What's in a Cage? *NEW*
If there's one thing we like to brag about, it's that our green cheeks receive the utmost consideration for their caged needs. To the right is Ratchet and Dorian's cage (they are roomies), which is an HQ Flight in Sandstone. While spacious and roomy with perfect bar spacing, this cage allows green cheeks to *literally* fly from one perch to the next. It is sturdy, durable, easy to put together (I did it all by myself), and appealing to the eye. From the top hangs a network of toy arrangements, ranging from chewable, foraging, and destructible, to acrylics, bells, swings, and fabrics to entertain their every need. Toys are rotated out every couple of days (I make them customized toys) to keep interests piqued.
Sure, we all want a macaw-sized King's Aluminum or Stainless Steel. And I hope to be able to achieve that dream someday, for all my birds. But until then, all I can do is provide them as much space and quality as reasonable. The "bird room" as I call it is flanked by two double-wide windows, which I open for them every day so that they can enjoy the outdoors. Windows are very important to me, as I believe they provide that extra kick of stimulation for the birds.
Cages are adorned with perches of varying materials, but one of my favorites (and theirs) are the natural wood branches. These have been slowly demolished over the past few months. They are thoroughly washed, dried, and cooked to ensure proper sanitation. Beneath the cage, you will see a cotton bed sheet, which we use to cover all of our birds every night.
Sure, we all want a macaw-sized King's Aluminum or Stainless Steel. And I hope to be able to achieve that dream someday, for all my birds. But until then, all I can do is provide them as much space and quality as reasonable. The "bird room" as I call it is flanked by two double-wide windows, which I open for them every day so that they can enjoy the outdoors. Windows are very important to me, as I believe they provide that extra kick of stimulation for the birds.
Cages are adorned with perches of varying materials, but one of my favorites (and theirs) are the natural wood branches. These have been slowly demolished over the past few months. They are thoroughly washed, dried, and cooked to ensure proper sanitation. Beneath the cage, you will see a cotton bed sheet, which we use to cover all of our birds every night.
Our Breeders' Cages
One of the most common worries in the breeding industry (thanks to a lack of legal regulation) is whether or not a breeder can provide an adequate environment. This includes proper caging, sanitation, cleanliness, access to fresh water/food, everything you can imagine. But what's unfortunate is that most breeders tend to toss these things out the window when it comes to their breeder birds. Why is this? The overgrown thirst for money and expedited production of sales items (baby birds). Many breeders refuse to show pictures of their breeding setup, or cages/conditions of their breeders' environment. And why is this? Because, most of the time, all there is to show is a filthy, inadequately-sized, barren, rusted cage with one perch and a nest box, out in some gross garage with no windows.
As you can see, we care for our breeder birds as much as we care for our companion pets. The old doctrine of "toys are just a distraction to their breeding" is of no value here. Breeder birds, particularly those raised in a home environment (which ours were- thank you Bob & Lea from Five Oaks Aviary!) have the same mental capacity as any other of their species, and should be treated as such. Lonnie and LuLu simply love toys, despite the fact that we were told by other breeders that toys would prevent them from breeding (which generated a hearty laugh from us). Along with all of our other birds, our breeders are provided with new toys every couple of days, which they enjoy destroying and shredding apart.
With Oklahoma Green Cheeks, you will have no worries as to what kind of care Mom and Dad of your baby bird are receiving. We offer pictures, any day of the week, with no embarrassment or guilt. We clean cages, sanitize, vacuum, scrub... EVERY day. We hope it can make up for our closed-aviary policy, so that you can still see where your baby is coming from. Our breeders are given daily out-of-cage time to forage, fly, bathe, and hang out (they love sitting on my shoulder, or watching a good Thunder game with us while preening my hair). We have even begun implementing trick training to help improve our relationship with them.
Pictured above is Lonnie and LuLu's cage- an A&E Flight. The bottom deck will hold our upcoming pair of turquoise, so stay tuned for updates!
As you can see, we care for our breeder birds as much as we care for our companion pets. The old doctrine of "toys are just a distraction to their breeding" is of no value here. Breeder birds, particularly those raised in a home environment (which ours were- thank you Bob & Lea from Five Oaks Aviary!) have the same mental capacity as any other of their species, and should be treated as such. Lonnie and LuLu simply love toys, despite the fact that we were told by other breeders that toys would prevent them from breeding (which generated a hearty laugh from us). Along with all of our other birds, our breeders are provided with new toys every couple of days, which they enjoy destroying and shredding apart.
With Oklahoma Green Cheeks, you will have no worries as to what kind of care Mom and Dad of your baby bird are receiving. We offer pictures, any day of the week, with no embarrassment or guilt. We clean cages, sanitize, vacuum, scrub... EVERY day. We hope it can make up for our closed-aviary policy, so that you can still see where your baby is coming from. Our breeders are given daily out-of-cage time to forage, fly, bathe, and hang out (they love sitting on my shoulder, or watching a good Thunder game with us while preening my hair). We have even begun implementing trick training to help improve our relationship with them.
Pictured above is Lonnie and LuLu's cage- an A&E Flight. The bottom deck will hold our upcoming pair of turquoise, so stay tuned for updates!
Play Stands
Whether it be PVC (on left) or natural wood (on right), play stands provide an excellent source of mental and physical stimulation. Both of these I put together myself (Ok, so maybe I had some help cutting the PVC one), and cost next to nothing compared to the commercialized java stands, which will run you into the several-hundred-dollar range. My PVC play stand cost me, I believe, about $27 for all the pieces (not counting toys, vet wrap, and hangers for these toys). After having thoroughly edited my design, which I may or may not have "borrowed" from a picture on the internet, I marked the measurements on each PVC pipe and we cut the pieces, fit them together, adjusted, and voila! The birds love it. It's mostly a conure gym but my Grey enjoys hanging out on it as well. The wooded gym on the right was simply cleaned, cooked, scrubbed (etc) and tied together *firmly* with zip-ties. If you have a drill handy, might consider something a little more durable, as zip-ties can be chewed.
Left: Lonnie on the PVC gym enjoying a toy.
Right: Ratchet and Dorian playing on one of the hanging gyms we've put together with ceiling plant hangers.
Left: Lonnie on the PVC gym enjoying a toy.
Right: Ratchet and Dorian playing on one of the hanging gyms we've put together with ceiling plant hangers.
We have recently acquired a tabletop java stand from Kathie and all of our birds love it. This is a size "medium," suitable for conures to amazons. As you can see, Jack enjoys it. It is lightweight, sturdy, and easy to cart from room to room!
Food Storage
We are proud to say that we have never had one single instance of seed moths or bugs in our birds' foods. While we are thankful to Kathie for always shipping food safely, we continue this practice by storing our dry foods in air-tight containers, never leaving the tops off. Food is separated and organized, although we do mix various Goldenfeast/Bountiful Harvest blends together for an enjoyable supplement to our birds' diet. We encourage others to follow the same principle to ensure quality food and prevent invasion of prospective "uninvited guests."