A few months back, in April, I came across a piece of a cage that I had clearly kept “just in case it will be useful”. I believe it was the top grid section of a Ferplast Piano 6 cage, the more modern version, with the thick, plastic border, though I do not appear to have the border section!
Ferplast Piano 6 – top section used
I wondered if it would fit across the top of Moriarty’s Canto cage (that he was rehomed with). After taking a few measurements, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a perfect match, possibly because the Canto is also made by Ferplast. The same black colour too!
The Ferplast Canto cage has a few good points but I find that cages with a curved or domed top seem to be a bit wasteful (unless they are ones that open up). I like to put things out like food or toys, & having a flat area gives more options. So, on the 1st of April, I spent a little time rigging it up. The left hand side is connected to Moriarty’s flight cage by two pegs (it lines up nicely with a horizontal bar). It then rests across the middle of the Canto but needed some support along the right hand side, by the wall. I used an old, plastic ladder system (partly broken) to prop it up. (Click here to see when the ladder system was last used).
New flat top to cage
It seemed secure… but the real test was whether it would be accepted by Moriarty, who at that time, was a lone bird in the lounge. He did not seem fazed by it & went in the cage for his usual nap on the platform perch & his usual chat with the mirror. It was a few days before he explored the top.
Moriarty
Nine days later, Moriarty was joined by Frediano & Finkleberry who, of course, treated the flat top like it was perfectly normal & not some mad add-on or weird structure!
On Friday, the 30th September, a gas leak was discovered outside the block of flats. The gas was turned off whilst it was investigated, leaving us without heating or hot water. Unfortunately, part of the solution was for the internal gas meters in three flats (mine included) to be relocated nearer to the external wall, to connect with new piping.
I was told an engineer would be along early on the Saturday morning to drill holes & lay the new piping, followed by someone else to physically move the meter. Because there was potential of dust from the drilling, noise & possibly leaking gas, I decided it would be best to move Perry, Lennie & Moriarty from the lounge (adjoining the kitchen where the work was to be undertaken) to my bedroom. The move would have to be done the night before, ready for the early start in the morning.
Perry & Lennie in my bedroom
Logically, it meant just wheeling two flight cages into the other room, but that would also mean moving furniture out of the way to maneouvre the cages. There is also the bump to be negotiated from laminate flooring to carpet, which if not carefully managed could result in an earthquake-type shake to the cage! Anyway, I decided against this & set up the folding, quarantine cage for Perry & Lennie, & for Moriarty to be in his old cage.
That evening, when Moriarty popped into his old cage, I locked him in. At that point, Perry was in Moriarty’s flight cage & Lennie was in the other flight cage. I carried Moriarty into my bedroom & placed him on my chest of drawers. That cage is big, but can be carried, though I found it difficult to hold it & see where I was going! Perry & Lennie were transported to their temporary lodgings via the small, carrier cage. Despite the upheaval, they all seemed to settle relatively quickly & we had a calm night.
Moriarty back in my bedroom
The next day, I kept popping in to check they were okay. I took the opportunity to give both the flight cages a proper clean & adjust some of the furniture.
The first engineer had finished by early afternoon but confirmed that the second part of the job would be completed the next day. As it was not going to be a particularly early start, I decided to bring Perry, Lennie & Moriarty back ‘home’ & return them to my bedroom the next morning. They were naturally pleased to be back in the lounge, but as the afternoon progressed, Perry became very lethargic, to the point he stopped eating. I switched over all supplements to “Guardian Angel” for sick birds, especially when they have lost their appetite. He managed to slurp some of the supplemented water, but barely ate anything.
Phase II of the raising of the cage floor was undertaken on the 20th July. As previously posted (click here), I thought the raised floor could be improved by lowering it a section.
This time I mostly used mini bungee cords, with string to cover a few gaps. This lattice work was covered with pieces of cardboard connected with foldback clips. I reused the piece of cardboard providing a rim across the front. As before, the padding, oil cloth & cage liners were then placed on top. An extra rope perch was added to bridge the gap between the new bottom & the existing low perch.
Cardboard layer
Bungee cords & string
Padding
Oil cloth
Completed
Lennie settling in
The changes were accepted immediately. This time, Lennie was the first to test out the new floor’s bounce-ability! It works a lot better this way so I think I will stop fiddling with it now!
I previously detailed how I split Perry & Lennie’s flight cage to raise the floor (click here to read that post).
When it was time for the swap to take place. Perry was in with Moriarty, so I caught Lennie & popped him in the ‘new’ cage. After the initial upset over being caught, he seemed relieved to be back in familiar surroundings again, despite the floor being raised.
The quarantine cage was removed & the half & half cage placed back in its original position. Moriarty was keen to visit Lennie (he had not been able to do this whilst he was in the quarantine cage) but did a double-take on clocking the raised floor & backed off. He kept coming back though & finally braved going over the threshold to greet his friend. When it came towards bedtime, Perry returned home as he usually would. All seemed to be back to normal again after nearly a week of upset!
