Grate or no Grate, that IS the question!

Martin Dean

Regular Member
Hiya All , I currently have a grate in my bird cage as Im trying to separate my birds (Two cockatiels) both from their droppings and discourage the female bird from laying eggs (by no having any access to anything that they can use to lay a nest). However I have heard bad things about bird grates (such as birds dying from getting stuck in them!), So what is best? Having a grate or not?
 
I have always had newspapers on top of the grate and just take the top sheet off every morning and evening that way I can keep an eye on the poop
If te cage is the correct bar sizing for the species of bird then the grate wouldn't be an issue as such
Your not going to stop breeding behaviour as even in separate cages the birds will still see and hear each other and if they have paired up then I would say its unfair to separate them. They form extremely strong bonds and they do have strong emotional attachments we as humans put them together I would say it very immoral and wrong to then for us to decide to separate them just because we as humans decide we don't like it after all and it doesn't suit us. there after.
Buy some dummy cockatiel eggs and just replace her eggs with dummy eggs when she lays so that natural and emotional behaviour can continue a and put the birds emotional wellbeing above your own. If they want to nest let them just don't allow the nesting to become a breeding of youngsters.
 
I also always had newspaper on the grate as I preferred to allow birds to walk comfortably on solid "ground" if they wished. The paper was changed every day. I'd argue that allowing detritus to fall on paper which is then removed is a great deal more efficient and hygenic method of keeping a cage clean than allowing it to fall through a grate and then have to clean the tray and also scrape off the bits that have adhered to the grate.
 
Personally I don't like grates and have never used them. I think they are dangerous if a bird falls, and a pain to clean properly every day. I too like to give the bird an option of walking on solid ground which is more natural. You could try without it and see how it goes?
 
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