Good Cage or Not?

[birdbrain123120]

i'm wondering weather my conure's HUGE cage would do for either 2 doves or 2 pigeons?

I'd love to know if I'd work!

Thanks

[corvid]

Im sorry to be a noisy here, but this bird should not walk or sit on the wire floor like this. It is not suitable for him.And the food on the bottom , which he can get to it is potential bacterial problem in future.

Nell

[birdbrain123120]

okay it is removeable so if it isn't in will it due?

[Charis]

Pigeons and Doves do best in a cage that is long rather than tall.

[Grim]

I think a pair of doves would be fine. Just make sure that anything that falls to the bottom including droppings can not be reached by the bird.

[Dezirrae]

Two doves should be fine in this cage (especially considering how expensive new - and even many used cages) are. Ideally, as Charis mentioned they do better with more width. It actually looks very similar to the size cage I had my two doves in at first. Check out my pictures (link below) and look for the white cage. I don't think two pigeons would do well in that cage though - stick with the doves.

A couple suggestions though if you don't mind If you haven't scrubbed the cage down since having the conure in it, you should do that ASAP. Even if you have, it looks like it could use a good cleaning near the bottom. After the good scrubbing, lay down several layers of newspaper - this keeps them off the grating AND makes daily cleanup MUCH easier. Simply take off the top layer newspaper and lay down a fresh layer. If you don't normally get a newspaper ask your neighbors or local stores to save leftovers for you. I get mine from my local pharmacy - the save the Sunday papers they don't sell and I pick them up on Monday.

After the newspaper but a brick or two on the bottom of the cage - this will not only hold down the edges of the newspaper, but will also give the doves a rough surface which helps their feet and toenails.

Next - doves enjoy roosting in higher places. We accomplished this by buying a rectangular wicker basket (tight weave/sturdy) and securing it to two sides of the cage plus one of the perches with lots of "zip ties" (white plastic interlocking ties - any automotive shop will know what you mean if you mention zip ties). At first I put lots of hay in the backet but found that too messy to clean up on a regular basis so now I fill most of the basket with crumpled up newspaper then lay a cloth rag on top - then cover that with some hay/straw for them to use as nest material. At cleaning time, just grab the four corners of the rag and dump out the old hay. Have a few of these cloths on hand so you can wash the soiled ones.

Something to keep in mind when setting up perches - doves fly on a diagonal so try to keep a "flight path" clear... you'll get the idea after watching them for awhile.

That should get them off to a happy start Do you have a spare room you can let them out in for a few hours a day? They do enjoy and need exercise - so that would help. To minimize the poop cleanup I lay spare towels over most surfaces in my spare room.

Good luck!! And please - tell us more about your feathered friends - we love stories and we LOVE pictures

[kippermom]

I just moved a pair of doves into a cage exactly like this. I bought a bag of large decorative river rock at Lowes and laid one layer of it on the cage bottom. The stones are too large to fall through the wire bottom, but I can hose them off and the seed and poop fall thru to the holding tray on the ground. I placed small potted plants in one corner and a shallow bath on the floor as well, with a few rocks in it for preening. I also hung a foot or so of rope in each corner as my doves have always liked rope perchs...so far it is working out great.

[EgypSwiftLady]

I think your cage will be just fine for a dove or two as long as they get free fly time out of the cage.
My dove Raven sleeps in a cage that is smaller than that one, but during the day she has access to free fly in our office and only stays in the cage at night.