gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 24, 2011 13:19:02 GMT 10
Hi All I am looking at a new cage for the two teils, current one is too small for my liking - this one appeals and can fit where we need it too (inside), but it worries me with the cats in the house being so low to ground, and weather it is safe for teils. www.gtmall.com.au/corner-bird-cage.htmlSome people do not like the corner cages, and if I got this one I intend to remove the bottom gratings to allow for foraging on the floor of the cage. Both positive and negative comments please. thanks in advance gypsy |
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Post by flossy on Apr 24, 2011 14:37:19 GMT 10
Hi Gypsy I think that's an awesome looking cage, and I think your teils will be very happy in there!! I had a corner cage once but it was a lot shorter than this one and the only issue I had with it was that when I wanted to move it somewhere else, I had issues fitting it. That was only due to mine having a round front - whereas this one has "square" walls....if that makes sense?  and could be put against various "walls" for a change etc.... Mine was great but just too restrictive for placement.... This one has my eye in fact!! I like it.......must have a look at their other cages, haven't bought anything from GT Mall in a while. They might even have an outdoor cage I could use for my lizards too.......Thanks Gypsy...lol! Hope you are having a lovely Easter day......  Oh and my cats never bothered my birds in my cage....and in fact, don't bother any of my birds - but I guess only you know your animals....? Floss xx |
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Post by avinet on Apr 24, 2011 14:42:20 GMT 10
Corner cages are fine - some are rounded (quarter circle) and can be a problem with perches, but this one you have seen is basically square so that won't be a problem. Wire spacing at 1 cm is good for tiels, and is going to be too narrow for the cats to cause problems with reaching into the cage after the birds. However the vertical height means there is a lot of wasted space - cockatiels will tend to stay in the upper half, and especially if there are cats watching from the outside if they descend too low. Some cages also leave too large a gap if you remove the grill and birds can escape, although as far as can be seen this cage will be OK for that - but watch out if you look at other cages.
And it is a good price, although GT Mall cages have a variable reputation, some have been fine but others have issues with rust - even when new, and they don't seem particularly receptive to follow up service.
cheers,
Mike
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 24, 2011 19:03:57 GMT 10
Thank you both Flossy and Mike All 3 of the cats steer clear of Wally (perhaps wild Galah's have taught them well) but the teils being 'sparrow' size are tempting especially to the youngest cat. I did think 1cm spacing would be fine at stopping a stray paw trying to be mean - thanks Mike for reasurring me The two female cats are only inside when I am home and they are by far the most worry, the male cat is just too lazy to hunt LOL I am sure it won't take long for the cats to figure out its a no go area. (the ringnecks outside don't get bothered by the cats, in fact the girls sit out in front of the cage for hours, catching way-ward mice that run out the wrong side in the mesh! and the birds just sit there watching the cats almost helping chase the mice out LOL) I have noticed the 'gap' with Wally's cage at the bottom where the grill was, and that is why I am being extra careful with choosing the teils cage, and I looked at so many yesterday  It is a very tall cage, and I did wonder if they would 'use' all the space  maybe I will have to be 'creative' with the bottom half  Wally's cage came from GT Mall, and we love it, but like with everything sometimes there are lemons so will give it a little more thought before bringing out the 'plastic' thanks again gypsy |
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Post by avinet on Apr 24, 2011 21:41:26 GMT 10
Whenever we have got new cats into the house (we have three at present) I've found a water spray bottle, or water pistol, is very effective at curing them of their desire to take too close an interest in the cages and birds. With cats, negative reinforcement is much more effective that positive reinforcement cheers, Mike |
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Post by twr on Apr 25, 2011 0:34:44 GMT 10
I haven't had tiels, so I don't know how it is with them. Both my cages are tall (taller than me). The lorikeets use it all. They are on the cage bottom just as often as they are climbing the roof. Heck, they roll around on the bottom grate
Tinga, on the other hand, does not go below my waist height. The bottom half is completely wasted space for him. He is an excellent player with toys, but it doesn't matter what I put there, he will not venture down low.
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 25, 2011 10:07:32 GMT 10
Whenever we have got new cats into the house (we have three at present) I've found a water spray bottle, or water pistol, is very effective at curing them of their desire to take too close an interest in the cages and birds. Well, that will be no problem - 2 boys in house given permission to fire a water pistol at a cat near the birds - happiness all around ;D (except for the cats lol) |
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Post by Robyn on Apr 25, 2011 17:50:13 GMT 10
Gypsy for what it's worth i have 3 teils in a huge cage. About 6 foot tall right to the ground on rollers & not 1 of those birds venture to the floor of the cage unless they get a fright & flop down there. However when they are placed in a cage that has longer legs they feel much safer & will climb down to the floor.
