Lining your cages

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:04 pm

They are both products tha are sold at petsmert or pet supermarket; just ask a sales assosciate...most of the paper-based bedding products are located with the gerbil/hamster/rodent bedding

Ravenlock · Post by **Ravenlock** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:48 pm

Hi! I'm new to the board, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I have 3 flights and a parrot cage. The flights are all lined with aspen shavings, the parrot with newspaper. It's what I use for my pocket pets, and my avian vet recommends it. It's what they use in the aviary in the office.

My birds love it. They scritch through it all the time looking for seeds and such. My male cordon bleu uses the long thin pieces to "dance" with as well. I change it every 3 days and I've never had a problem. It looks very nice and natural in the cage too. I even have a few river rocks in the bottom to add to the "realism"

I buy it in a huge bale for $13.99 at Petsmart. The bale lasts me about 5 weeks. Considering I use it for my pocket pets as well, that's not bad!

A bit about my critters and I:

2 cats: Sarah Jane and Tammy
1 dog: Winston
2 guinea pigs: Maddie and Jasper
2 gerbils: Flick and Shea
2 dwarf hamsters: Sasha and Meesha
1 mouse: Tutter
8 aquariums

Birds:

1 Green cheek conure: Zoe
1 female red-facter canary: Emily
1 male red-facter canary: Dante
2 male florida fancy zebs: Orsino and Prospero
1 male owl finch: Romeo
1 male society: Olivia(ha ha)
1 male cordon bleu: Naploleon
Male and female diamond doves: Debit and Credit

The doves are with my female canary in a flight. My finches are all together in the "bachelor pad". The male canary is by himself in a flight and the Green cheek is my daughter so she goes where I go!

All my birds are allowed liberty for a number of hours in the evening when I am home to watch over them. All the birds are kept in my bedroom and it is bird safe. Well small bird safe anyway...Zoe has a habit of getting into trouble...

It took me 10 months to train the birds to return to the proper cages, but it was worth it. They love coming out and free flying! Now all I have to do is flick the lights and they all return to the proper cages. More or less...

zookeeper · Post by **zookeeper** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:20 pm

So, when are you coming to MY house to train my birds to return to their cages?

Ravenlock · Post by **Ravenlock** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:10 pm

Lol! It only took about 2 weeks to teach the canaries and the doves to return, but the finches took a loooong time to train.

It was quite easy to train them, just took awhile for them to get into the habit. When they returned to the cage on their own, I flicked the lights immediately. After awhile they began to associate the lights with returning to the cage. That took about 2 months of daily "training". The major obstacle was trying to convince them that I'm not the great finch killer, and that my movement was not a threat. For the most part, they could care less about me now. Unless I have the bird net...

The trick was getting them into the right cage. For that I trained each cage at seperate times of the day. That way the only open cage door was their own. Once they were used to that I let them all out at the same time, and they just naturally returned "home".

They do get confused sometimes, but as all the cages are decorated differently they figure it out pretty quickly. If they don't then the proper residents of the cage usually give them a bit o' chasing and they get out quick.

My little society is the only bird who never comes out. She is a terrible flyer. Her previous owner clipped her(don't ask) and she has never been the same. She sorta hop flies. She gets around well in the cage, but outside of it she would be groundbound.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:24 pm

That is very neat, Ravenlock. Do you suppose I could post what you've written as a guest article on my site?

Ravenlock · Post by **Ravenlock** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:47 pm

Certainly Crystal.

My original bird was Emily the canary. I started letting her out because her cage was only 24" at the time, and I read that they could be trained easliy to return to the cage. It took me 2 weeks to train her. Canaries are quite intelligent.
The doves were the easiest as they have a natural homing instinct that kicks in at night. They only took a week.
Then I started thinking "why not try the finches?" It went from there. The most important thing is, the birds have to think of the cage as a safe haven. So I waited until they had been in their cages for at least a month before I started training. That way they are used to the sights and sounds of the room they are in and their cage is "home".

I think it really depends on the personality of the finch itself as to wether it would be a good candidate for free flight. If the finch is timid and panicky, it may panic outside the cage and injure itself. My finches all have a "go get em'" attitude. Especially my cordon bleu. He sees me coming and he's ready at that cage door!

It's also a great way to let them REALLY get some exercise. My bachelor cage is smaller then I would like it to be for 6 birds, so this is a nice way for them to get out and stretch a little.

You do have to be very careful and keep a close eye on them. No toxic plants, blinds closed, no open water, no larger birds that could harm them, carefully opening doors...etc.

It really is a wonderful thing to be sitting on your bed watching t.v and have a lovely little visitor come and land beside you! If your really lucky they even land on your head and pull your hair!!

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:22 pm

Do you want me to give credit to "Ravenlock" or do you have a different moniker you'd prefer?

Carmen · Post by **Carmen** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:24 am

I use beech scraps, which I'm very happy with. It doesn't smell, absorbs very good and it looks really nice. My birds are more often found on the ground than when I used newspaper.
It's also nice that dropped seeds and other litter falls between it. When the birds fly it won't flutter.
The only disadvantage is that it's more work to clean it.

Ravenlock · Post by **Ravenlock** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:18 pm

What ever you would like Crystal. Makes no difference to me.

Carmen are beech scraps like beech shavings?

Carmen · Post by **Carmen** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 6:37 am

No Ravenlock, what I mean are real chips, pieces of beech (sorry if I'm not very clear, my English isn't that well)

Here is a pic I found on the net.

In the Netherlands we use this, or shell sand (a sort of white beach sand)

zookeeper · Post by **zookeeper** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:27 pm

Wow, I've never seen a product like that around here. If I saw some, I'd try it.

Ravenlock · Post by **Ravenlock** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:38 pm

Ah. I see said the blind man...

I've seen chips like that at gardening centers. I never thought of using them in a cage...Good idea! I'm not sure if the ones around here are treated with any pesticides or fertilizers though...
I like the aspen shavings because they aren't actually "shavings" they are shredded. It has a similar look to your chips, only they are strips rather then chips. Hey that rhymed.

Tallabred · Post by **Tallabred** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:02 pm

I use the pine pellets in a cage next to my desk. I like them because when the birds fly the pellets hold the dropped seeds. It is easy to clean up soiled areas because the pellets expand when wet but stay "dry" - no molding.

I raise Thoroughbreds and use it in all of my stalls even for foaling. It is very economical when you purchase the equine size. Tractor Supply carries Equine Pine which is 40 lbs for $5.68. Or you can buy 7 lbs of Feline Pine for $4.99! Same company/same product - different bag! I have also used it on the floor in my chicken coop.

Marianne · Post by **Marianne** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 12:08 am

Jeannette,
I'm not sure what kind of cage you have but my double flight cage has two slide-out plastic trays underneath the bars of the floor. I have used newspaper, and most recently, waxed paper. This works great for me. Of course it might not be very economical if you have a huge cage or an aviary.

Something else to think about (particularly if you have a large cage): You can go to your local newspaper and ask them for the "end rolls" of unprinted newsprint. They are only a couple of bucks and have many yards of paper left on them (but not enough for them to use in the machines for printing). I'd imagine they'd last a long time.

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Lining your cages

Pine Pellets