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Home > Bird Care FAQs
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Budgies in the BedroomHi...I was just reading some information on your website about where to place a birdcage. We Have a bird cage in our oversized master bedroom, however I read that bedroom is not a good idea.
Why?? We have 6 parakeets in a huge cage and have had them in here for a year or so... They seem to love it as do I... thanks - Linda ---------------------------- If it is working for you, don't fix what's not broken.
Generally , birds may not do well in a bedroom because:
#1 They may wake up earlier than you and will wake you up.
#2 You may keep them up later than they should.
Birds should have 10-12 hours of undisturbed so as not to be over stimulated. They may consider breeding due to increased day light. Excessive breeding can deplete their calcium levels and cause early death in females and egg binding.
Covering their cage with a bird cage cover will help prevent these problems or put their cage in another room.
#3 Parakeets, may not be a problem, but larger birds can be affected negatively by witnessing sex so they would not belong in a bedroom at all.
I hope this answers your questions.
Catherine
Can a I put 15 - 20 budgies in one outdoor aviary?
Generally speaking, Budgies will breed better in a colony than simply a single (male/female) pair.
A big problem with placing a number of mixed sex budgies in a single cage is the issue of fighting.
Colony breeders will do better in a colony than just 2 budgies but not all birds are allowed to breed in a colony.
Generally one or two pairs will most likely become a "dominant pair" not allowing others to breed. Thus you can lose control of colors you might be seeking.
One male will service many females in a single cage but one female in a cage with many males will end up "exhausted" (for lack of a better term) or even injured.
Females not allowed to breed in this scenario will simply drop their eggs to the bottom of the cage. Introduction of additional calcium (cuttle bone) is highly recommended
Also the noise will be much greater than having the same amount of birds in individual cages and any bond between you and any of the birds is unlikely.
If you decide you want to raise "aviary budgies" I would suggest two cages housing each of the sexes with a third designated breeding cage big enough for one or two pairs of budgies.
Can a Lixit Bird water bottle stopper be washed in the dishwasher?
Can a Lixit Bird water bottle stopper be washed in the dishwasher and/or wash by hand in lukewarm soapy water? Please e-mail me about cleaning the stopper. Thanks for your help with this matter. Our answer: Dear Reginald: You can wash the stoppers in the dishwasher, but it will cause them to wear out sooner than if you just use hot soapy dish water. Click here to see all our Lixit Water Bottle products
Converting your bird to a new bird food
How to Convert to Hagen Tropican Pellets Alternate method
Click here to learn more about Hagen Bird Food
Could you tell me what Code: 19301101085 Extra Large Macaw Parrot Cage with VictorianTop-Prevue is made of?
The cage is wrought iron with powdercoating. We recently moved and the new warehouse is currently under renovation, but we can bring in a 3155 for you to pick up in 3 business days from you placing your order Extra Large Macaw Parrot Cage with VictorianTop-Prevue 3155
Do the dimensions stated in the bird cage listings include seed guards?The listed cage dimensions do not include the dimensions for the seed catchers. In general figure an additional 10 inches side-to-side and front-to-back. Using the seed catchers is optional, we don't suggest using them, they are just another thing to wash and the birds do manage to toss things beyond the seed catchers anyway.
FedEx Delivery Issues
Sorry to have to bother you with this.
My package was on the truck for delivery yesterday, however the tracking now says "delivery exception Customer not available or business closed". Did you require a signature? It doesn't appear that it is on the truck for delivery today. Can you follow up on your end? FEDEX is absolutely the worst company I have EVER had to deal with. EVER. EVER! thanks yet again,
We requested no signature on your package. Have you called FEDEX 1-800-GOFEDEX and asked if they have a new driver? Offered them directions in case they are confused by the location? Did you check your order to make sure you entered the address correctly? Our system takes what you enter and makes the label from that info, we do not enter it manually. FEDEX does have a rare tendancy to not locate addresses, but UPS breaks more and never covers claims. Please give them a call and see if you can direct them to you. If they say they need to speeak to the shipper, please give me the info you can give them to find you and I will relay it to them immediately. Right now, "I" am dealing with UPS flat out lying to me about a delvery last week that has fouled up 3 orders. They SAY they tried to deliver to me at 8 PM (to my business that closes at 5), left no note, the nect day they say they came at 4:30 (we were open) left no note, the next day they said they came at 8 again (left no note). We are a storefront on a busy street. They obviously had a temp driver who is jerking our chain. Now my packages went back to the shipper in Memphis and I have to wait till next week to get it back. I feel your pain, I do. Please call FEDEX as soon as posible, if they are redelivering tomorrow, they have time to get directions. Thank you
Catherine
How Can I Determine the Sex of my Bird?