Lennie & Moriarty in the ‘raised bottom’ cage
Ironically, the first to fall & test the new floor was Moriarty!
Whilst doing the conversion I had some better ideas but because I needed to work quick to minimize Perry & Lennie’s stay in the quarantine cage I decided to leave them for phase II. The next phase is to actually lower the floor down to the next section (I think this will be a better compromise) & to use bungee cords instead of string.
The lower half of the cage is not expected to be used so is currently kept bare. This arrangement, so far, seems to suit us better.
Video of Lennie & Moriarty chilling in the new set up:
I had been thinking about it for awhile but last week I finally raised Perry & Lennie’s “bottom”.
Their flight cage is a good size but it has a big drop if anyone falls. The cage bottom has been padded to cushion any fall, & perches arranged to allow an easy ascent.
However, recently I noticed Perry fell off the perch as he reached around to clean his bottom (I seem to be talking about bottoms a lot in this post!) His various lumps & bumps have made it difficult for him to balance at times. He has also wobbled quite a bit when cleaning his bottom, but managed to right himself before falling. Lennie has also fallen on occasion. It made sense to me that it would be more comfortable for them if there was not so far to fall.
Perry & Lennie’s temporary home
It was quite a big operation. They had to move into the quarantine/folding cage whilst I made the changes. I set it up as near as possible to what they were used to & anticipated they would be in there for up to 2 weeks as I worked out how to raise the floor.
I did plan to swap out Moriarty’s cage with Perry & Lennie’s clean cage & convert Moriarty’s cage, but decided at the last minute to just clean Moriarty’s cage & furniture all at once as I thought there might be some objection as the cages are different colours (grey/silver & black) & we know how finicky they can be about such things! This meant that Perry & Lennie were an extra day in the quarantine cage.
After I cleaned Moriarty’s cage (& added extra padding on the bottom) I had to work quicker than I planned on the conversion as Perry & Lennie were not coping well in the quarantine cage. Perry had the advantage of spending most of the day in with Moriarty (after an age trying to get him out through the strange door!), so Lennie was the most unsettled.
Though I had run through the conversion idea in my head many times, I could not be sure how it would turn out until I actually tried it. Firstly, I decided to split the cage at the halfway level. The bars split into three sections at that level which suggested three sets of cardboard could be slotted through. I did not have cardboard long enough so tied pieces together with string. It had to be flexible to get in & out through the door.
The cardboard would lay on a crisscross of string. This proved to be quite difficult as I had to research some different knots in order to keep some decent tension. I ended up with making a loop mid-way in the piece of string in order to thread the string through it & tie tight enough. I kept testing it by throwing a tailor’s ham on (weighs about 450g) to simulate a fall! There was also a slight gap at the front & back so an extra piece of cardboard was added. At the front, at the gap when the main door is open, I added a ridge for a little safety. All exposed edges of cardboard were covered with parcel tape.
String floor mid-level
Cardboard at back
Side where cardboard slots through
Back & middle cardboard
Finally, I added some padding (not as much as before given there is less of a fall), a piece of oilcloth, then the bottom liners. All furniture was placed back in exactly the same place! (To help with furniture/toy placement I made a note of location according to bars & also took photos.) You will notice in the last photo below there is an extra perch in the lower section that was just the right shape to provide a little extra support.
Front cardboard added with rim
Fleece padding
Oilcloth layer
Furniture returned
So, how did they receive it? That will be in the next post!
How I love to see Moriarty greet me in the morning.
When he hears me enter the room, if it is not too early, he will jump to the mid-height perch at the front of the cage and peer under the cover at me. I open the blinds, lift the covers a bit, then put my face up to him to say ‘Good Morning, Sweet Pie’…. taking care not to get my nostrils in biting distance!
For some time now, because of various illnesses & special needs within the flock, I have padded the cage bottoms.
When Moriarty arrived, he came with the Ferplast Canto cage. Though he has officially moved into Dalai’s cage, he still has an attachment to his previous cage & is in & out of it during the day.
The folding cage was around for some time as an emergency hospital cage for Perry. As that cage can be folded & stored easily, I have converted Moriarty’s Canto into emergency hospital quarters instead. Part of the refurbishment involved padding the bottom. Quite by chance, I came across two unused cushions that I could roll up & squeeze through the small doors. These, wrapped in pillow cases, provide a lovely, thick, soft bottom. I topped this with a piece of oilcloth & initially with newspaper but now with kitchen towel.
Fortunately, Perry has only spent small amounts of time in there (aside from the odd moment he voluntarily goes in for a change of scenery).
