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Sorry for the late reply! Hopefully my experiences can help inform both you and /u/Katara012 on how to proceed with your own birds. I do just have to start with a small disclaimer though: obviously every bird and every situation is going to be different, so the biggest determinant of your success is going to be how well you are able to read your bird and act accordingly. I've found that reading books about bird behavior/body language, as well as watching videos of professional animal trainers, can improve your perceptions if you've not spent a lot of time around parrots in real life.

As for your own taming, never give up. Just learn to take steps back and go more slowly if necessary. So long as you can learn to respect your bird's boundaries, it's nearly impossible to truly ruin the taming process.

With Erwin, I was starting from square one. When I adopted him he had already gone through two homes and had rarely had good interactions with people. In his last home not only did he live 24/7 in the same tiny cage with a single toy and only spray millet to eat, but the only time he was held was when the family's child tried to grab and pet him. After a while they stopped completely because he would bite them in defense.

I'm telling you this because it helps describe the sort of state he was in when I got him. He was absolutely terrified of anything new or unfamiliar, including foods, toys, perches, people, you name it. This definitely slowed down the taming process, and makes it so that to this day I still have to be very careful in my actions when I am around him.

To start, I gave him a solid two weeks after bringing him home before I began interacting with him at all. This was to get him used to me, my home, my other birds, and the daily routine. At this time I left his cage door open whenever I was home. I wanted him to learn that here he was free to explore and also to start acclimating him to new situations to try to deal with his intense phobias. I also found later that in general he is way more receptive (and less terrified) when training occurs outside of his cage. I think it has to do with the fact that his cage is like his "safety blanket" and inside he remembers many of the bad hand/human interactions he had in the past.

Anyway, after two weeks I began clicker training. This is my go-to method for taming and bonding with any new bird, as it is an easy, hands-off way to get bird comfortable with you without pressuring them with your hands too early on. If you are interested in learning more about it check out this book. The first step is introducing the clicker. To teach Erwin that the sound of the clicker = a treat I began to "click" and drop a "ball" of millet into his food bowl a dozen times or more a day. It's good to note here that I did make sure to remove all millet from his normal diet so it would be reserved as a treat alone. This can make a bird more motivated in general. At first he would just run away as fast as possible to the back of his cage when I approached, but within a few days soon realized that I wasn't any harm. Even though he still wouldn't come to my hand to take the treat, he didn't run away and instead sat quiet and frozen on his perch until I walked away to go get the treat.

After a few more days I decided to move to the next step and get him to take the treat from my hand. To do this, I used a long millet spray so he didn't have to approach too closely. Because he was used to me enough to not run away, I began clicking and letting him nibble the end of the millet. Over the course of a couple of days, I slowly decreased the length of the millet until he was eating small portions from my fingers.

Now was time to start teaching "target". The reason why I like to teach this command before jumping into "step-up" is it is hand-off, it makes a bird feel more comfortable with you because it is pressure-free and allows them to make their own decisions, and it is an important tool used in learning many other tricks/commands. To do this I had to be very careful about reading Erwin's body language, so that I didn't inadvertently create a negative experience by making him uncomfortable. For example, I started by bringing the target stick as close to him as possible before he began leaning away/backing up. Once I had this initial distance (about 6 inches or so), I would "click" and treat half a dozen times, each time moving the stick away and back so he got used to the motion. Once I noticed he looked more relaxed (instead of standing straight up, frozen in place, he would lean forward or shuffle his feet to try and grab the millet when I offered it) I began decreasing the distance to the target stick. Finally, I was able to put it right in front of his beak, and being curious as most budgies are he nibbled the end of it. That earned him LOTS of praise and millet. Once I knew he could do it I would only click and treat if he touched the stick. Soon, he would become visibly excited when I whipped the stick out, and would run forward to start training. I was able to move the stick around his cage/playgym and have him chase it.

The final step was step-up training. To do this, I used a similar method as the target training, except I conditioned him to my finger by luring him forward with the target. I made sure to click and treat every small milestone, whether that be him approaching my hand, him putting one foot on my finger, then both feet, then letting me move him from place to place. A couple times he became spooked and flew from my hand, crashing into his cage where he huddled breathing hard. During these moments (and any other that resulted in a training session gone sour) I made sure to NOT chase after him, jerk my hand, or yell. Instead I talked softly in a reassuring tone, made sure to move extra slowly, and didn't not force him to go near me or resume training. That way we could smooth over the incident with as little drama as possible, and replace it with more good interactions.

At this time not only does Erwin willingly step-up 95% of the time, but he will even sit on my finger and preen/chirp/fluff up if I'm standing or sitting still. He runs over at breakfast and whenever I'm giving attention to my other birds. I'd like to think that he gets jealous and wants to be picked up and fawned over like everyone else. :) Since I've had him I've only been bitten three times, all of which were my fault for being too pushy. And not only does he now play with a variety of toys, eat a healthier diet of Nutri-berries and sprouts, he can do a couple tricks (ring a bell and pick up a ring), and in general acts like a very happy, settled budgie.

Having multiple short training sessions each day definitely sped up the taming process, as did housing him alone and having my other birds around to show him that I wasn't a threat.

