# My Bird Cage



## fluoro.black (Nov 5, 2009)

Hey everyone ,

I got my bird cage yesterday, and I must say I'm quite happy with it. But if anyone sees anything about it that could be dodgy, please point it out haha. Here is the video of my showing it off haha :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chZ6y7_kilo

I also have a few questions:
1. Which is better? A mineral block, cuttlebone or calcium perch. 
I think that the cuttlebone or mineral block would probably be the best 'staple' source of minerals, but yeah I would like to know which is BEST haha :blush:.
2. Is copper safe for birds? Because it came with a copper bell, and cockatiels usually love bells so it would be awesome to hang up in the cage, but I don't want to poison the 'tiel I'm going to get, although copper isn't a heavy metal, so maybe it's ok .


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

That's a nice cage! 

It depends on the Cockatiel. My Cockatiels like both, so they get both, but a lot of people just offer cuttlefish bone. You can put both in and see which one it likes best and then take the other one out - both are good for them though. 

Don't give anything to your Cockatiel that has Copper. Why? Copper is potentially toxic to birds although avian toxicity from this metal is less common. 

Other then that, I don't see anything wrong with the cage or the accessories apart from the Copper Bell. You also have been doing your research, different sorts of perches you mentioned in the video - kudos!


----------



## fluoro.black (Nov 5, 2009)

> That's a nice cage!
> 
> It depends on the Cockatiel. My Cockatiels like both, so they get both, but a lot of people just offer cuttlefish bone. You can put both in and see which one it likes best and then take the other one out - both are good for them though.
> 
> ...


Thankyou for clearing that up .  I'll definetly make sure to remember that in future and keep the bell away. 

Hehe, I'm really happy I found this site too, it's an amazing source (sorry I'm STILL hyper about finding and joining it haha :blush.


----------



## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Nice cage  Does it have a slide out grate aswell? The only things that I noticed is the bell on the toy near the swing is one of the slit bells and birds can get their toes or beaks stuck in them. Also when I get my cuttle bones I take the metal piece off and clip the cuttle bone in the cage. I find that the metal piece is very sharp and can cut or scape a beak when the bird uses the cuttle bone. Spike loves his cuttle bones and he also had a mineral block in his cage that he will use once in a while


----------



## Clairey331 (Oct 21, 2009)

Agree with the others. Cool cage! Love your demo of it!


----------



## Nimfa (Jul 26, 2009)

I've really enjoyed in this presentation. You got wonderful voice and wonderful cage after all. Congratulations.


----------



## fluoro.black (Nov 5, 2009)

Aww thanks everyone haha, you guys are so cool .



> Nice cage Does it have a slide out grate aswell? The only things that I noticed is the bell on the toy near the swing is one of the slit bells and birds can get their toes or beaks stuck in them. Also when I get my cuttle bones I take the metal piece off and clip the cuttle bone in the cage. I find that the metal piece is very sharp and can cut or scape a beak when the bird uses the cuttle bone. Spike loves his cuttle bones and he also had a mineral block in his cage that he will use once in a while


Yep I forgot to mention that in the vid :blush:, It does have a slide out grill over the tray hehe. Oh I didn't know about the slit bells , I'll see how I can fix that, if I can't I'll take it out and replace it with a safe toy. I'll make sure to take off the metal and clip the cuttle bone in. Thanks for the advice .


----------



## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Very cute bird! I don't use cuttlebone because it's made out of the backbone of a fish... how terrible! Instead, I use a mineral block without any preservatives or bad ingredients and it works out fine.


----------



## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

Clawsworth said:


> Very cute bird! I don't use cuttlebone because it's made out of the backbone of a fish... how terrible! Instead, I use a mineral block without any preservatives or bad ingredients and it works out fine.


Um, I hate to tell you this, since you seem so set against them, but the main ingredient in mineral blocks _is_ cuttlebone and some do contain artificial flavourings, colours and preservatives. Here's the ingredients to one I found: 



> Cuttlefish, Iron Oxide, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate,
> Wheatgerm Oil, Aniseed Oil, Seaweed & Selected Grits.


Can I ask why you think it's so terrible? It doesn't seem any worse to me than the leather parts on toys. 

I make cuttlebones into toys occasionally. Lofty loves the texture of them to crunch up. =)


----------



## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Mythara said:


> Um, I hate to tell you this, since you seem so set against them, but the main ingredient in mineral blocks _is_ cuttlebone and some do contain artificial flavourings, colours and preservatives. Here's the ingredients to one I found:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I made sure to find a vegan mineral block (the husband, myself, and our cockatiel are all vegan ) It was also coloured with vegetables. And yes, I don't use any toys with leather or any other animal ingredients for that matter. I was only stating that cuttlebones are made out of an actual cuttlefish because many people don't seem to realise this - they think it's a cute name for it like "cuddle bone."


----------



## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Here's the one I use http://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Tropic...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257968989&sr=1-1

It has some artificial colours and flavours but no preservatives like BHT and no animal ingredients; it's the best one I could find thus far.


----------



## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

It's good that you've managed to find an alternative for your situation. =) The cuttlebones we have here, don't have any preservatives and the smell of fish is so strong when you open the pack, I don't think anyone could live in ignorance for long, lol.


----------



## fluoro.black (Nov 5, 2009)

Hmmm to get around the animal problem, if one lived near the beach they might be able to collect them from there (because the cuttlefish is already dead, not killed for it or something). Then again they probably wouldn't be safe, with bacteria and all. I'll just have to see what my 'tiel will prefer haha .

Interesting that there are mineral blocks . It's interesting though, because the fish doesn't really go through any pain as such, they don't have pain centres in their brains (interesting fact if anyone hadn't read a fact already today haha ).


----------