Very nice cage though.
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 25, 2011 19:40:09 GMT 10
Thanks Robyn, I understand what you are saying. I think perhaps we will keep looking, for a large cage that we can have up 'higher' saw lots on stands the other day, and Mike and you have both said the same thing about them staying up 'the top', and it would have meant a major re-arrange to get the cage in the spot! No point in having a huge area that they don't use thanks |
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Post by avinet on Apr 25, 2011 22:04:51 GMT 10
I use the HQ 13221 cage for my cockatiels, you can see it at valleyproduce.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=268 but they don't shop and are just north of Melbourne. A bit far from the Mallee unfortunately but that is a very good price for a good quality cage. We used to sell them in our shop for $245 and our purchase price was around $130. There is a lot to be said for a cage like this for cockatiels, it is a great size for 2, a rectangular "plain" cage is easy to set up, you can put some sort of home-made play stand on top, it is off the ground and a cat can't climb up but would have to jump. It has a grill on the bottom which can be removed to leave the tray there - which is what I do, or just put newspaper on top of the grill. The only disadvantage of this type of cage is that seed etc can tend to spill out easily - it doesn't come with a seed-catching skirt, but I stopped worrying about mess with birds a long time ago. Similar cages are the Avi-One 604 cage - but I noticed that the web price was a bit high at around $250+ when we sold them at $245 in the shop when the dollar was appreciably lower than it is now - someone is increasing their mark-up there. Also a company called Bono Fido make a similar cage and they are usually cheaper - www.bonofido.com/s.nl/it.A/id.172/.f If you contact them ( www.bonofido.com/s.nl/sc.10/.f for contact details) they would be able to give you the name of a store near to you, or a web site that ships. We have 6 elderly cockatiels in one of the 13221's as well as a Plum-head, and they get along OK - mind you the youngest of them is the Plum-head and she is around 12 years old, the oldest tiel is 20 this year, so they are not as active as they used to be. I used to keep my pair of African Greys in one of the 13221 cages, and the photo will give you an idea of the cage size, with cockatiels in the one in the corner. The Greys used that cage for a couple of year, until I went into hospital for 3 weeks - I was worried Ernie would start plucking, but he decided to methodically destroy the cage instead - broke off many of the bars and we had to get a stronger (and larger) cage for them. cheers, Mike 13221 cages  The damage Ernie did  |
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 25, 2011 23:26:22 GMT 10
Thanks Mike These cages look perfect! - Your pictures show them a lot better than the site LOL and Wallan is on our way to Melbourne Hubby gets to Melbourne a lot with work The teils are currently in a cage not a lot narrower/deeper but about 1/2 the height of these ones, it was fine for Squark he could have a big stretch and never touch toys/sides also I could lift him off the shelf and out side to hang under the patio on nice days, but it seems too small for two in it. Also Squark on his own didn't seem to make it 'wobble' so much lol I am also used to the mess, as he would fling out seed husks all over the floor when I hadn't changed his seed by lunchtime LOL WOW didn't Ernie make a mess of the cage! If he could do that to a cage, ouch if he took a dislike to your fingers! After my earlier post I went hunting on ebay and found this cage cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250808075313&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:ITnot very good images, but I have emailed to get bar spacing sizes - not sure now tho I do like your cages! Decisions, decisions lol Squark is a bit 'special', he has toes missing (from an encounter with the ringnecks  ) we have had him nearly 7 years and do fuss over him, thats why we decided to get him a birdy friend - although it happened a lot sooner than planned - as he seemed a little 'put out' after Wally's arrival. thanks again Sally |
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Post by avinet on Apr 26, 2011 10:11:25 GMT 10
The cage you saw on Ebay is quite a bit smaller than the 13221 - they give dimensions of 70 x 56 cm which will be the overall dimensions including the skirt. The cage itself will be around 58 x 45 cm. The 13221 is 86 x 52 cm. Also the cage shown on Ebay seems to have been assembled wrongly since it appears the seed skirt is diverting the scattered seed down onto the floor rather than into the tray. I suspect the skirt should be installed high on the cage.
Finally a dome top does not allow you to put a nice play gym on the top of the cage - all they have is a single perch when you open up the top of the cage with little opportunity to do anything more interesting.