Dang, well this was long. I just hope it can help you build a better relationship with your own bird. Again, while your timeframe may vary, I have no doubt you will see similar successes so long as you respect your bird's desires, understand it's motivations and body language, and have lots of patience. Good luck!

Thank you for the ping /u/stringoflights! <3

/u/mel_bell: Thank you so much for rescuing a bird who needs your help! Pepper needs you right now and I'm so happy that you stepped up.

It definitely helps that you have a prior relationship with Pepper and that you're able to handfeed her treats.

My boyfriend and I adopted Rocky in spring 2016 under similar circumstances. The comment that /u/stringoflights linked has a lot of detail about what we did to help him.

For Pepper, I recommend that you:

• Target train her immediately. This lets you redirect Pepper when she gets into trouble, and get her in/out of the cage as needed. It also builds trust and confidence. Pepper will know that she has this awesome task she can perform (follow and touch the target stick), and that she can trust you to give her a tasty treat whenever she does it! Check out [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c
  ) for the basics. It took Rocky only a few days to get the hang of it.
  
  
• Get her diet in order. I'm not sure what she's eating now, but a balanced diet ensures that she's energized and feels healthy. A parrot who feels good is more likely to behave well, which is really important when you're training and bonding with a rescue. I recommend Harrison's High Potency Coarse for the first six months; you can switch to Harrison's Lifetime Coarse after that. She should also get "chop" every day (chopped dark green leafy vegetables for calcium source + orange vegetables for vitamin A). Save treats she really LOVES for training rewards. (seed-based treats like Nutriberries or Avicakes, nuts in the shell like almonds and pistachios)
  
  
• Get her sleep in order. All parrots need about 12 hours of sleep per night to feel their best. Is she DNA-sexed female? We're in the middle of breeding season, so she needs 14 hours of dark and silence every night to prevent egg-laying, which is stressful to her body, and hormonal behavior, which can appear aggressive if you don't know the difference. Use a blanket to cover her cage at night.
  
  
• Interact with her often, but keep the ball in her court. Don't force touching or handling when she doesn't feel like it. Talk to her, sing to her, whistle to her. Give her pieces of fruit and nuts so she knows you're the cool person who brings her food. Greys often bow their heads when they want scratched, it looks like this.
  
  
• Give her freedom. She's been trapped in a cage her whole life. Whenever you're home, open up the cage door and give her the ability to come out if she wants. Some greys will just stand on top of the cage, and others will prowl around on the floor.
  
  
• Teach her to play. This will help her entertain herself when you're not there to talk to her. Rocky finally plays with SOME bird toys, but his favorites are just things like cardboard boxes, popsicle sticks, and paper bags. Give Pepper a lot of choices and swap out toys often. She'll be afraid of toys at first, and that's normal: just don't give up, keep exposing her to new toys and she'll figure it out eventually. Some people have success modeling play behavior by pretending to play with the toys in front of their parrot, and then offering it to the parrot.
  
  I think that's all the most important stuff. Sorry for writing an essay! If you have any questions about anything, let me know. I have seven parrots, and two of them were neglected adult rescues, so I've done a lot of research on training and rehabilitating.
  
  Best of luck to you and Pepper. I can't wait to hear about how your relationship with her progresses!

Alright for cage you want something big, gccs need more space than cockatiels, my suggestion is 24 inch square or bigger in any measurement, my cage is like 24x24x30 with 30 being the height, they prefer taller cages. This is the cage I bought and I wouldn't recommend anything much smaller: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SMC25E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A cage that size will generally run you between $100-300 depending on where you get it from. Most perches come with the hardware to easily install on the bars of a cage. You want many different styles of perches. Make sure it has several natural wood ones with varying thicknesses in the branches, get a bendable rope perch, and possible some time of swing perch that involves more coordination to sit on. You can get a perch that is rough to wear down nails if you want but make sure the perch is smooth on the top and only rough on the sides, and make sure it is cement and not sand or grit covered because green cheeks don't need grit like some other species of birds do and it can harm them.

For toys get lots of different things, plastic, leather, shreddable ones made from soft wood or palm fronds. Do your research and make sure anything you give your bird is safe and non-toxic obviously. Get him toys you could hide little treats in to help with foraging. If he is searching his toys for treats he won't be as bored if he has to spend a little extra time in the cage one day.

For food don't use seeds/seed mixes for anything other than treats really. A good pellet mix like Harrison's, Roudybush, or Zupreem is best. Try for something not colored/fruity flavored, I use Harrison's lifetime adult fine for my green cheek, the pellets are pretty small so they work well for a small conure like a green cheek. Here is the link where I bought those, they are also on amazon though: http://store.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/ADULT-LIFETIME-FINE/productinfo/ALF/

Other than pellets provide lots of veggies and some fruits. Its diet should be 50% pellets, 30% veggies, 10% fruits, and then the last 10% is spread among grains (cooked brown rice, cooked quinoa, cooked whole grain pasta) and treats (nuts, seeds, etc.). I make chop for my green cheek. I use a base of kale, spinach, or other healthy leafy greens, then I add in veggies like broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, jalapenos, peas, etc. I chop them all up somewhat small and then put it in a food processor until its very fine. If your bird won't eat the chop you make, mix it in with pellets and only offer pellets when it is mixed with the chop 2-3 times per day. You don't have to limit the amount of food your bird eats, they eat as much as they need. Just see about how much it is eating and offer that much so yo don't have a lot of wasted food. Don't offer the same chop/pellet mix after one day, the chop should be refrigerated so after one day it is best to toss it and offer fresh. You can also offer bigger chunks of veggies on a stainless steel skewer that you can hang in the cage. I do this a lot and put some blueberries, bell peppers, and spinach leaves so I know my bird is eating both his chop and his veggies in several ways, it helps with enrichment.

