Lesson 6: Cage Setup & Safety 

🐦 Welcome to Lesson 6!

The cage is your budgie’s home base — where they eat, sleep, play, and feel safe. A poorly set-up cage can cause stress, boredom, or even injury. This lesson will teach you how to design a cage layout that promotes health, enrichment, and comfort for your feathered friend.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• Ideal cage size and bar spacing

• Where to place perches, toys, and dishes

• Dangerous cage items to avoid

• Daily and weekly cleaning tips

• Creating an environment that prevents boredom

🏠 Cage Size & Bar Spacing

Bigger is always better when it comes to budgie cages!

• 🧱 Minimum size: 18x18x18 inches (45x45x45 cm) — for one budgie

• ✅ Best: At least 30x18x18 inches (76x45x45 cm) or larger

• 🔲 Bar spacing: No more than 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) to prevent escape or injury

Budgies are active birds — they need room to hop, fly short distances, and explore.

🪵 Perch Setup: Natural is Best

Skip plastic dowels! Use a mix of natural, safe wood perches to keep feet strong and healthy.

Perch Placement Tips:

• Mix up the thickness (¼” to ¾” wide)

• Don’t place perches directly above food/water dishes

• Avoid overcrowding — leave space for flying

• Try corner perches or swing perches for variety

• Keep a sleep perch near the back or side for nighttime

✅ Safe Woods: Apple, elm, bamboo, willow, grapevine

🛑 Unsafe Woods: Pine (unless kiln-dried), cedar, oak, cherry

🧸 Toys & Enrichment

Budgies need mental stimulation to avoid boredom and behavioral issues.

Must-Have Toys:

• Swings & ladders

• Bells & hanging ropes

• Foraging toys (hide millet inside!)

• Chewable toys (paper, balsa, soft wood)

🎯 Rotate toys weekly to keep things fresh

🛑 Avoid toys with:

• Long threads or strings

• Cheap glue or unsafe dyes

• Tiny parts that could break off

🍽 Food & Water Placement

• Keep food and water away from perches to avoid droppings

• Use easy-to-clean dishes

• Offer greens clipped to the bars or hanging inside the cage

• Make sure budgie can easily access both food and water

🌬️ Cage Location Safety

Where your cage sits in your home matters:

✅ Best Locations:

• Quiet corners of main rooms

• Away from direct sunlight or strong drafts

• Eye-level with humans so they don’t feel threatened from above

• Safe from other pets like cats or dogs

🛑 Avoid:

• Kitchens (fumes from cooking can kill birds)

• Laundry rooms (scented products, heat, noise)

• Next to TVs or stereos blasting loud sound

• Windows with direct sunlight all day

🧼 Cleaning Routine

Daily:

• Change paper or cage liner

• Refill food & water

• Wipe dirty perches or toys if needed

Weekly:

• Wash dishes with hot water

• Scrub perches and toys

• Spot clean any poop buildup

• Disinfect bottom tray (use bird-safe products)

🧽 Stay away from strong chemicals. Use vinegar + water or bird-safe cleaners.

📋 Quick Setup Checklist:

• Spacious cage with safe bar spacing

• Natural perches of varying sizes

• Toys rotated weekly

• Clean food/water area

• Cage in a quiet, pet-safe, well-lit area

• Daily + weekly cleaning routine in place

🎉 Another major step complete!

With the right setup, your budgie’s cage becomes a hub of activity, comfort, and safety. Next, we’ll focus on what most people look forward to most — bonding and taming your budgie! 🤝💛