We have a Cockatiel named Bell and a Lovebird named Bootsy.
My dream was to get our Bell a flight cage and this is her new cage.
In my pet section on this website I have the story of our two birds. We adopted these birds as rescues because they are both handicapped.
One day we were at the pet store buying bird food and we saw a nice flight cage and knew right away that this would be wonderful for our Bell. Cockatiels have a very wide wing span. So we saved our money and we purchased this cage.
Bell and Bootsy have been living in two nice size cages in a closet in my sewing room but I always want more space for them. They have been very happy there and when I take them out they always want back in the closet. It is warmer in the closet and it actually helps to soften the noise that they make so we all can coexist easier. Being in the closet helps to control the dust and feathers by keeping two air cleaners going, one above the cages and one below.
Here is Bell in her new flight cage in the closet.
She is adjusting to her new cage and actually does fly from one side to the next but mostly she likes to stretch out her wings and hang upside down. Bell has a missing toe and her beak is a bit not right. She is a very sweet bird and loves for me to hold her and rub her head and neck.
Bootsy was not happy about being out of the closet. She had been hanging in the upper corner off her cage looking into the closet for two days :(
Bootsy is a Lovebird and she is seriously handicapped. She has two clubbed feet and she walks on her elbows. She can climb using her beak but at this time we do not let her fly because she cannot stretch her legs to land properly. We have always adapted her cage with flat perches. Her perches must be covered because she cannot walk on the wire without problems. I use flannel and sew her flat perch covers.
We have considered a flight cage for Bootsy but for now we are sticking with her handicapped cage. However we did not expect that we would have issues when we put Bell's flight cage in the closet and Bootsy's cage just outside the closet. But we did.
This is Bootsy's cage. She is normally very happy and loves to play and sleep in her pink "Wooby" hanging on the back left in this picture above. Here she is still upset about her cage not being in the closet so I will give her a home makeover.
This is Bootsy's new home makeover.
I special ordered some new wire patio perches and I made new covers for them. Now she has a five story house. Last night after I put her in her new "Dig" I turned my rocking chair to face her cage and I watched and smiled and cried as she explored all her new places. As I mentioned she wobbles around walking on her elbows and she had the best time running up and down to all her new landings. She even took a bath in her water cup! She checked out all her old and new toys and she had a blast. As I am typing this I can hear her in the other room playing with her toys. Birds are just amazing and I wish Bootsy and Bell did not have to live in a cage but I am trying to do the best I can to help them with their situations. No matter how much you would love to keep a bird, please do not buy one from a pet store so they will stop breeding them for profit. Birds need to fly outside in nature.
Bells first cage and after this cage she had a white one deeper, wider and taller and now she has the flight cage.
This picture was taken when Bootsy was a baby.
We tried therapy with stretching and then wrapping them to hold them in a stretched position but it never did help.
So we did the next best thing and accepted Bootsy as she was and this was her first handicapped cage. We adapt for her needs as move along through our journey.
Update:
We found a way to get both cages back in the closet so now Bell and Bootsy are finally happy again!
Bootsy is once again getting use to a new home makeover but at least this time her home is back where she wants it to be. She has found her favorite shell toy so that is where she will probably hang out for the day. If you must have a bird then make a home for a handicapped bird since they would not make it in the wild.