That's about all I got, sorry it was such a lot to read but I hope it helps! Let me know if you have questions :)

This cage is great value for the price, if you can afford it. It has the added bonus of being eligible for Amazon Prime. Even if you don't have it, sign up for the 30-day free trial so you can get it in a couple of days.

Regarding food, Harrison's makes organic pellets. My board-certified avian vet strongly recommends Harrison's and my birds love it. There are guidelines regarding conversion on the package itself. My birds were never on a seed diet but I did have to convert them from ZuPreem's colored pellets (side note: don't give them that, the artificial coloring and added sugars are bad. I didn't know at the time.).

I switched them cold turkey after making them some Birdie Bread. Harrison's sells a mix online that you can prepare at home. They loved it and I think the pellets smell similar, so they had no issues converting.

For fruits/veggies/etc, I had to teach my sun conure to eat them. The method I found most effective = eating whatever I want her to eat and pretending it is the most delicious thing EVER. Take a bite out of that carrot stick and make the most overexaggerated ecstatic sounds/expressions you can. Don't offer them a piece til they come over to investigate, then let them have a bite or put it in a treat dish.

For toys: mysafebirdstore.com has great prices on toy parts. Drs. Foster and Smith are another online company that occasionally has good deals. I'm wary of buying toys at pet stores due to the risk of disease transmission. Petsmart had a huge issue with psittacosis, which is transmissible to humans as well as birds.

For taming, start by spending time near them. Carry on reading/working/watching TV/whatever in the same room with them. Leave the door open to see if they want to come hang out with you. Offer them sunflower seeds or millet from your hands. This process may take a while (weeks to months, maybe longer), especially since they are already bonded.

Congrats on your new feathered friends. It looks like they've found their way into a wonderful home.

Clicker training is supposed to be great though I'm too lazy to work on it. /u/cpxh would be a good resource for that.

Congratulations, your birdie loves you and it’s only been a month! Lots of birds haven’t settled into their new homes in that short of a timeframe, so you’ve clearly got a sweet bird and you’re doing something right to bond with her. Not whistling or talking after a few weeks doesn’t mean it won’t happen. You can keep working with her, but you also can’t force it. Even if your bird ends up being male, every bird has a different personality and different preferences. Some simply don’t want to whistle or talk. They’re still just as wonderful as companions.

If you want to keep bonding with your bird and maybe help her learn some other tricks, consider clicker training and target training. I like this book as a guide. Used copies abound if it’s too expensive new. Dog training clickers are cheap and I’d use a chopstick as a target stick for a tiel.

It’s not the same as whistling, but helping your bird learn other skills may help you shift your focus a bit. Once you’ve clicker trained and have her responding to the target, tricks like teaching her to turn around or wave are fairly straightforward. You just have to remember to be patient. Keep training sessions short (10-15 minutes) and end on a positive note. Remember that your primary goal is to have fun and build a special bond with your bird!

Please don’t fill your house full of birds until you find one that whistles. 😉 Enjoy your sweet tiel! Keep working with her to help her come out of her shell and bond with you. Love her for everything she is!

Just a few random thoughts: how is your bird's cage situated? To a bird, height = safety, so some birds are more confident when they can perch up high. Along the same lines, it might help if you crouch down when you replace the food and water bowls, so you're not looming over her.

Are there places in the cage she can hide? You don't want to provide her with anything that looks like a nest cavity, but you could try surrounding one or two of her favorite perches with hanging toys, to mimic foliage on a branch.

I have a budgie who used to be very skittish, and who only calmed down after I adopted a second, well-socialized bird. (Her cagemate had died, and I wanted her to have a companion - the rest was luck.) The second budgie has become very tame, and she watches him interacting with me, perching on my fingers, preening my hair, etc. Eight months later, she is still not hand-tame, and may never be; but she accepts my presence and will eat out of my hand if she sees the male doing it. She even grudgingly puts up with me handling her when I need to take her to the vet. She continues to make progress, but she'll probably never be a cuddler, and I'm ok with that. The most important thing is that she's happy and healthy.

A book I recommend to anyone who will listen is Don't Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor. It's one of the bibles of positive reinforcement ("clicker") training and behavior shaping. It's also a fun read, not dry at all. If you decide to keep trying, I highly recommend checking it out.

