Looking for advice to improve my canary's cage

[CaliKiwi]

Hello all! Long post incoming...

I've been a canary owner since December. My canary, Gelato, *seems* happy to me. He is very bouncy and energetic, and he divides his time between singing, flying from side to side, shelling his seeds, foraging at grass (I alternate between wheatgrass and a barley/oat/rye mix), taking baths, and chewing cuttlebone and various veggie/fruit/egg/seed snacks.

However, his 30 in x 18 in cage still seems a tad small to me (he can fly in it, but only back and forth) and I want to make sure his environment fulfills all his natural canary needs. I've been thinking of getting him a 30w x 30h cage for added height, but I worry about portability because I take his cage outside almost every day so that he can get some sun and listen to the wild songbirds and finches, and this is where I clean his cage as well (which I also do on a daily basis).

Here are some images of his current setup: http://imgur.com/a/r3sFX

It's not obvious in the photo, but his toys don't impede his flight and the room he is in is a lot brighter than the pic shows. In his cage are:
-Cuttlebone
-a bird bath (I place it in there once a day)
-2 water feeders (sometimes he takes a bath in his tray water dish and splashes all the water out or dirties it, so I'm trying to transition him to using the cylindrical feeder)
-A flat of grass (he goes through it fast!)
-2 toys, one with rope and one with a twig material. He occasionally chews on these, especially when I'm in between replacing his grass
-A swing. He doesn't seem to care for this.
-3 food dishes. An enclosed container for his seed (he used to spray seed everywhere!), one for sprouted seed or egg, and one for fruits and veggies. I could take it down to 2 dishes, but he seems to like to take his seeds over to the tangerine-shaped dish and shell it there, and the yellow dish is good at keeping his treats in.

Somewhat unrelated but: do single canaries tend to do well in large outside aviaries or are they the type to feel more at peace in a smaller enclosure?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Sheather]

He looks like a well-cared for bird, and I wouldn't say you need to change anything. A taller cage would be appreciated but 30 x 18 is sufficient. Canaries do enjoy coming out of the cage, I always let mine out.

[CaliKiwi]

Sheather Thank you for your reply! What do you do to circumvent or clean up any droppings when you let your canaries out?

[Sojourner]

CaliKiwi

And that right there is why I don't let small birds out, LOL! I have enough problems without having to find and eradicate bird spatter.

In my opinion 30" is barely enough room for a finch to fly about. I have my 2 societies in a 36" cage and even that I'm not all that enthused about, but they do get more exercise at least.

If you can, look at a cage that is at least 36" long, such as the Prevue F050 or F075/F070 (one comes with a stand and the other does not). The Prevue F030 would be a good size also.

My favorite way to get them a nice long flight path is to take 2 F040s and stick them together for one nice long 5' flight. But that seems sort of ridiculous for one single canary by him/herself.

It might be more worthwhile if you could keep the canary with several other finches. Maybe Javas if you can find them as they are large but still peaceable without being pushovers. Oh wait, you're in CA where its illegal to keep Javas. So maybe Societies, spice finches, and Gouldians, which allegedly should get along with a canary. I would guess Owl finches might work out well also.

But if you do decide to add some finches to a double F040, I would count the canary as 4 finches - so I wouldn't add more than 4 other finches to the cage. And give everybody stress perches.

I wouldn't try to add any extra birds to a cage smaller than a double flight. Canaries are fairly passive birds and they will need the space so they can sort of back off for some privacy.

Zebras are right out. They're way too frenetic. Even if nobody tried to actually pick on the canary, all that activity would leave the poor canary a nervous wreck.

Canaries do well in larger aviaries. Though they've typically been kept in tiny cages, this is not to their benefit. The larger the enclosure the happier they will be - and less likely to get fat and die earlier.

[Dave]

The perches in your cage run the length of it. It might help if you had perches running front to back, on each end. As the bird flies from one end to the other, it would have an easier place to land.

I'm a BIG believer in letting your birds out when you can. I have for many years, and don't see a problem unless the window glass isn't covered. Any droppings (there aren't many) dry up very quickly and can just be wiped away.

