Photo by Jamieleigh Location: Our condo in Saipan, MP

I've been trying not to reference Fiji too many times throughout my other posts that aren't specifically on toucans... but I came up with this blog post topic with her help. I was cleaning out our bird trailer after we got it back from repairs and because we hadn't planned on it needing such a major overhaul, I never cleaned out the bird area before we left the trailer there. So when we got it back, I tried to clean it before Dave saw it... as it still had Fiji's feathers, poop, and just... reminders of her in there, in her old cage. Including her favorite toy. I didn't want to take any pictures because honestly, I never want to remember it like that. And I had to throw away her toy rather than give it to any of the other birds (we know she didn't die from anything contagious) because I just didn't want it around to stare at me. And while I cleaned, I could have sworn I saw her sitting in the cage watching me... but it ended up just being how a couple toys were positioned together forming a long beak type shape that made me think I saw her. Plus, it helps me in my coping with my loss of her to write and talk about her a little. Onto my topic at hand...

While cleaning, because the trailer was left in one spot for 2 weeks, it was a mess and really gross. I had no birds in it as I got it ready for them and I used Windex to clean all the plexi (diluted and with no birds inside for 24 hours afterwards... doors and vents were open to air it out first before birds went in) and actually as I write it's still airing out before I even think about putting birds inside. But it made me realize that you can't thoroughly clean your bird's cage with your bird inside it. And if you're alone, you can't depend on your bird to be well behaved enough to do its own thing while you clean for hours. Because it took me a long time (given, I had 8 cages I was cleaning) but still... Which brings me to thinking each bird needs two cages. So you can thoroughly clean one, while he lives in the other. That way it's constantly clean but really clean... no traces of rust or mold, or whatever. Especially if you're serving fresh foods, they can make a mess of their cage and how great is it to be able to clean clean clean clean and then just leave it outside to dry off, or to air out someplace else and not feel rushed to get back in time for your bird to use it since it's the only one for him? I hate being rushed on things, and this takes the urgency off. It's also just good to be prepared by having a second cage handy. Even think of the other possibilities if you had another cage for your bird... you could spend time with him in more than one room easily without moving him and all his things. The convenience alone is worth it, and I bet if you ask any bird shop for a deal on two cages they'll give ya one. My favorite bird cages are from Custom Cages.

Article by Jamieleigh Womach. She has been working with parrots and toucans since the age of 17. She isn’t homeless but is home less than she prefers to be. She travels the world with her husband, daughter, and a flockful of parrots whom she shares the stage with.