When we had our shop we sold a lot of cages until Ebay took over, and we always promoted practicality and what was best for the birds over how attractive the cage would look to the humans. We just have to look at it - the birds have to live in it!
cheers,
Mike
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Post by twr on Apr 26, 2011 14:05:47 GMT 10
I much prefer the cages that Mike linked over the eBay one. IMO, width is so much more important to the bird than height. The wider the cage the better. I don't use the seed skirts, they make the cage take up more space & are perfect for gouging my shins (ouch). I prefer separate play stands over a play stand on top, unless it doesn't take the whole cage roof. Just a personal preference though, as I know lots of people & their birds love them My reason is that it can make the cage underneath darker than I like, but they do save on floor space if that is an issue. |
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 27, 2011 9:51:35 GMT 10
Well I am a bad birdy Mum, Squark does not come out of his cage - he did when we first got him, but excitable kids scared him, I can leave his door open all day and he never ventures out, that is why I was looking for a bigger cage - he just hates the kids, pretends to attack them if they do his feed/water lol. My first teil (over 20 years ago) Bubby only went into her cage to eat and sometimes sleep, she went everywhere with me. But then I had no cats or kids then only her. She used to lay eggs in tissue boxes! try all sorts of foods, loved showers with me, cuddles under my shirt and going for car rides! It could be awhile before I get to Melbourne, but I am working on it Edit to add: - www.bonofido.com/s.nl/it.A/id.258/.f is the cage that is currently home to the teils (please don't growl I know it is too small that is why I am looking for a bigger one) |
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Post by avinet on Apr 27, 2011 10:49:00 GMT 10
Nothing wrong with the 60cm flight cages - apart from the mess! I've used them for near 20 years for various birds - they are our standard cage for baby birds moving from the brooder to a cage. And we have kept adult cockatiels in them as well. OK in size for a single bird, passable for a pair, but bigger is better.
Some cockatiels are happiest to stay in their cage for a variety of reasons. Our Gwenny, that I wrote about a few days ago, is now almost 20 (in September) and she rarely leaves the cage these days. And another 17 year old cockatiel - Birdy - also rarely want to leave it. If they are happy to stay in their cage even when the door is open, then that's their choice and that's fine by me.
cheers,
Mike
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Post by twr on Apr 27, 2011 12:08:31 GMT 10
Well I am a bad birdy Mum, Squark does not come out of his cage - he did when we first got him, but excitable kids scared him, I can leave his door open all day and he never ventures out, that is why I was looking for a bigger cage - he just hates the kids, pretends to attack them if they do his feed/water lol. My first teil (over 20 years ago) Bubby only went into her cage to eat and sometimes sleep, she went everywhere with me. But then I had no cats or kids then only her. She used to lay eggs in tissue boxes! try all sorts of foods, loved showers with me, cuddles under my shirt and going for car rides! It could be awhile before I get to Melbourne, but I am working on it Edit to add: - www.bonofido.com/s.nl/it.A/id.258/.f is the cage that is currently home to the teils (please don't growl I know it is too small that is why I am looking for a bigger one) Id say take your time until you find the right cage and if that means waiting until you get to Melbourne, then do that, rather than rushing in & buying another one that is not that much bigger. Your tiels sound a bit like Tinga, only his problem was the lorikeets not kids (as my kids are moved out, aged 31 and 23). Maybe when your kids get older, they will come out - but its up to them. Just keep opening the cage door every day and then, like Mike says, it's their choice if they stay in. I opened Tinga's door every day since November. I wanted him to come out, but I never pushed it. He still spends more time in it, than out of it, but that's how he wants it to be be, at least for now. |
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gypsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 169
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Post by gypsy on Apr 28, 2011 8:08:06 GMT 10
Going to keep looking - spent a few hours on the net yesterday and its amazing at what you can get sidetracked with lol Found the 'bigger' version of the teils cage (same brand), available online, so if a retail store visit isnt going to be in the works soon, online buying will have to do Did find a yummy looking "fruit and nut mix" for the parrots tho at one online store ummmm lol thanks for the advice and opinions, I now know what to look for gypsy |
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and could be put against various "walls" for a change etc....
maybe I will have to be 'creative' with the bottom half 
) we have had him nearly 7 years and do fuss over him, thats why we decided to get him a birdy friend - although it happened a lot sooner than planned - as he seemed a little 'put out' after Wally's arrival.