Ask Lafeber

What type of double cage?

I have a male budgie and a female lovebird who (so far) have gotten on splendidly together for a year. I keep them in separate cages because I’m aware they normally can’t coexist in the same space. But when I leave their cage doors open, they visit each other’s cages and happily hang out, and I’ve never seen any signs of aggression from the lovie. That said, i don’t want to take chances so they sleep in their own cages, etc. I live in a small space and I’d like to reduce their two very large cages to one, with a divider. There are two models: side by side cages with a wire divider, where each space is narrower but they can see each other and still “hang out”; or stackable cages that are wider (more room to fly) but they can’t see each other—and one will need to be on the bottom, which doesn’t seem fun. Which type would be better for the birdies?

Hi,

I agree that these species should only be out when supervised, and should not share a cage. I have known budgie/lovebird companions that interact outside of the cages and explore each other’s cages, but sharing a cage can be a different story. I do not like stackable cages at all. The cage on the bottom is too dark, and the bird hears sounds from above. Since parrots are prey animals, their strongest fear is being attacked from above, so I feel like a bird in the lower cage lives in a constant state of fear on some level. A divided cage can work, but they will tend to bite the toes of the neighbor, no matter how well they get along out of the cage. Just as you are likely to get your fingers bit if you stick your fingers in a cage, regardless of how tame the bird is when it’s out of the cage. I’ve seen birds seriously injure another bird through the bars of a divided cage. And female lovebirds are notoriously territorial, especially once fully mature around 2 years of age. I’m not sure sacrificing space for each bird, or possibly their safety, to save yourself some room is truly worth it.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda