|
|
|
||||||||
Cages
Probably the most important choice you will have to make besides which type of bird tobuy is what kind of cage to house your bird in. My one word of advise here is there is no
such thing as too big. Buy the largest cage you can afford to get. Hopefully you intend
on your cage as being the place where your bird merle sleeps and eats, and not a prison
where your bird stays for most of it's life. All too often after a nasty bite, or some similar
occurrence, the owner becomes fearful of the bird and never again handles the bird or
allows it out of the cage.
Aviary or cage?
An aviary, (also called a flight) means just that. It is big enough to allow for flight withinthe cage. The other part of the aviary is the bird house which is an enclosed area for the
bird to nest in. If your bird is to always be caged, this is what you need. If you live in a
warm climate it can be kept outside. Otherwise you should select a spot indoors or face
the possible fire hazard of heating during cold weather. Another thing to consider about
an outside aviary is that some bird eating mammals are adept at getting into enclosures of
this type.
For the indoor cage, minimum requirements are that your bird be able to spread it's wings
fully and still have 1" remaining between the wing tips and the cage. It should be high
enough that you can have an upper, and lower perch. From the top perch the bird should
be able to stand and have 2" between the head and the roof of the cage. From the bottom
perch, the birds tail should be at least 3" from the floor of the cage. The locking
mechanism should be very secure. Amazons are VERY intelligent and after watching you
open the cage a few times the bird will more than likely know how to free himself from a
cage with a poor locking design. Claims of amazons having enough biting power to
remove fingers and such are exaggerated, however, They do have powerful beaks and the
cage should be constructed strong enough so than the bird cannot move the bars with a
bite. Bars should also be spaced so it cannot get it's head between the bars. Seed and
water cups should be constructed of material that is easy to clean and chew resistant. Like
the cage lock, the cups should be secured well or you will find them laying inside, or
worse, (outside) the cage! Things that are nice to have as features for your cage include:
removable tray in the bottom for easy cleaning, a perching area on the roof of the cage
with it's own dropping and seed catcher, and feed cups for the top of cage perching area.
Some cages feature door openings which double as an outside perch. From experience I
would caution against this. If the bird is (hopefully) allowed to spend much of his day
outside the cage, perching on the outside door can result in a real mess in seed hulls and
droppings falling to your floor.
Cage placement
The cage without exception should be placed in whatever room the family spends the mosttime in. Again, Amazons are social birds and will need to be in view of family activities.
Amazons are hardy birds and capable of withstanding cool temperatures but cannot cope
with drastic temperature fluctuations. Sunlight is good for birds coloration and overall
health, so as long as a window is not too drafty it is good to place a cage where an
Amazon can get some sun, and see what is going on outside. Caution should be used
though as a bird can become overheated by too much exposure to direct sunlight, so make
sure your bird has retreat away from direct window sun. The cage should be situated
reasonably high off the floor but not so high that while on the top perch it is above your
eye level. An Amazon will assume a position of dominance if allowed to be above your
eye level, and can hamper training attempts. Also, If a cage can be placed near a wall, it
adds to the feeling of security for your bird. Be aware that anything within your birds
reach i.e., Pictures, drapery or blind cords, etc.., Are subject to chewing or destruction in
short order. It is also a very good idea to have a separate mobile perch. These are not
very expensive, but allow you to have your bird with you in whatever room you are
spending time in. For example: You watch TV in your family room, but, your computer
is in your bedroom. Simply place one of these perches in your bedroom for when you are
there. These perches should have seed and water cups, as well as a tray to capture bird
droppings and seed hulls. It is a bonus to have one on wheels so that you can move it
about freely.
