How to Set Up a Bird Cage: Perches, Dishes, Floor, Toys and the First Night

1. Inspect the cage before the bird sees it

Run a finger along every bar and weld for burrs, flaking coating and rust; VCA says birds swallow chips. Measure the spacing with a ruler against the Merck table rather than trusting the box (listings print 0.4, 0.5 and 5/8 inch for cages that measure otherwise). If any part is galvanized (shiny grey wire, unpainted hardware), Howard's JAVMA instruction is to wire-brush it and examine it before the bird goes in, and the Niles Animal Hospital sheet adds a vinegar scrub, which reduces the risk without removing it; a cage whose maker states a zinc-free coating (Prevue does) skips this. Check that doors latch and that a parrot's cage has locks a beak cannot open. Remove any plastic or cardboard packing from inside the bars; a bird finds it first.

2. Wash it

Soap and water, rinsed and dried, is the maker's instruction (Prevue: mild soap and water, no abrasives) and the first two steps of the CDFA's cleaning sequence. A new cage does not need disinfecting unless it is second-hand; a used cage gets the full sequence in the cleaning guide before anything goes in it.

3. Perches

Take the dowels out or keep one; VCA wants natural wood of varying diameter so pressure is spread across the foot, toes wrapped about three quarters round, no sandpaper covers, natural cotton or hemp rope allowed and synthetic never, concrete as one perch and not the only one. Dr. Latas adds variety (wood, rope, concrete) and nails reaching about halfway round. RSPCA Australia on placement: perches apart, to make the bird fly or at least climb between them, and never directly above other perches or above food and water, so droppings fall where nothing is. The usual layout is one high perch at the back for sleeping, one low perch near the dishes, and the width of the cage between them, with a platform for a bird that rests flat. The perch guide has the grapevine and rope picks and VCA's wood list; a branch from your own apple or maple, washed and baked at 200°F for 30 minutes (VCA), is the free version.

4. Dishes

VCA: sturdy, non-toxic, cleaned and disinfected daily, attached to the sides not the floor, stainless for large birds, water shallow enough that a small bird cannot get stuck. Three dishes (water, dry food, fresh food) at three places on the sides, none under a perch (RSPCA), plus a second set so one is always drying. The Tfwadmx stainless clamp cups and Lixit's locking crock are in the dish guide. If you plan to use a water bottle, hang it now beside a bowl and keep the bowl until the bottle's level drops every day.

5. The floor

Paper on the tray, changed daily, so the droppings can be read: that is VCA's reason for paper over litter and the owner's daily health check. If the cage has a grille, the paper goes under it. A wire floor without a grille is covered (MSPCA/AAV guidance) so the feet have something flat. Dr. Latas says parrots do not need grit, so the gravel-paper liners sold for the floor are not a reason to buy; plain unprinted newsprint or an absorbent liner from the cleaning guide is.

6. Toys, a few

Two or three toys, rotated, not a cage full; a bird needs room to move more than it needs a tenth toy. Check rope and fabric toys for loose strands (VCA) and small metal parts for what they are made of (the Niles sheet's zinc and lead list). Nothing hangs over the water dish. Toys and swings come out before any car trip (VCA transport page).

7. Seed skirt or catcher

Not a welfare item, a floor item: a stretch mesh skirt around the lower cage catches the seed and feathers that would land on the carpet. The Daoeny skirt (118 by 15.75 inches, $10), the Tamu skirt (stretches 55 to 100 inches, 16 inches deep, $10) and the RAINFLOW two-pack ($7) are the ones we read; measure the cage's perimeter first. A skirt is fabric, so it goes outside the bars where a parrot cannot reach it, and it is washed with the covers.

8. Where it goes

Dr. Latas: where the family is, but not the kitchen or garage, at about chest height, against a wall so the bird has one safe side, away from windows and drafts, not under an overhead lamp that frightens it, and moved if the activity nearby stresses it. Merck's owner page: away from windows, air conditioners and drafts, not the kitchen, comfortable room temperature. VCA's hazards page: never the kitchen or laundry room, because of non-stick fumes. RSPCA: out of the sight and sound of predators, not in the busiest traffic, protected from loud noise. The placement guide goes room by room; the stand it sits on should put the top perch at or below your eye level.

9. The first night and the first week

Dr. Latas: ten to twelve hours of sleep, twelve to fourteen for some, in a dark, quiet room, with the cage covered or the room darkened; Merck's owner page says most birds should not be covered at night. Both agree on the dark and the quiet; whether a cloth is involved depends on your room. The first week is the bird learning the cage: watch that it finds the water (a bottle it has not learned is an empty bottle), that it uses more than one perch, that droppings on the paper look like droppings, and that nothing in the cage has a beak mark that worries you. A new bird also sees an avian veterinarian in its first week for a baseline exam, which every source here takes for granted.

The setup in one table

Step	Do	Source
Inspect	Burrs, chips, rust, spacing measured, galvanized brushed, latches	VCA; Merck table; Howard 1992; Niles
Wash	Mild soap and water, rinse, dry	Prevue; CDFA
Perches	Natural wood, varied diameter, apart, not over food; no sandpaper	VCA; RSPCA; PetMD
Dishes	Three on the sides, stainless for big birds, shallow water, washed daily	VCA
Floor	Paper changed daily; wire covered; no grit	VCA; MSPCA/AAV; PetMD
Toys	Two or three, checked for strands and metal	VCA; Niles
Skirt	Outside the bars, washed	Housekeeping
Place	Family room, wall behind, no kitchen, no drafts, no fans	PetMD; Merck; VCA; RSPCA
Night	10 to 14 h dark and quiet; cover optional, sources split	PetMD; Merck