Parrot cage setup [5 things to keep in mind]

In this article, I’m going to be showing you how to set up a parrot cage or how I like to set up my bird’s cage. This parrot cage setup is super easy and I’ll go over some basic necessities you’ll need in your bird’s cage, like stainless steel food bowls and natural wood perches.

5 Important things to consider to setup a parrot cage

1. Perches

So starting with Perches, I kind of just place the Perches throughout the cage and I move it around until I like where it is and I usually like to have perches next to my bird’s food bowl so that they can perch and eat.

My general rule of thumb is making sure that there is enough space for my birds to fly between perches in that they’re not crossing in any way. So when they poop it will just fall straight down and there’s less likelihood of it hitting a perch.

When you get a new cage it almost always will come with dowel perches. You don’t want to use those because dowel perches are uniform in shape and they won’t provide enough exercise for your bird’s feet, and over time birds could also develop pressure sores on their feet and arthritis from dowel perches.

So you want to provide a variety of natural wood perches in your bird’s cage to allow their feet to get some exercise and to kind of mimic the different types of perches or trees they would come across in the wild.

We could also provide one flat perch in their cages. There are different kinds of flat perches out there and the flat perches will just allow your birds to rest their feet so that they’re not always holding on to something.

Also when you’re picking out perches make sure it’s not splitting. These are dangerous because your bird’s nails or toes could get stuck in them and then your bird could seriously injure themselves especially if you’re not home to help them, and for that reason, I won’t be including these perches in my bird’s cages.

You also want to check your bird’s Perches regularly for any splits or damage so that you could replace them with new perches.

You could also include cotton or natural fiber rope perch in your bird’s cage as those are much softer and gentler on your bird’s feet.

A cotton rope could also be dangerous if your birds are big chewers and they like chewing on cotton. Your birds could either accidentally get caught in a loose thread and can’t chew themselves out or they could suffer from drop impaction if they are ingesting the cotton rope fibers over time.

I did have cotton rope perches in my bird’s cages and my birds never really chewed on them but I recently removed them because I find it harder to clean and a lot of dust just gets stuck in the fibers so I just took those out.

2. Toys for a parrot cage setup

Moving on to toys, I like placing the toys near the Perches so my birds can reach and play with the toys. I also place it on the sides of the cages as well and birds naturally like to perch in higher spaces. So I placed some newer toys and some of their favorite toys near the bottom of the cage.

So hopefully my birds will be curious enough to go explore and play with them at the bottom of the cage. Your birds are going to need different types of toys to play with for mental stimulation. Especially if they’re going to be in their cages for an extended amount of time.

I like including lots of toys with mostly natural materials that they can chew through and tear apart and you want to have extra toys lying around so that you can rotate toys frequently.

Birds can get tired and bored of the same toy. So try switching it up often for your birds like maybe once a week so that they can have something new every once in a while.

I also like to have one foraging toy in my bird’s cages so that they can have the chance to forage. You can also stick treats inside of toys as well or make your own toys so it can encourage your birds to look for their food and also tear toys apart.

Another toy that I like to include in my bird’s cages is foot toys so that they can get something else to grab onto and exercise their feet with.

3. Food bowls

Moving on to food bowls you want to use stainless steel food bowls in your bird’s cages because plastic bowls are harder to clean and can harbor a lot of bacteria.

You can include three bowls in your bird’s cage. One for water, one for pellets, and another one for the chop. But I like feeding my birds chop outside of their cages. My birds eat their chop with me whenever I’m eating because eating together is a wonderful bonding activity.

I also try not to place any toys or perches over the top of their food bowls so that they don’t drop any toy pieces or poop into their food bowls.

If your bird’s cage has guillotine-style doors where it lifts up and it’s designed for placing plastic food bowls, these are kind of dangerous because your birds could learn to lift these up and escape especially if you aren’t home.

When your birds are lifting these doors up their heads could get stuck in between the door and the cage so that could hurt a lot and it could be dangerous for them.

So what I like to do is instead of using clips to keep these shut, I just take my stainless steel bowls and attach them to the door so that they can’t get out, because it’ll be too heavy to lift when the bowls are filled up.

4. Tray liners

For the bottom of your bird’s cage or the tray in your cage, you want to use paper to cast your bird’s poop. If you’re using paper that has pictures on it especially colored pictures try to use the side with less color or more white space so that you can easily monitor your bird’s poop for any changes.

As you may know, changes in bird poop are one of the first things you’ll notice if your bird is sick.

5. Additional accessories for a parrot cage setup

There are additional accessories that you can include for a parrot cage setup, like ladders for climbing and also cuddle bones or calcium perches for your birds to chew and rub their beaks on. So you can include those if you’d like.

I’m planning on upgrading my bird’s cages in the future and getting bigger ones when I start working at the office again so that they can get more exercise flying around in the cages like they normally do when they’re outside of their cages.

It’ll also give me a lot more space to put some more fun toys in there. So when you are getting a cage for your bird for the first time, try to get the biggest cage that you can for your birds especially if you have to go out often for work and so that your birds can get lots of exercise flying in their cage.

There are so many different ways for a parrot cage setup. So hopefully this gave you some inspiration. Thank you guys so much for reading.

FAQs on parrot cage setup

How long does it take for a parrot to get used to a new cage?

Place the new cage next to the old one for 5 to 10 days rather than forcing your parrot into it right away. They can do this to become accustomed to it without actually going there.

What is best to put in the bottom of a parrot cage?

Disposable material that can be thrown away each day, like newspaper or paper towels, should be used to line the bottom of the cage. Even if birds nibble on newsprint, which is now lead-free, they won’t be harmed.

Where is the best place to put a parrot cage?

Birds require at least one side of their cage to be against a wall because it gives them a sense of security. The best location is in a corner where they have access to two walls. Additionally, you shouldn’t place the cage of your bird immediately in front of a window because this will frighten it due to outside variables like dogs, hawks, and storms.

Does cage color matter for birds?

You should strongly examine both the color of your bird and the colors of the surroundings in addition to those in the space. Your bird is on display when it’s in a cage. Therefore, you want the cage’s color to stand out well against your bird’s primary colors.

What is the best size of cage for a parrot?

If a parrot is only kept in a cage for a brief period of time, the cage should be at least 1.5 times as long as the bird’s wingspan. Birds that are kept in cages for long periods of time should have a wingspan that is twice as wide.