How To Set Up Your First Cockatoo Cage

Setting up your first cockatoo cage is fun, exciting, and the perfect time to make sure everything is 'just right' before bringing your new family member home. You want to make your feathered child's home as comfortable as can be. So we've helped you out by creating a step by step tutorial on creating the first (and best) cockatoo cage.

Photo credit to the Denver Parrot Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Find The Right Cage: For a cockatoo, the larger cage you can get the better. The maximum bar spacing should be 1 inch and the minimum size should be 30 x 30 x 40 inches. Look for a new cage- as used cages can sometimes be rusty or made of unsafe metals. Do not buy painted cages- instead look for stainless steel. Paint can chip and if ingested by your cockatoo it can sometimes be fatal. The bigger the cage, the happier your cockatoo will be. Depending on your budget and home, look for the biggest habitat possible (check out some of our favorites at the end of this article).

Find The Perfect Spot: Set your cage in an active part of your home. Cockatoos love attention and need lots of it. So avoid putting them in a bedroom (unless that's where you spend most of your time) and instead put it in a living room or family room area. Keep the cage away from the kitchen. Nonstick pans cause toxic fumes that can be fatal for birds. Also keep the cage away from doors or windows where air can leak through. Drafts can make your bird ill. Make sure the cage is also away from direct sunlight- as you don't want your bird to overheat during the day.

Build A Tree: Cockatoos need a variety of perches to sit on, play on, and exercise their feet with. So fill your cage with a variety of shapes, textures, and sizes of perches. Imagine a tree. Start with a few large base branches and then extend them into a few smaller branches. There should be a 12 inch gap above and below each branch so that your cockatoo can stand up straight and fully extend their tail. Do not overcrowd your cockatoo's space with branches. Make sure they can fully extend their wings and 'stretch' in between perching areas.

Add Food & Water Areas: In the middle of your cage create a food and water area. The food should be on one side of your cage and the water should be on the other. This will prevent food from being flung into the water and causing rot. Place your food and water dishes right next to a perch so that your cockatoos can easily access them while still sitting comfortably.

Add Chew Toys: Every cockatoo loves to chew, and over time you'll learn what sorts of things your cockatoos likes to chew on. Some prefer wood, some prefer rawhide, some prefer coconut shells. At first add a few different chew toys to your cockatoos cage. Place them from the sides and top of the cage in areas near perches where your cockatoo can reach them while sitting on the perch. Once you figure out what kind of toy your cockatoo prefers add a few more of those to the cage to keep them happy and entertained.

Add Entertainment Toys: Entertainment toys are things like bells, mirrors, puzzles, and snack areas. Add a variety of entertainment toys to your cockatoos cage. Just as with the chew toys place them in areas your cockatoo can reach conveniently. Add a variety and change them out regularly to keep your bird curious.

Add Exercise Toys: Things like ladders, swings, rope perches, and bouncy perches are great exercise toys for your cockatoo. Add these things in empty spaces where you do not have perches nearby. Remember to leave enough space for your bird to stretch their wings and stand tall with their tail outstretched.

Introduce Your New Family Member: You're all set and ready to bring your new family member home. Fill up your food and water dishes and let your little feathered kid become acquainted with their new room!

How To Clean Your Cockatoo Cage

Cleaning a cage as large as a cockatoos can be a big pain in the butt. And ensuring that you get it truly spic and span is seemingly impossible. But don't fear! We've created a step by step plan to getting the cleanest cockatoo cage you've ever seen. Follow these steps once a month and you'll have one of the positively cleanest cockatoo cages in the neighborhood (if not the world!).

Photo credit to the UK Cockatoo Sanctuary & Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Remove Your Feathered Child: Put your cockatoo somewhere safe, where you can easily supervise it while you clean the cage. A play stand is the ideal area. But even a travel cage is appropriate to avoid your cockatoo wandering out of sight while you're cleaning.

Remove Food Dishes: First of all, remove the food and water dishes. Throw away all food and water. And then set them in a bowl of very hot water. This will decontaminate them and help get any grime or hard particles off of them.

Remove All Plastic Objects: Secondly remove all plastic objects (toys, ladders, swings, etc). Place them in a bowl of very warm water (not boiling, but bathtub temperature). This will sanitize them and, just as with the bowls, help get them clean.

Remove All Wooden/Chewable Objects: Now remove anything wooden or chewable. Because these items are porous they cannot be soaked in water. Instead rap them in warm damp wash clothes. This will help loosen up stuck-on particles without absorbing into the objects.

Remove Bottom: Remove the bottom of the cage. Throw away the paper and discard of any of the droppings. Set the bottom back into the cage.

Clean Bars, Bottom, and Top: Now, take a very hot cloth, and scrub down the bars of the cage. Start at the top and work your way down. A brand new kitchen scrubber also works well for getting stuck droppings and food particles off of the sides. Once the bars have been completely cleaned, quickly wipe them down with a paper towel to dry them off.

Clean Dishes: Now return to your food and water dishes. Because they have been soaking, all stuck-on things should be easy to remove. Take a wet cloth and scrub them down. Then dry them off with a paper towel and return them to the cage.

Clean Plastic Objects: Do the same thing with the plastic objects as you did with your dishes. Scrub them free of stuck-on particles and then dry them completely before returning them to the cage.

Wipe Down Wooden/Chewable Objects: First, inspect all of your chewable items. Any that have been well-chewed can be thrown away and replaced with new ones. Take the rest of the items and wipe them free of debris. Make sure to scrub off all droppings. If you need to, you can take some soft sandpaper and file down hard stuck-on particles. The rest should be easily removed with a damp cloth. Wipe your objects dry, and then set them aside for 20 minutes to allow them to fully air out and dry before returning them to the cage.

Redecorate: Now you can redecorate! Add new toys, ladders, and perches to replace ones that you have discarded. Reorganize the cage. And then let your cockatoo check out it's new home!

Easy Steps To Keeping A Clean Cockatoo Cage

Cockatoos are... messy to say the least. It seems almost impossible to keep a truly spotless cockatoo cage. But that doesn't mean there aren't a few tips and tricks that can help you keep your cockatoo cage a little tidier.

Photo credit to the Iowa Parrot Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Change Food and Water Every Day: It sounds simple right? But changing your food and water every day is an easy, simple way to keep those dishes clean. Simply wipe them out with a wet rag and then dry them with some paper towels before refilling them. This will prevent old food from rotting and grime from sticking to the sides. It takes two seconds but makes a huge difference.

Remove Chewed Toys and Perches: Cockatoos are master chewers. And this means all of your toys, perches, and ladders will at some point in time be rendered useless. If that perch has been chewed in half, or that toy has been hanging there for a week in shreds- it's time to throw them away. Sometimes it can be so tempting to keep those things in the cage, but it's much more sanitary to throw them out and give your little bird something new.

Wipe Down Bars: Once a week take a damp cloth and wipe down the bars of your bird cage. This will prevent feces from sticking to the sides, dust from collecting, and overall give the cage a very newish appearance.

Change Bottom Out Once A Week: Every week take a moment to change out the paper in the bottom of your bird's cage. Most cages have an easy slide-out tray. Simply remove it, throw away the droppings, wipe it down with a warm cloth, and place new paper on top. Takes a few minutes, but saves it from getting stinky over time.

Be an Interior Designer: Change up your birds cage! By rearranging perches, ladders, and toys you give yourself inspiration to throw out older items, place in newer items, and wipe down dirty items. It's a fun way of cleaning your birds cage- not to mention it will keep your cockatoo wildly entertained.