All of that said, after 10 months there's no shame in re-homing a bird if the relationship just isn't working out. Your budgie isn't happy right now either, and it's possible she might do better in a different home, or even in a sanctuary. Best wishes, whatever you decide :)

I can't help you with all the problems, but here's what I have—

I never use a vinegar solution for cleaning and have never had to; I do clean twice a week, though. The first time a week I just remove all of the bedding (newspapers) and replace it, the other time I scrub the cage bars, perches, and toys well with wet napkins/wipes because of feces/urine (make sure if you use wipes that they're safe for birds). Then all of the stuff falls onto the bedding. I also wipe the grate. Then the bedding is changed again. If you need a more in-depth description, you'll have to show me what kind of cage you get.

Don't forget to clean the food/water bowls daily. Bacteria can grow in the water bowl, and lots of feather dust (if you're fostering a dusty bird) will get in there. As for the food, you might not have to clean it daily, but my birds sleep directly above the bowls, so they poop in it by accident often.

I'm afraid I don't have any recipes, since my birds like fresh veggies. You should definitely try different ways to present them to your bird(s). Some like it hot chopped, some like it cold whole, some like it in the pot being placed high up, so try stuffing whole leaves of kale between the cage bars near a higher perch. It makes the cage look pretty, if that's your thing, as if it's full of wild foliage, and I find that birds enough chewing on the leaves when it's there as opposed to the bottom of the cage or the food bowls. Maybe even put it outside the cage, on the top, so they have a challenge pulling it through the bars.

Amazon sells a lot of bird cages, if you're fine with ordering online. I strongly recommend this one. Bought it for 80 dollars and the price seems to have risen, but it's really sturdy, lasted two years so far with no signs of breaking down, has 3 bowls and 2 nice perches, a door that opens like a ladder so your bird can climb out/in on its own, and lots of space. I have my two cockatiels who dislike each other in there and both have enough personal space, and I'm pretty sure a pet store could fit at least ten in (definitely don't recommend. I went to a bird store once with ten cockatiels in the same cage that was smaller than this one and they were all squished up tight in groups of two-three, poor things.)
They hate being alone in separate cages more than they hate each other, in case anyone was concerned.

Fourth, I've never used a cuddle tent, but I have also heard very bad things about them. I think you should cuddle your birds yourself, if they warm up to you. My birds enjoy sitting/chewing on this toy, which I also recommend, although not for birds larger than a conure. It gets destroyed very easily, and I've been through 4 in the past two years and that's me being conservative and replacing the twine with bird-safe fabric for a while. Worth it for the price, though. I like it so much I hang two in the cage at a time, one for each bird. If you want it to be cozy, hang it in a corner and put a toy or two in front of it that the bird can hide behind when it feels like it, as if the toys are leaves hiding a bird's nest in the treetops. Be creative.

Again, if you're looking for toys to sit on and good quality cages, definitely check out my two links.

That's the larger one I mentioned in my response to you, yes. I think you are better off getting a flight cage (like this for the money). The L12, the one you linked to, is the same one that I had and talked about in my responses to your post. However, like I said, cleaning it was a PAIN because you have to remove the whole cage top from the bottom (are you going to have it somewhere you can easily lift the entire cage up and over and set it down on to clean the tray and bottom out?), my elderly/blind Green Cheek Conures could escape from it, and wire sides are individually snapped together, which made it seem not that sturdy to me. But really, the cleaning thing and the GCCs (which are half the size of a Sun) being able to escape from it are the major big deals.

A flight cage like the kind I linked to is even bigger, already has a stand it is on, and the sides are individually cast and screwed together, which is much more sturdy. The pull out tray is also easy to clean - the grates and tray both slide out so that you can clean them without upsetting the rest of the cage. The vision's 'claim to fame' is it is cleaner because of the plastic fling guard along the bottom of the cage, but I find the flight cages are just as good if you use food dishes like this. If you amazon or google search for parrot flight cages, you'll get lots of sizes/options, you want to stay with bar spacing that's appropriate for Suns.

Toys totally depends on what your sun likes.. does he like shredding things? If so, cardboard, paper, or wood? Plastic toys where he messes with the parts? Does he like foot toys or hanging toys? Bells? Etc. Some ideas of the types of things he likes already would help us come up with some ideas for you.

There are lots of online toy vendors that are pretty good. I'm a fan of my safe bird store but there are lots of other similar stores and they always send a smattering of extra foot toys and stuff with their orders.

This is just my two cents, but for a brand new GCC, this cage looks great. Especially if he gets lots of out of cage time. If he's going to be in there more often than not, then I'd suggest an upgrade when you can. This is the cage I have my GCC Bob in, and he loves it. He is out of his cage pretty much all day right now, but last semester that wasn't the case, and it won't be the case next semester, so it's good to have extra space for them. Here is another example of a good sized cage that he would love. For the record, I don't think Bob will be getting another cage for any reason other than if his current one breaks, so no worry about getting a new cage every year. I had him in a cage about the same size as yours when I first got him at 8 weeks old, and he did fine in it. It just became apparent that he would probably like some more room, so when I had some spare cash, I upgraded it for him.

As for your cuddle tent thingy, when I first got Bob, he LOVED it. Every night when I would put him in to bed, he would jump right in his tent and make all sorts of cute little chirpy noises. We've had him for about 8 months, and he's pretty much indifferent to it now and sleeps on a perch, though I've not noticed a safety issue with it thus far. Your bird may differ, but that's what mine did.



