What our customers are saying:

Hi Karrie,  They love the 8' rope!  Me too.  I'll get more photos for you soon".
-Ann Brooks, Phoenix Landing.

The History of Aviculture and Cages

     Have you ever thought about why we keep birds the way we do?  Aviculture is still a relatively young field and we are still learning and finding the best methods and ways to do things for our feathered friends.  If we look back through the decades of bird keeping we will see that over the past 50 years the typical cage sizes have been ever increasing as we recognize and appreciate the physical and mental requirements of our pet parrots.  In the early days of aviculture, pet parrots were chained to metal perches.  Everybody did that because that is what everybody did!  It was acceptable, normal, and "fine" for the parrots.  Remember that the people who owned parrots back then, as today, were those that loved birds and animals.  They were not intentionally trying to harm their parrots, but rather unknowingly failed to provide the necessary environmental requirements.  Today this style of parrot keeping would be labeled cruel and inappropriate.  How do you suppose parrot lovers back then would have responded to someone telling them that keeping parrots chained to metal perches is not the best way to keep parrots - or that they need more room, or more toys, etc?  Would they keep an open mind?  Or would they simply say "they're fine."  Are we open minded to the idea that perhaps there is a better way or a bigger cage is needed? 

     Slowly things started to change.  Toys became more important, sunflower exclusive diets became more diverse mixtures of seeds and nuts, and the importance of chewing wood was recognized.  Wing trimming replaced chaining and the cage became a popular alternative to open air perches.  Most cages were only slightly larger than the birds themselves and had only a single wooden toy in order to "satisfy a parrots desire to chew."  Many cages were built with only food and water doors as the intention was that the parrot was to never come out.  This photo above is taken from the book Amazon Parrots, copywright 1979. The caption reads, "A typical excellent amazon parrot cage." There are very few people who would desribe this cage as 'typical' or 'excellent' by today's standards. Of course today a pet parrot that has been confined to its cage for years is considered neglected or abused.  Birds are now seen to 'need' daily attention with their owners and hours of out-of-cage play time in order to thrive in a captive setting.

     Again perceptions and recommendations continued to shift.  Parrot cages continued to grow in size, allowing the bird out became more common, and adding fruits and veggies to the seed diets was starting to gain momentum.  At this point strict adherence to one bird per cage for pet parrots was still being rigorously taught and followed.  Today this method of housing birds is still greatly followed, but attitudes are beginning to shift.  People are beginning to recognize the disadvantages of keeping a social, flock-oriented, sensitive, affectionate creature isolated from it's own species for it's entire life.  Perhaps, someday, this practice will be looked upon as chaining parrots to metal perches once was....

     Things continued to evolve.  The idea that parrots needed copious amounts of physical attention and recognizing the strong bonds they developed with their owners dramatically increased their appeal as pets.  Husbandry issues like frequent showers, clean enclosures, and exercise became more important.  Several different toys were now being introduced, such as plastic toys and bells.  The minimum cage requirements continued to grow to accommodate more movement and cage accessories such as bird baths and food treats. Pellets were introduced to a luke warm welcome and varied degrees of acceptance.

      The parrot industry began to expand rapidly and many new toys of all sorts of shapes, colors, and textures were being introduced.  The idea of annual visits to avian vets was taking shape along with quarantine practices and disease testing.  Hand feeding was now down to a science and the breeders could even incubate from day 1 with high rates of success.  Cages were becoming aesthetically pleasing to match home decor and scroll work was a common addition.   

      Parrots started becoming extremely popular pets in the U.S.  The industry continued to encourage "larger" cages.  Toys are now common place as are play gyms and play stands in other areas of the home.  Specialized accessories began appearing such as shower perches and warm, cooked foods were becoming popular in addition to fresh offerings with pellets and seeds.  At this point the idea of an all seed diet was quickly becoming unacceptable.  Daily out of cage time was being spotlighted and the beginning of parrot psychology was being explored.  New and unheard of ideas such as nurturing guidance, abundance weaning, fledging and flying prior to clipping, and early socialization were shaking up previous aviculture methodologies.

     Today the trend continues as larger and larger cages are recommended.  Attention to being able to extend all body parts fully and accommodate multiple enrichment items is becoming a priority as well as the introduction of foraging activities.  Disease testing and annual vet checks are becoming commonplace and microchipping and vaccinations are gaining support.  Showers, cooked food, and attention are now firmly considered daily requirements.  Outdoor aviaries are developing as a necessity rather than a luxury.  People are beginning to experiment with housing parrots together and allowing them to have inter-species relationships as breeders continue to handle their "ex pets" and owners purchase multiple babies.  Rescues and sanctuaries also pave the way with large flights where parrots are allowed to choose their own mates and continue to remain interactive to people.  Multiple bird households now are extremely common.  Classifieds add are seen every now and then with bonded tame birds that the owners would "like them to stay together" as well as progressive rescue organizations adopting out pairs of bonded parrots. 

     Again we look to the writings and recommendations of vets, authors, behaviorists, experts, and rescue organizations and we can almost see the writing on the wall of what aviculture will be in another ten or twenty years.  The acceptable housing of parrots has continued to increase and now firm activity recommendations requiring larger interior space have been put forth.  Horizontal dimensions have been given priority over vertical dimensions and aesthetics have taken a back seat to function and husbandry.  The current cage sizes are not quite appropriate to accommodate vigorious wing flapping, hopping, multiple parrots, or flying, though this is fortunately the direction they are headed - and for good reason.

   Natural Inspirations Parrot Cages encourages owners to consider the needs of their pets and think progressively about their natural requirements.