I have a cage that measures 18W 18D 24H. It has a opening at the top and the bottom pan comes out But, my problem is the grate on the bottom that he poops on, it doesn't come out at all. So, when I go to clean the cage he flaps like crazy. Oh, I have a parakeet and he will NOT come out of his cage. If he gets out he goes berserk. So, he stays in the cage. I have ordered a bigger cage. I'm getting a qp in 3 weeks. The bigger cage I got is rounded on top so it doesn't have a place where I can put the quaker on the top with his toys. I was just wondering if I should switch the birds. Put the quaker in this cage mentioned above and let the parakeet have the bigger cage. Oh the bigger cage has a grate that slides out too. The QP will be allowed out of the cage alot. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Gail

I think the quaker would be okay in the smaller one if he's out a lot, but I also think he would be happier in the bigger one.

I think it would depend on you cleaning the cage with the grate taht doesn't slide out.

Keep the Q.P in the larger one (as that is the minimum size for a Q.P anyway IMO) cover the grate with newspaper then when its dirty you just roll up the sheet of paper that way the grate wont get soiled...Thats what I do .. ...

You know...

Even though it has a rounded top, that doesn't mean you can't add toys

I have flat top cages that open up at the top, but I never use the feature. So what I did was put a forked perch (has two or more branches on it) so that it is pointing straight up in the air and then I attached some toys to it. Max loves playing up there!!

Also, I've attached a long birdie boing to the ceiling (using one of those plant hooks) and have it so that it circles down towards the cage and then I attached whole bunch of toys to that! (using zip ties and other safe stuff).

Here is a picture:



Now, it looks like the birdie boing is far away from Max's cage, but it's not. It is pretty close to it...

(Max asks you to please excuse her house, as this was taken prior to cage cleaning day )



So you see? You can get rather inventive I don't use play stands/gyms for any of my birds. They all have a birdie boing above their cages and it's loaded with some cool toys.

Also there are toy Hooks that you can get that bolt on to the top of the cage so you can hang toys from it as well. Or just hang things off the top of the center top and it still works well. Use your imagination....My Macaws cage is a dome top and I have a boing hanging from the ceiling over the top of it...she prefers just using the top as a race way back and forth back and forth... But she's 22 years old too so she doesn't play as much as some might....

I'd give the Quaker the bigger cage also because the wire is probably a bigger gauge and the welds will be less apt to break when they start yanking on them with their beaks.

In my opinion you should stay with the smaller one ONLY because you will not have 3 hours a day to play with your quaker and you will need to keep him out a lot, or you can do what carrie said. I just think the little extra room wont make as big a difference as the hours out of the cage.