Edit: I forgot to link the other cage. Fixed now.

I strongly recommend not clipping its wings. It clearly can fly well so clipping it at this stage would be very cruel. It is one thing to clip a bird who takes no interrest in flying or has been given little opportunity to. It is quite another to clip a bird who knows how to fly. There is a strong possibility that clipping it at this stage will cause behavioral issues and/or depression. Make sure you give it at least an hour or two to fly around in your house each day.

If you end up keeping it, I hope it makes a wonderful addition to your family. They are amazing birds. Things will go better for all involved if you do as much reading as you can. Learn about diet and caging. Also I can't recommend learning clicker training enough. It is a a great way for you and your children to interact and get to know the new addition to the family. It will also help with general behavior. Perhaps reading something like this would be a good place to start.

I wish you the best of luck! By the sounds of it she is a very sweet bird.

That size cage is just fine for two budgies, in my opinion. It's very open in movement space which makes it different from the silly fun-shaped cages.

Look for perches on Amazon.com. I got my manzanita and rope from there SUPER cheap. Petco had sand perches on sale so I grabbed two. There's Manzanitashop and the rope perches. The small 32" fits the cage perfectly.

My parrotlets will sit and groom themselves in the mirror. They'll talk to it and stare at it. I would offer the mirror back to her so she has someone to talk to and keep up your training.

With stepping up.. Try going about doing it differently. She may take to it better if you nudge her from behind rather than in front. Don't push her or force her on, but gently nudge and follow her around the cage. For a while it was easier for me to just grab my boys and sit them in my hand. They'd sit and eat millet out of my hand. Then I'd get them to step up a few times and reward them with a bite of millet.

Be sure to use your voice and over-praise her in a happy tone when she does what you ask. Keep your head above her and look at her with your head tilted so that you don't seem scary to her.

She'll get used to it eventually and you'll have her trained in no time.

For cages I would get something like this it will last you a life time and your bird will love it.
As far as birds Indian ringnecks are a bit more intensive than budgies or tiels or conures. Their beaks are pretty strong and they are pretty smart so they would need better toys to play with if you want the toys to last more than a couple of days.

I would also look at Quakers if you take care of it and give it enough socialization time they will not be very vocal. Really noise level depends on the personality of the bird them self and the amount of time you give them.

Quakers pack a lot of bird for such a small package and can be very rewarding if you put the right care into them.

Thank you for your positive reply. This is a really good book on clicker training - I've used clicker training to teach one of my cockatiels how to fly (after he kept breaking feathers from falling like a rock), and my other two birds also responded very well to clicker training since they LOVE treats. You can probably get your cockatiels more seed motivated if you only offer seed/millet as treats occasionally, and switch their usual diet to a pellet diet (Roudybush or Zupreem naturals are good brands - but please be careful about the switching process). Also, this is a useful book on parrot training and behavior. Even if you aren't able to get the actual books/ebooks (though I recommend them) because you aren't able to use Amazon for example, you could also google search about clicker training/behavior, and you can post future topics here in the parrots sub to ask for specific advice. Don't give up.

Yeah sure! I got it from amazon for a good price. My cockatiel absolutely loves hers so I’m hoping Emil loves it too.

Prevue Hendryx F050 Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage, X-Large, Hammertone Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQ228/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NN5WCbYV5KCVH

Yeah, I mean, I would definitely go for a travel cage if I were you (plus, they are just super handy to have just in case). This is the exact one that my boyfriend and I have for our birds, and it's been wonderful.

And as far as food and water go, I completely forgot to mention that. With cat carriers you can get these little shallow bowls that will attach to the front grate, but I imagine most of the water will slosh out within 5 hours. Having a real water bowl and food bowl for your little guy seems like a better option for him and your car =P

That's so awesome, I'm happy for you and Buttons! If I could suggest a cage, I just got this one in anticipation of my next baby. It seems like a great bang for your buck and the small flaws it has (mostly the spring loaded doors) are an easy fix. I put it together myself without much hassle in about 1-2 hours last night.

Thanks so much!!

Link for others interested

It's on back order and shipping to Canada is so expensive (19.99USD), but it's on my Wishlist now!! I'm gonna look around and see if I can find somewhere cheaper for Canadians haha :)

Eta: out of stock, but apparently homedepot.com carries them for you Americans! Wonder if/when they will restock!

So far for Canadians Amazon.ca is cheapest (with free shipping and no exchange rate/duty fees), probably gonna order there :P

Prevue is a popular brand, though they have a very wide range of quality and purpose.

Here is what I’d recommend:
Prevue Pet Products Square Roof Parrot Cage, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040QJ4Y8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VRiQAbN0ZKJXQ

Plenty of height to allow two “layers” as well as the bottom, sliding door access for food/water bowls (important for being able to change out food/water without disturbing a bird that’s not comfortable), slide-out bottom tray (again, same with regards to bird comfort but also convenience).

The size is above minimum. Bigger is better but honestly, a cockatiel combined with plenty of outside cage time make it unnecessary.

I don't have a Grey, but I'll throw my two cents in here.

