Part
IV: Cages and Cagewire
by Doug Bedwell
Cage sizes and
styles are often as different as the people who
make or buy them. There is no consensus on the
"right" size cage for breeding
lovebirds. The principle that "Larger is
Better," probably holds true, but there is
enormous disagreement on how large is large
enough. As I've mentioned elsewhere, my
experience is with indoor aviaries in the
American Midwest. Obviously an outdoor aviary can
accomodate larger cages, and in most situations
the available space will place some limits on
cage size and design. See the article on The
Aviary for
more on this topic.
 I do not colony breed my birds. I
set up my caging so that every breeding pair has
its own separate cage. There are many advantages
to this system. For one, there is no question as
the the parentage of chicks that are produced.
This is important for several reasons. When I am
working with color mutations, it is easier to
keep track of which chicks carry which recessive
mutations. Also, when I am breeding successive
generations, I am able to avoid uneccessary
inbreeding. Another advantage of the one pair per
cage system is that it reduces the potential for
violence in the aviary. Tempestuous birds
can’t get into fights withl each other if
they are in separate cages.
A disadvantage of
the one pair per cage system is that it takes
more room, more cages, and requires more
maintenance time than a colony situation. Still,
I feel that the advantages of a one pair per cage
system greatly outweigh these inconveniences.
My breeder cages
measure 30" long x 14" high x 14 inches
deep. I have two six inch square doors on the
front. A water dish hangs on the inside of one
door, a seed cup on the other. Having the cups on
the doors provides two advantages. First, it
makes maintenance simpler, since I rarely have to
actually reach into the cage. Secondly, by
hanging the dishes so that they are closed in the
door, I can make it (nearly) impossible for a
feisty bird to pull them down and dump out the
contents.
Now, I’m
certain some of you are thinking "30 inches
long? That’s TINY!" While others of you
are probably thinking "30 inches long?
That’s HUGE!" All I can say is that
this size cage has been successful for me. I know
breeders who keep their birds outdoors in cages 6
feet long, I know others that use breeding cages
less than half the size of mine. I like a
30" cage because it is a manageable size for
an indoor aviary, but still provides room for the
birds to actually FLY from one end to the other.
Certainly the birds have several perches and toys
to climb on and around, but lovebirds are
excellent flyers, and having enough space to fly
is, I feel, beneficial to their health in both
the short and the long term.
If you plan to
make your own cages, it is important that you get
suitable wire. I make my cages from
1"x1/2" steel wire mesh. Some books
will tell you that 1"x1" wire mesh is
"ideal" for lovebirds. Do not believe
them. A lovebird can get its head through a
1" square hole, though it cannot get its
body through one. In that sort of situation if a
bird becomes startled and tries to get away
quickly it can very easily break its own neck in
the wire. Birds can also get themselves lodged in
the wire, or bruise themselves struggling to get
out through an opening that is just slightly too
small. It is very easy for a lovebird to
seriously injure or kill itself on cagewire that
is too widely spaced.
Another
underpublicized danger to many birds is the zinc
coating used to galvanize most wire mesh. Most
wire mesh is galvanized by "dipping"
the steel mesh into molten zinc. This process is
called "galvanized after welding"
because the wire is welded into a mesh first,
then galvanized. This creates a thin coat of zinc
over the entire mesh, seams and all. This sort of
wire poses a threat to birds, because the zinc
coating can crack and flake off of the steel
wire, and be ingested by the birds. It is very
possible for a bird that chews on its cage wire
to ingest a lethal dose of zinc in a very short
time.
The type of wire
to use for building breeding cages is what is
called "galvanized before welded" wire
mesh. In this type of wire, the individual steel
wires are electroplated with zinc before they are
welded together. This leaves a microscopically
thin layer of protective zinc on the wire. This
layer is actually bonded to the steel, and will
not flake off like dip galvanizing, and does not
pose a threat to birds.
If you are
purchasing wire for birds, inspect the type of
wire you are buying. If you can see where the
seams in the mesh were welded, it’s
galvanized before welded wire. If you can’t
see the seams or the welds, you are dealing with
dip galvanized wire, and it is probably better
avoided.
If you really want
to minimize the time you have to spend with your
daily cleaning and feeding routine, and price is
not an object, then purchasing cages is probably
the way to go. Most of the cages sold in pet
stores are alright for birds in a pet situation,
but really aren’t ideal for breeding.
Breeder cages are available in a variety of
sizes, can be stacked and secured together into
large racks and will typically be expandable, so
that you can connect two or more small cages
together to make a larger cage. Also, unlike most
pet cages, they will be designed to accomodate a
nestbox.
Good quality
breeder cages are available by mail order from a
number of different aviary suppliers. Many of the
vendors advertise through the major bird
magazines. Price, size, and quality vary widely,
so take some time to shop around. I would
recommend that you try for cages that are at
least 24" long and 12" square, and
larger than that if at all possible. Although
cages become more expensive as they get larger,
you will be rewarded with stronger and happier
birds.
In addition to
your breeding cages, you will want to have some
larger "flight cages" to house groups
of birds that are not in breeding situations. I
will typically house juveniles together, because
juveniles tend to get along better than adult
birds. I do know breeders that segregate their
flights by gender, which may reduce the potential
for conflict as well. I do not sex all of my
birds, and will usually put a group in a flight
together and let their behavior tell me which are
hens and which are cocks. In either event, a
larger flight will give your non-breeding birds a
larger flight space, and an opportunity for more
social interaction than in a breeder cage. I have
several flight cages in a range of sizes, but
30"x30"x24" is probably about the
average size. Again, some breeders will have much
larger cages than this, others will have smaller,
and others will have no flight cages at all. I
have found that flight cages are a convenient way
to house and care for a larger number of birds,
especially juveniles.
“So take your time when shopping for a bird cage. Shop around your local pet store or search for bird cages online.”
TOPICS:
Do
I Really Want To Do This?
The
Rules
Cages
& Cagewire
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