Because birds like to perch high, you can have some high perching places in the room. You won't see up there to notice droppings.

[lem2bert]

CaliKiwi

Your Canary looks happy and well cared for so the only thing I would change as already mentioned are the position of the perches and if he is not using the swing take it out so he has more flight room . I am including a picture of my Canaries cage which is only about an inch and a half wider than your and he is very happy in his cage , but I do not take it outside to clean so I can see how your canaries cage works for you !!!

[lovezebs]

CaliKiwi

Gelato, is a beautiful bird.

If you want a bigger cage that is easy to take out doors, there are several models that are on wheels, and fairly easy to roll outside, then back inside.

https://goo.gl/images/YlWf6m

https://goo.gl/images/XeMeFD

https://goo.gl/images/vASiyo

https://goo.gl/images/jJ19Tf

https://goo.gl/images/qvVCQI

From plain to fancy, there are quite a few options out there

[CaliKiwi]

Thanks everyone for you helpful advice! I will take a look at each of the cages you guys suggested.

@lem2bert That's a really nice cage. Do you happen to know which model it is?

[lem2bert]

CaliKiwi
Thank-you,
I purchased that cage on Amazon about 6 months ago. They still have it for $114.88 with free shipping. It is Mcage pet product wrought iron flight cage. The color is White vein but it has a grayish tint to it. It comes with a stand so if you do not have many stairs to go down you could roll stand and cage outside to clean. Hope this helps you !!

[lem2bert]

lovezebs

Those are some pretty nice cages !!! I especially love the gazebo shaped one. That would be perfect to bring birds outside on a nice day and not have to worry about wild birds pooping in their cage !!!

Nothing wrong with dreaming !!!

[Sojourner]

Wow, the door on that McCage is ginormous!

https://www.amazon.com/Products-Wrought ... 901S2?th=1

OR

https://www.amazon.com/Wrought-Parakeet ... SJ5NWJSEF8

Same cage, different sellers. About the same price altogether.

My guys are not escape prone, but that door is so big I'd be afraid one might fly out totally by accident, LOL!

The Prevue F040 is on sale on Amazon currently for $100.

https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products- ... EYX5755K3P

It's 31" x 20" x 42" not counting the stand (53" including the stand)

It has 2 doors in front, one in the top half and one on the bottom half. The doors are plenty big enough. There are also doors on both ends of the cage, 3 on each side. Two in the top half and one in the bottom half on each side. Plenty of access.

I have trouble reaching to the back of the "cockatiel" cage they make because it has just the one front door, so I REALLY appreciate extra doors.

I would replace any dowel type "perches" with natural wood perches. Grapevine is really good because it is naturally variable in diameter, which is better for your bird's feet.

[lem2bert]

Sojourner

yes it is !!! But if you look closely there are four smaller doors that lift up in the front and one smaller one on each side !!

[Sojourner]

lem2bert

Those are feed cup access ports. Not really big enough to do anything useful if you're trying to catch birds or the like. There are some of those on the Prevue cages as well. I don't count them.

I can't see the ones on the side - the pics on Amazon are not that great. But naturally I will take your word for it that they're there.

[isobea]

CaliKiwi - You asked about canaries in aviaries. I have bred canaries in my 16 foot long aviary before without any problems with other bird species (European goldfinches, siskins, gouldians). Nowadays I just have a single male with gouldians, lavenders, shaft tails, a blue cap, a grey singer and a fire finch. Again, no problems. They sure stay active and healthy with that much space. The last one before the guy I have now lived for over 13 years!
I do like your set up but would also replace the perches with natural branches and take out toys he doesn't use. Love the fact that you take him outside every day, some sunshine is so beneficial. As far as cages go, I would always prefer length over height (which might get put to better use by hook bills). Canaries and finches need to have room to fly.
Iso

[lem2bert]

CaliKiwi

How is everything going with Gelato ? Have you decided it you are going to go with another cage, an outdoor aviary or keep him in his cage that he seems happy in ? I find making a comfortable home for my birds the fun part !! And Gelatos' cage looks fine to me. Good luck with whatever decision you come up with.