A) Zephyr's wings quiver a little when he's nervous or in a new place for the first time. His chest and tummy feathers shiver a little when he's very relaxed and fluffed up on his perch. This is normal. If it's accompanying labored breath or trouble balancing, it becomes an issue.

B) I try to let my baby get about 11-12 hours per night, and that's what he likes. He goes to bed at 9pm, and usually wakes up between 8-11am depending on the day. He's usually happy to sleep in a little with us on the weekend. His sleeping cage is at the foot of our bed, and when he gets scared or wakes at night a little whisper from me will generally settle him down quickly. If you're not covering the cage at night, do that. If he doesn't feel comfortable sleeping away from you guys, maybe a sleeping cage could help? This is the cage we use for sleeping. (it also doubles as his carrier and travel cage!)

C) Just make sure you're washing your fruits and veggies very well before feeding. Teflon is what you're worried about, when heated over a certain temperature, it releases harmful airborne toxins that can easily kill a bird.

D) In the wild, birds split their days between foraging for food, and preening. It takes a LOT of work to keep all those feathers nicely zipped and flight-ready. Preening looks like they are combing their feathers out with their beaks in long movements from the base of the feather all the way to the tip. As far as I know, plucking looks more like the bird is tugging on the shaft of the feather violently to pull it out.

E) Molting is different for every parrot. Some go through seasonal molts, some molt continuously, and some do a big molt once per year. This mostly depends on the bird itself, but can be influenced by temperature, diet, and bathing.

I think that this new cage is actually really dangerous for your new babies. That cage seems to be for larger birds. You don't want bar spacing any bigger than 1/2". You can't simply get a large cage, the cage has to be appropriate for small guys. Something like this (try searching for "flight cage") if you want a great large cage for them. The rust is extremely worrisome as well. I'm guessing you got the cage second hand, so I hope you didn't pay too much for it. I understand you had good intentions, getting them a cage they can fly and flex their wings in, but you have to consider appropriateness! Good luck!

I really recommend the book Clicker Training for Birds (http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Clicker-Training-Birds/dp/1890948152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410049591&sr=1-1&keywords=clicker+training+for+birds)

It was really interesting and very helpful. Check it out and I think you will see really great results (I did!)

... Don't get another parrot. I'm gonna say this in the nicest way possible, but there are so many things wrong with what you want.

​

"I want the parrot to be around the same size as an Indian ring neck that's 100-300 dollars and can live in a medium sized cage that isn't high maintenance and quiet"

​

A parrot about the size of a ring neck likely isn't going to be less then $500, especially if you're getting one that's hand tamed.

​

Budgies? Aren't that loud. Anything bigger? Screeches. They throw fits like children. They're also not going to be low maintenance because larger birds tend to live for about 40-60 years (Conures and ringneck sized birds) and they're super messy.

​

A medium sized cage isn't big enough especially if they're aggressive and can't be held. They need at least a large cage like this one; an ideal cage for a larger bird

We had our cockatiel in the second one for the first couple of years after we got him, but always felt it was too small and cramped. We upgraded to this one about a year ago and he absolutely loves it.

EDIT: I mistyped - I meant to say we used to use the second one (the smaller one), not the first. We still use the small one as a travel cage, for which it works great (we recently moved, during which we transported our bird ~150 miles in it).

Try Amazon for pellets? Or theres this place which does toys, perches ect. Akd you can buy in bulk.

My vet reccomends this for both my tiel and gc conure.
https://www.amazon.ca/Zupreem-Fruit-Blend-Medium-2-Pound/dp/B0054RV486/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1H17GCRUFV0FW&keywords=zupreem+fruit+blend&qid=1556050726&s=gateway&sprefix=zupreem+f&sr=8-1

http://www.exoticwings.com/shoppe/zupreem-avian-maintenance-fruitblend-cockatiel-bird-pellet-parakeetconure-p-197.html

Also. PM me. Not sure where your located but I could help you find a good vet.


As for interaction. Take it slow. Open the cage. Let it come out as it wants. Talk to it. Then slowly get closer. Respect boundaries. It may take a while but be patient

Yes! I have a Sulfur Crested Cockatoo and she loves going travels with me. I like that backpack because it has mesh instead of plastic so it breathes better. I have the orange one.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048WE58Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I would not recommend housing two different species together. It's one thing to get along outside their 'nest' area, but birds are territorial of their space and one of your birds may end up hurt. Budgies tend to be little bullies. I know my conure and my cockatiels get along beautifully outside the cage but if one of my cockatiels so much as perches on my conure's cage she goes batshit crazy on them. The only one in the house allowed to touch her 'house' besides her is me.

But, fortunately for you. I have the perfect solution for you. This cage. It is a divided cage. You can have 'one cage' but your birds are separated. If they do end up getting along well like this, the divider is removable and your birds can be housed together, and still, you would have only bought one cage.

This is what I have. It's awesome, and comes with everything you need. It's sturdy and durable and super easy to clean.

