Aka is getting a new cage.

Hi all,

So Aka will be getting a new cage in the next month or two. It will probably be after two months because I have to save for it. His current one is NOT stainless steel like the shop told me, the cage is powder coated instead. I tried to fight with them because the advert and invoice was wrong but the cage is over a year old (and past the warranty) and they said they can't help me. So, we have to get Aka a new cage. The coating is coming off at the bottom and the top grate, and although Aka isn't a cage biter, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

This is probably for the better anyway because the new cage is a lot bigger (width-wise) and Aka is bigger than we were told he would get. The breeder said his parents and other parrots in their flock range from 28-30cm length and they weigh around 400g. Aka is 32cm from beak to tail tip and weighs approx. 480g.

Edit: I haven't been able to measure his wingspan because he hates people touching his wings and even with the jersey, I value my fingers.

Anyway, the new cage is electroplated and safe. I was planning on putting the new cage in the flat without moving Aka to it immediately, I did that when he moved to this cage and he was fine. I left the new cage doors open and let him walk around when he was in that area. I think it took about a week for him to predominantly go/stay in that cage. I didn't want to force him in the new cage, that would have been traumatic for him I think.

I want to do the same with the new cage (I have no idea where we will put our stuff, haha), but should I keep the cage as-is or introduce new toys (because some of his old ones are almost completely gone) at the same time? I would hang the new toys in the new cage so he can get used to seeing them there instead of putting them in his current cage. 

The new cage will have to be in a different location unfortunately, because of the size. Still the same room, just in a corner (which is what I wanted in the first place) about a meter away from mine and my husband's desks, with the current one right next to us.

Do you have any tips for before and after the new cage gets here?

I know Aka knows what a cage is so I tell him that he is getting a new cage after lots of breakfasts (it's how we tell the time/day with him) but I can't think of anything else other than the leaving the old cage in. He was a lot younger when he got the cage he is in now and his personality was still forming. He was a lot more open to change at that stage so I have no idea what to expect with the new cage.

Any advice is welcome. 

I was also planning on keeping him in the bedroom when the new cage gets here, to minimize the stress something so big and so new.