Making HQ Single Flight Better

[Sally]

Making HQ Single Flight Better
I have made a few changes to my HQ single flights to make them work better for me. Some ideas I have gotten from other forum members, some are my own, but I thought it might help to have them gathered in one place. Some of them will be useful to others, some not. This information will be useless to members from countries other than the U.S. and Canada, as I don’t believe these HQ cages are available elsewhere.
First off, I do not like to use the grates in cages to keep birds off the floor, or bottom tray. Many finches like to spend a lot of time on the ground, and I don’t feel the grates are comfortable for their feet (just a personal thought). I take the grate out, then slide the tray in the slots meant for the grate, and then slide the grate underneath the tray, on the bottom slots. It will be a tight fit for the tray, you may have to work it in. Sometimes, the tray will bow up in the corners—just reach in the lower door and push the corners back down. When you pull the tray out to clean it, you will have a huge gap in front—you can slide the grate back in its proper place while cleaning. I just leave the gap while I’m working, I’ve never had a bird try to get out that gap, as they usually stay at the top of the cage during cleaning.
(Photo of front of cage as normal, photo with grate and tray reversed, photo of slots, photo of gap)