budgies are handsome, I think so but then I am Mum !