Continued from page 1Cage Selection
A mistake often made by bird keeping enthusiasts, is that by moving their birds to the basement, they feel that they now have room to add even more birds. Instead of providing larger cages to encourage exercise and optimum health, the birds continue to live in small, crowded cages and can become victims of "basement aviary syndrome". Overcrowded aviaries with stacked cages, maintained in less than pristine condition, pose a great risk to the long term health of your flock.
Psittacines and passerines were created to fly. In a breeding situation, when room to fly and/or climb is not provided, birds can become overweight, lose muscle mass and will have a shortened life span. Hens lacking exercise are prime candidates for egg binding, and although the first several years of production may run smoothly, the risk increases each year the bird is housed in a small cage. Amazons, pionus, eclectus parrots, rose-breasted cockatoos and budgies are all prone to obesity, and may develop fatty tumors if adequate exercise space is lacking.
I have often seen finches and canaries housed in tall, tower-like bird cages, or small 12"x12" cages. The birds hop from one perch to another, with enough room to only flutter their wings. Although my experience in keeping canaries and finches is limited only to pet birds, it is readily apparent to observers that these birds fly in a lateral pattern. They require rectangular cages that are longer and wider than they are high to allow full flight.
When obtaining or building cages to house parrots in a breeding situation, be certain that the cages are wide enough to allow full extension of the wings so the birds can fly from the front to back, allowing ample clearance so that wing tips do not get too close to the sides. Small parrots, such as lovebirds, parrotlets, and parakeets require a cage measuring at least 24" tall. Medium sized parrots can fly in cages 36"-48" high, this would include cockatiels, quaker parakeets, poicephalus, pionus and brotegeris species. Large parrots such as African Greys, amazon parrots, cockatoos and macaws will utilize cage space 48"x72" tall. Although one might be tempted to house long-tailed psittacula species such as ringnecks, Derbyan and Plumhead parakeets in smaller flights, these birds actually require flight cages such as those recommended for the larger parrots.
The length of the cage (front to back) will determine the amount of actual exercise your birds will receive. Birds that have enough room to fly several feet will develop and maintain strong chest muscles and will remain physically fit. If amazon parrot sized birds are housed in cages less than six feet long, they may crawl and climb in their cage rather than fly. Amazons, in particular, may fly at their keeper from the back of their cage to protect their territory. This may be the only flying they will do as most cages do not offer enough length to promote exercise. Typically, in an indoor flight, when the bird flies off the high back perch, they only need to flap once before reaching the front cage panel.
In my opinion, the largest of parrots, such as Moluccan cockatoos and large macaws, are not ideal choices for indoor breeding situations. Many people simply do not have the room available, or are willing to sacrifice the space needed, to provide these birds the indoor flight size they require for health and longevity.
Lighting
Basements typically have few light fixtures and provide a dim, grim environment. In the wild, birds have the ability to enjoy the sunshine or retreat to the canopies. They do not spend all of their daylight hours hiding in the dark crevices of a tree. Sunlight is vital to the well-being of any animal, and provides necessary Vitamin D.
Full spectrum lighting should be suspended over at least a part of each cage housing birds. Ideally, the lighting would be situated at the end of the cage opposite the nest box entrance hole. This allows birds to come out into the "sunshine" to enjoy the food, catch a few "vitamin D rays" and then return to the dimmer, secure portion of their cage at their nestbox entrance. In this manner, an attempt is being made to simulate natural behavior. Many birds typically forage in open fields, pastures and lower branches of the forest canopy. In an untouched forest habitat, their nests are usually hard to locate for many nesting sites are camouflaged under the cover of foliage.
Nature shows, videos and slide programs that have captured parrots nesting in the wild sometimes show that a nest site may well be inside a single, standing dead tree, fully exposed to sunlight. Therefore, it is helpful to research the species of parrots you plan to raise, and discover as much as you can regarding their native habitat. Some birds may require dimmer nest box entrances and others may be indifferent to the degree of illumination.
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