Joey's first cage had them for the food and water dishes. He'd lift them with his beak and try to come out. He never was quite quick enough, but I worried anyway. I used bread twist ties to make them open just enough to be able to take his dishes out, but he couldn't lift them.
A dog leash clip is a good way to lock a door so a cockatiel can't open it. Safety pins usually work too, although I had one bird who figured out how to open them and would go around unlocking all the cage doors just for fun.
if you want to secure them long term, I would use zip ties. Really cheap. Short term, I use twist ties or toy fasteners. Seems to work for me. Dog clips would probably be the easier to open, though, from a human standpoint. Not so easy for a tiel to open them
Sam's old cage had them and I used zip ties to keep them closed, but the cheeky bugger figured out how to undo them and I had a BIG escape scare one day over xmas break.
I've heard that twist ties hold the risk of heavy metal poisoning, so I'm hesitant. I imagine the ones without metal would work well, though...provided they don't ingest any of the material.
Would dog clips and toy clips keep doors closed enough? I imagine they'd still permit doors to open a tad. Are padlocks safe?
Also, sorry to get off topic, but is there such a thing as minimum bar spacing? If so, what is it?
Thanks! Sorry for all the questions. I'm new to this.
3/4 of an inch is considered to be the maximum bar spacing for cockatiels, but I like 5/8 inch better. If the spacing is an inch or more they can stick their head between the bars. Budgie-spaced bars (1/2 inch) are fine for cockatiels too.
Clips on the door will allow some movement, but if you choose the size of the clip correctly it won't move enough to cause problems. Padlocks are safe, but it's a bigger hassle to unlock them. The large cockatoos can figure out how to open a combination lock but cockatiels aren't that smart.
Is 3/8 too small of a spacing? I have a 30" cage I'd be interested in using as a sleep cage (or a permanent home, depending - as it is well over the minimum), but it has oddly small bar spacing.
I don't think I'd want 3/8" spacing for a regular cage because it would look too walled in. You want to be able to see the bird, and you don't want the bird to feel like it's in a nestbox! But that's still enough space for the bird to be able to climb around on the sides without getting its toes caught, so it ought to be safe enough.
Thanks all! It'll be used as a sleep cage, if the little one happens to be prone to night frights.
Also, 3/4" is okay for 'tiels? That certainly opens up my cage options, aha. I had always assumed it'd be large enough for a head to fit through, though looking at it now it's not much more than 5/8".
Thanks again! An incredibly helpful forum...I'll be sure to stick around. :cinnamon:
To me, 3/4" looks like it might be big enough to stick a head through, and that's why I feel safer with 5/8". But 3/4" is considered to be safe for tiels and has the official blessing of a whole lot of people.
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