Idk what kind of bird you have but it's a big large for my lorikeet. You could fit an African gray or Amazon in it for trips to the vet, but not a macaw.

some recommendations for perches and toys from me:

• [1] (https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Hendryx-62801-Naturals-Hideaway/dp/B007PO3AEC/ref=sr_1_9?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1495633046&sr=1-9&keywords=bird+toys)
  
  
• [2] (https://www.amazon.com/Vision-83380A1-Bird-Bath/dp/B001B5A8FK/ref=sr_1_27?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1495633081&sr=1-27&keywords=bird+toys)
  
  
• [3] (https://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Activitoys-Basketball/dp/B003V71508/ref=sr_1_34?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1495633081&sr=1-34&keywords=bird+toys). My budgies have this one and love it!
  
  
• [4] (https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Hendryx-62801-Naturals-Hideaway/dp/B007PO3AEC/ref=sr_1_9?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1495633046&sr=1-9&keywords=bird+toys). Good place for him to snuggle up in should the weather go cold.
  
  
• [5] (https://www.amazon.com/10-Assorted-Small-Bird-Toys/dp/B01069DOV6/ref=sr_1_10?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1495633046&sr=1-10&keywords=bird+toys). You could get some assorted bird toys from this link if it ships to where you live and rotate them around throughout the year.
  
  Some toys will eventually get destroyed which is why they're so cheap, busy beak will chew them up and throw them around anyway. I can recommend that pink perch as my own birds love theirs. offer some branches and some rope perches for perching on so he lessens his risk of bumblefoot.

If you ever have trouble handling him, you might consider using a stiff rope perch to step him up safely and keep him at a distance. I keep mine folded in the U shape by leaving the packaging on.

Grays are intelligent, and their capacity for change is great. Keep up the good work.

Honestly, I'm not knowledgeable enough on this subject to be helpful. You can find large cages suitable for a tiel for around 140 dollars on Amazon. For the convenience of a cage already powder coated and designed to house a parrot, something it will live in for 15-20 years. It's not a bad price. This one is very popular.

Hmm... I only see this on Amazon in one size, with the largest birds in the customer images being Lovebirds, so a conure might be a little cramped in there.

I recommend hitting up a pet store that specializes in birds/exotic pets and looking around for a larger one! I usually have to drive an hour north of my house to Denver to find shops like this, but the selection of toys and hideouts is always well worth it.

By the way, here is the link to the one I have, as well as the one in OP's post.

If your conure is on the small side and you want to give it a try, it's only nine bucks!

While not a huge cage, this one is what I keep one of my cockatiels in. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EQ28WX0/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_31?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It's a fairly decent size and I'm also a fan of longer cages, especially since I've found she likes to run back and forth along the bottom. You can get with or without the stand but I prefer the stand. They're also stackable if you plan on some other birds later on.

Something like this one is a bit bigger but still fairly wide compared to others, and might also be a good option depending on what you're looking for. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C332AOG/ref=pd_aw_sbs_199_of_11?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TR3DDN23PHS076Q80P0G

Edmonton checking in. We have these in all our of bird's cages - he loves them and they're not too big. Easy to travel with too.


K&H Manufacturing Snuggle Up Bird Warmer, Small/Medium Grey https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00CLA19FW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uTuIybRS121YG

Edit: another nice thing about this is the bird can control exactly how warm he wants to be by adjusting how close / how much he touches it. Sometimes me sits an inch away and sometimes he saddles right up.

We have this one for our quaker and it's absolutely perfect! We strung some plastic chain across at various levels and have a while bunch of toys and perches in the upper half, and she loves hanging out in and around it.

stuff like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054RV486/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001F95SV6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0QZJMHZC9S7J5RZX8BS7


and some time the smallest amount of seed enough where he enjoys it every few days of the week. I give him seed on sunday and wednesday along with fruit blend and stuff.

and other accsanal stuff I haven't done in a while. also give him protean stuff to help with molting and what not. Cooked Eggs sometimes.

Ideally you'd be purchasing food that doesn't contain sunflower seeds at all. I've been buying this and mixing it with this and this. Gradually I've been including less seed in general and reserve it for treats. I've also taken to growing millet in my garden, so soon I'll have fresh millet to give my conure as well.

My sun loves this, it makes a mess, but it makes him happy!

It's also on amazon for $8.99 - my lovebird loves it, but only after I put a handkerchief on the bottom to make it cushy. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Hendryx-62801-Naturals-Hideaway/dp/B007PO3AEC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415855416&sr=8-2&keywords=coconut+hut

This is the one I always recommend for small to medium parrots. It's great quality for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/HQ-Flight-Multi-Purpose-Aviary/dp/B002UTZ040

Link to the cage. It's meant to be an aviary but it has two large doors on the front. May not be perfect for escape artist birds. Based on my use so far I would say it would be great for anything from finch sized bird to a goffin cockatoo size.

Can you have anything shipped to you? Harrison's pellets are pretty popular, since the company is USDA.

I got this one on sale for my three tiels and its more than enough room. They love it!
https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_10?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1483562144&sr=1-10&keywords=bird+cage

Amazon has some decent options

Thanks for the info! She has a fleece toy made of strips that she sleeps in but the only place they could make a nest is on the bottom or in a food bowl, I think.