We get a lot of emails asking how the sex of a bird can be determined. It's easy for about 25% of all parrot species because they (the 25%) are dimorphic. Eclectus parrots are known known as the most colorful dimorphic parrot. The females are red, and the males are green. Male Indian (& African) Ringnecks have a ring around their necks, females have none. But for the majority of parrots it can be difficult to tell the difference between boys & girls. In many cases your vet can help with surgical sexing, but there is an inexpensive and easy way to find out with certainty. We did a google search for bird DNA sexing and VETDNACenter & AvianBiotech came up. Simply order a test kit, follow the instructions for a mere $19 you'll finally figure why the bird you bought named "Judy" never laid an egg
HQ 13221 Tight locksOccasionally some people have some issues with tight locks after installing them on the HQ 13221 cage. In most cases this can be resolved by performing the following steps. Each lock consists of 2 parts, the skinny piece called the latch and the moving part called the locking mechanism. Start with the top door 1) Install the latch and tighten the screws. 2) Hold the locking mechanism in place insert both screws but DO-NOT-TIGHTEN. 3) Lock the cage door using the locking mechanism - (One of the loose screws may need to be screwed down a bit more so the head of the screw does not interfere with the locking mechanism - again screw it more but not tight) 4) With the locking mechanism fully engaged - tighten the two screws - test for movement. This should solve the problem If it does repeat on the bottom door. If it does not, please email us and we'll send new locks promptly.
Leaking Lixit Water Bottle I have another problem and this is with the LIXIT 5/8 nozzle. I just got that bottle mounted last night and this morning I found the water half gone and the papers beneath were saturated with water. I took my cockatoo out of the cage replaced the paper with dry paper and waited. The papers are wet again. No matter how I try to position the ball, tap the ball with my finger it does not stop the drip. Eventually it returns.
Neither of my other LIXIT nozzles have this problem. Please tell me what I need to do to get a stem and ball that don't leak. And thanks for looking into a way to clean the stem now that it has some indentations. I'm suspecting some type of bristled cleaner that can curve and attack it from the rubber stopper end. Probably a brush made for aquarium use.
Thank you, Kris Leakers: It is rare that the nozzles will leak that much.
There are a few reasons and some can be corrected.
If the nozzle is not seated in the bottlle correctly it will leak.
If the nozzle is up too high or too low in the stopper it may leak so check that.
If the water when put in the bottle is very cold, it may leak until the water reaches room temperature so always use room temp water. It is normal for a few drops, teaspoon or so to leak in the morning due to the temperature changes during the night and the warming back up during the day.
If the rubber stopper has a crack in it or has shrunk from being washed too much in a hot dishwasher or left out in the air unused for a LONG time, it could leak.
If there is a seed stuck up in the nozzle it can happen as well.
If the cockatoo has bent the nozzle so it is not round, the ball cannot stop the water. There is another nozzle in the 5/8" thickness called a TUFF TIP that has a reinforced ring at the opening to stop this with the destructive birds.
Once all these suggestions have been ruled out then indeed we can have another nozzle and stopper sent out to you.
As far as the brush needed to clean the nozzle, I have found the thinnest aquarium brushes do work very well and have used them myself.
Lighting for Dometop Bird Cage
Hello, I have a dome A&E cage and I am looking at the lighting on your site with the wire bottom where the light stands on. How do you attach it to a domed top?
Ruth
The light comes with a square frame with legs that easily fit a domed top cage. The light fits on top of it and the legs are set on top of your cage, including rounded top cages, they are best secured with plastic/nylon cable ties.
My bird loved his and played more in his cage after it was installed than in the 15 years prior.
Odor control & birds
Dear Fellow Parrot Lovers: I am one of your customers and I would like to know what in the line of spray, plug-ins or other items can I safely use in my African Gray parrots room to control unpleasant odors. I'm 67 and somewhat handicapped but I clean his cage and room as often as possible. "Thanks A Bunch"
Dear Sir Tough question. Birds are so sensitive to sprays, scents, perfumes, etc We do not have a product to suggest. Birds in general, aside from some Amazons do not have an "odor" issue. Keeping up daily with changing the paper, wet foods and feces will do wonders with odor control. Chicken coops are disgusting and it is due to the wet feces. Do you use cob litter in your trays? If so, stop and use a sheet of newspaper daily instead. The cob littler or pine shavings can hold moisture and create mold and mildew smells. You could try some of the baking soda products that sit and absorb odors but they have to be NOT scented. "Unscented" is a scent. So you have to be very careful. Choose no scents or perfumes added. A bag of fresh charcoal may also help if put in tubs and tucked under things and out of sight. I wish you the best. Thank you for asking. Catherine Tobsing
President
WindyCityParrot.com
Repacked Bird Food Can Be Bad for Your Bird's Health
It has come to our attention that some of our retail outlets have been re-packaging our small animal and bird food products to suit to their market needs. For whatever reason our retailers choose to repackage these products, please note that we at ROLF C. HAGEN, Inc. take extensive measures to protect our premium food products with specialized packaging and we advise our retail customers of these attributes so they know we take great pride in presenting a product they can trust for their pets. 1. Each air barrier bag is sealed to protect the contents from environmental and or pest pathogenic contamination. 2. Each air Barrier bag is also CO2 flushed to prevent degradation of nutrients and to prevent seed moth or seed weevil infestation or activity. 3. We also utilize a micro ingredient mixing method to ensure the same ratio of each ingredient is consistent with each bag of product packaged. 5. Each bag is also stamped with an assigned production lot number for identification purposes. Additionally, should a consumer purchase our product in a repackaged state, we would find it very difficult to assist them should they have concerns about the product, which means the burden of product satisfaction and quality assurance and liability issues may fall back on said retailer without assistance from us. We appreciate your efforts in supporting this issue. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding our packaging of Bird Food and Small Animal Food, please feel free to contact your sales representative. Click here to learn more about Hagen Bird Food
Right Cage for a Parrotlet
The Gable Bird Cage by Marvelous does have bars on the roof so it would be possible to attach twisty perch to the roof area.