Perry’s lack of flying (partly physical & partly, I suspect, laziness!) means he appreciates a helping hand to get around. Since Moriarty’s arrival, Perry has been increasingly keen to be out & about. To aid in this, I resurrected the Hand Navigation System (HNS), originally developed by Atilla.
There is a glaring difference in their ways of using the HNS. Atilla was firm & decisive, whereas Perry is less so. With Perry, there is a lot of changing of mind/direction & a lot of me asking, “Where do you want to go, Perry? Here? There? Nowhere?” Despite the different styles, the system still works well.
The major route is out of Moriarty’s cage to Moriarty’s old cage (Ferplast Canto) & locations in the vicinity, like the curtains & the back of the chair. Sometimes, Perry may even set foot on the window perch. He will also join Moriarty on top of the cages.
I have thought of setting up a perch system to get Perry from Moriarty’s cage to these areas but this would mean more perches to remove whenever I need to close up the cage quickly, particularly in an emergency, or need to move it for cleaning purposes. For now, I will continue to give Perry a helping hand.
I thought it was worth revisiting my original ‘Emergency Evacuation‘ post from 2018.
The flock is different from then, which I felt required an update in our personal procedures. The first major adjustment is that instead of placing them all in the travel cage, I thought it would be best to put each bird in their own (small) carrier. This cuts out any worry about possible tensions with them all being together in a confined space. Plus, it means that once in, the door does not need to be opened again, removing the worry about getting one in without letting whoever is already in, out. There is also the issue that some cage doors cannot be opened easily with one hand so with individual carriers, I can have the door already open, waiting for the occupant.
The three carriers are kept in a sturdy bag, stored on the shelf under their cage.
The carriers are obviously too small for them to be kept in for any length of time, so I would also take the folding cage with me (folds completely flat).
The contents of the emergency canvas bag have not changed, but the bag is now a small backpack & the location is now on a shelf by the front door (only exit).
I am hoping that having planned for the worst, the worst will not happen!
Original Post
Being a paranoid parront, I would like to post advice on how to quickly & safely evacuate your birds/pets in an emergency.
There is already plenty of good advice already written on the internet, so I will post some links. From what I have read, the key is PREPARATION because if there was a real emergency you would likely be stressed yourself & less likely to think straight, so anything that helps you (& your birds) through the ordeal can only be of benefit.
Personally, my plan would be to get my flock into the small travel/hospital cage (I also have an even smaller carrier if I have time to consider separating them). I have prepared a canvas bag that has in it: food (seed & millet); seed pots & water bottles; reminder note & headlamp. The reminder note is so I can grab any medication that may be in the fridge. Every time I receive a new order of seed or millet, I refresh what is in the emergency bag & date it. At the same time I check the headlamp still works in case the batteries need changing. A point to note is that I have chosen a canvas bag with long handles so if need be I can hang it around my neck if I need my hands! The emergency bag is kept on the shelf underneath the Silver Villa.
Emergency items
Emergency items in bag
Emergency bag stored in basket
Emergency bag under the cage
The travel/hospital cage is kept underneath the playgym so that is also in close proximity. I actually decided to keep it close in case Bezukhov has a major seizure, however even if this were not the case, it would still be handy to keep there for other emergency reasons.
For some reason I cannot remember (!) I have two pillowcases draped over the back of my futon that is directly in front of the new Villa, so they are handy if needed. Alternatively, they could be folded up & kept with the spare/emergency cage.
My mother lives nearby so if need be, I can walk to hers & deposit the flock there for safety.
If anyone else has any other advice/tips/tricks/ideas then feel free to share here!
For a long time I have used newspaper to line the bottom of cages. In recent years I have stopped buying newspapers & also not had easy access to free newspapers, so then started buying packs of ‘chip paper’ or packing paper. This paper was particularly nice as the light, plain colour made it easy to check poop quality.
However, as I was using up the last pack I questioned if there was another cheaper way to line the bottom of their cages.
Lennie, Perry & Moriarty
I remembered I had an old shower curtain that was washable. I cut up a trial piece & was pleasantly surprised with how it worked. It is a light colour with faded swirls, so poop (& blood that it later had to cope with) is easily seen. I thought it might be a bit slippery if Perry fell down on it but it seemed ok & no more slippery than anything else. I cut up the rest of the curtain & got 6 ‘bottoms’ out of whole thing. After some washing (either hand or machine) the edges started to fray so I hemmed them.
Having 6 means that I can have 4 in use, one drying & one to be (hand) washed. When I take the last one away, I have 4 clean ones to put in (1 dirty one & 1 drying).
I bought another cheap, washable shower curtain & made another 6 for Dalai’s cage.
They lay nicely on top of the padding (fleece & towels) & are easy to roll up when you take them out. Then I can scrape the poop off into a bag & put it in soak ready for a quick hand wash. They dry very quickly. And, as alluded to above, blood washes out well!
Puddings & Toyboys 