Its 2 of these put together
Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VCCaCbE4SZ4EY

If I had to do it again I would get 2 extra larges to put together instead of the f040 style. It would be even more room for them! But also fit better. My two put together have a crack in the bottom just big enough for a parrotlet to get through. Covering it is annoying.

Here you go, the large is a very good size and only $106, the xl would be even better
Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nHf0CbYWXT00D

Did you try any of the chewable bird kabob toys? I got this for my budgie that wouldn’t stop plucking and it works perfectly:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002FP1W0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_zXIOAb9GYJQSW
You can also get a bird pacifier for them to pluck and groom. I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034UHCSQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_.ZIOAbWJC0ZYJ
Just press it in between the bars of your cage, twist it and it’s secured. It also comes with refills.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002AR754/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451450357&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=parrot+rope+perch&dpPl=1&dpID=31c-hzLsLFL&ref=plSrch

This is what I'm talking about I have one in all my birds cages. My bird is terrified of the springy rope I bought, but he's a cockatiel so it's a little intimidating. I think if you put a rope perch and a smaller like Java wood perch more towards the top you'll have a happy bird.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048WE58Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I think that cage looks good! It looks really similar to another cage I've seen recommended on here several times for tiels: https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484420740&sr=8-1&keywords=flight+cage


Are the birds you're adopting already bonded to each other? If not, you may want to keep them separated for a little while when you bring them home so that they can become tame to you.

link to cage

I have this cage for my cockatiel and I love it.

It's 18x18x57 with a playtop as well. It was $150, but I got it on sale, and it usually runs between $300-400. She spends most days while I'm at work/in class in her cage, usually from about 8:30-9am to 4:30-5 pm but any time I'm home (nights, weekends) she is out. I really like this cage for her because she's a big climber, so it gives her a lot of vertical space.
Edit: Correct dimensions

Yeah a bigger cage ASAP this one is good and cheap http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002UTZ040/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1398632507&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

One thing to note: Heated perches are good but some birds may burn the pads of their feet trying to stay warm! A cage heater next to a perch may be another option, preferably by the perch he sleeps on at night.

Edit; typo

Thank you so much! We are looking for a new set up for our bird. She currently has this: https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_8?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1486051982&sr=1-8&keywords=bird+cage but it is getting rickety - the screws keep needing tightening. We want to replace it, but she barely uses the bottom half of the cage, aside from going down to the floor to pick at things she has dropped sometimes. We don't want to put her in something a lot smaller, and I understand the "buy the most cage you can get" policy - but cleaning something that you don't have to bend to the floor (yours vs ours) would be nice.

It was a pretty good cage for my Green Cheek, but I ended up upgrading him to a bigger one. This is the one I ended up buying. The bars are little for flimsy, but not enough to effect anything. I would consider some flight space for your budgies!

Would this be better?

Way too small.

More like these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FRV3M2/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492390373&sr=1-5&refinements=p_4%3APrevue+Hendryx&dpPl=1&dpID=41rvIjMEO1L&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B01BRCC94Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_37?ie=UTF8&qid=1492390494&sr=8-37-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=conure+bird+cage&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Cages-Parrot-58H21W17D-parrot/dp/B00CJTS75K

It's the HQ double flight, minus the stand and divider :)

If you're willing to spend around $160 on a cage, I highly recommend the HQ Flight Cage.

Updated. Posted the wrong cages! Is the this one good?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012DOXFW/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_9_w

Also, could you please link me to some good toys?

Yes, this one

You want to get as large of cage as you cam just make sure it has 1/2" (12mm) bar spacing.

This is close to what I have for my Kakariki.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F5L0/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b3FLkCJ_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=H1GR9VZZC9YKDE56DW5J&pf_rd_r=H1GR9VZZC9YKDE56DW5J&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=256e1a0e-b4ca-548b-846b-695a9b4a7f30&pf_rd_p=256e1a0e-b4ca-548b-846b-695a9b4a7f30&pf_rd_i=2975226011

Damn, I'm so new to this shopping market, any recommendations? There was one recommended by someone else here in my post and it looks nice!

Pretty sure this is it. I've got one for my jenday and it's great.

Prevue on amazon has some gooders.
I used this cage when I had my two linnies caged together but they started getting really moody about me third wheeling in on their parade so now they're each in one of these and its worked well-ish. Only downside to the two smaller cages is the doors slide upwards rather than swinging out so you'll need to pin them up with something if you want the door to stay open. Linnies are about the same size as lovies, I'm sure two could easily live in either

They are called bird kabobs. I purchased a pack of them on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Wesco-Original-Bird-Kabob-Shreddable/dp/B0002FP1W0

Bird cage. Specifically this one.

What about this?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F5L0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00176F5L0&linkCode=as2&tag=budgieworld03-20&linkId=ea66092cd3f3c9ed4dbaaab9e09e517e

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002SMC25E/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1542498550&sr=8-15&keywords=playtop%2Bbird%2Bcage&dpPl=1&dpID=512Xw1m7F7L&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

Is this cage too small/bad choice?

Seconding straw/shreddable toys. I have one of these for my tiel and she likes it, she also loves the ones like this that have the straw balls and stars that she can destroy. They don't last a super long time, but she goes nuts for them.

It's a huge flight cage. No way I can hang it.