Should I Change My Conure's Nekton S Vitamins?
I'd like to order Nekton supplement for birds. I currently use Nekton-S (green band) for my conure mixed in daily water supply. Do you recommend the Nekton-S or the Hagen Prime for Conures. Should I continue with Nekton or switch? Let me know if you have Nekton - or if you have something better. I mix the dry powder in the birds water. Thanks. Thanks for all the help on the phone, too.
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If you are already using Nekton products it is best to use the vitamins made by the same company.
I feel, don't fix what works - that said
Hagen PRIME and Lafeber vitamins, are both very popular.
If you are feeding pellets only, you should not add vitamins.
Otherwise, the choice is yours Nekton, Hagen & Lafeber are all very good.
What cage would yall suggest for a Quaker Parrot?
Which Bird Carrier is Better for My Blue & Gold Macaw?
I would really like to speak to someone about these cages and accesories. I of course like the second one better at this point, but there were no suggestions on perches and feeders. Will they both fit in the car? Which is a better suitable cage for a blue and gold. I just am really confused :) The 603 Fold-away Bird Carrier or the 611 bird Carrier on Casters Hi Karen Thank you for contacting us
The perches and feeders we recommend for either carrier are a large Booda rope perch Easy on the feet for long periods and extra to grab onto while the vehicle is accelerating and decelerating.
2 Prevue Bolt on cups will be fine for a couple of ice cubes and some food
Will they both fit in the car? Hard to say not knowing what kind of car. That said, if you have a four door family sedan, the 611 is a little tall and the casters may rip the upholstery. The 603 fold-away carrier would be better.
Also remember if you put the 611 in a van or SUV, it's on casters and something must be dome to prevent it from rolling.
Which is a better suitable cage for a blue and gold?
Either portable bird carrier will work. We need to know how you would be using it. For a quick trip to the vet, stick with the 603. Easy in-and-out, no worries about rolling.
If you're taking a road trip and staying at aunt Mabel's on the way, pick the 611. That way when aunt Mabel says "that darn that bird is messy, could you move the cage so I can sweep", you'll have casters to act quickly
Why we don't offer a PO Box shipping option on WindyCityParrot.com
The reason we do not offer PO Box shipping is that people will try to order cages and large items to PO Boxes which cannot be done. The time we would be spending on contacting customers of this, order cancellations, etc would be more than we have the staff to handle. Also, on large shipments the cost of USPS is considerably higher than for FEDEX or UPS. Small orders of 1-3 pounds at most can be sent USPS at our expense on orders of $45.00 or more. Over that weight we go with the lesser cost shipping by FEDEX or UPS. However we can ship via USPS if we are informed and we discuss the cost of shipping when the order is placed or before via phone or email. We would then tell you to enter "BX" 501 (vs "BOX") and the order will pass through the website
Wide Seed Guards for a Severe Macaw
I purchased a new cage for my severe macaw about a year ago and the seed guards are only 3 inches in width. Since she seems to like to hang on the side of the cage, and of course poops while there, the guard doesn't catch it and we have a mess on the floor. Could you recommend particular cages approx. 20 deep x 24 wide with larger seed guards? thanks! Deb
Hi Deb: Thank you for contacting us Unfortunately wider seed guards will only insure that poop will fall farther from the cage. I recommend Removing the seed guards on the curent cage
Lower cage food dishes to the floor grate - debris will now fall into the tray not outside the cage
Purchase an office chair mat for under the cage to protect the floor
Place a perch on the outside the cage where your bird would like to sit and place a single piece of news paper under that one area. Without the seed guards your bird may choose not to perch 360 degrees and stay on the single perch
Hope that helps Regards Mitch - 1/10/2009 1:07:27 PM
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