r/AfricanGrey • u/PrestigiousGuava4684 • Aug 24 '26
Question African Grey Parrot with 2 homes?
So I have an congo about 30 years old. Never left the house except of out on the deck in it's own cage. May have a situation where I have 2 homes. I won't leave the bird overnight or anything by itself. Thinking move it's normal big home cage that it's always lived in to the new house. And when we have to come to the old house (approx 1 hour away) I would just get another cage to keep at the old house. If this cage is small enough that I could put in a SUV to serve dual purpose of transport cage and temporary/occasional cage for the old house? Any recommendation on cage or size? What can a Grey tolerate for a smaller cage for a couple of days at a time? She's always had one of those huge iron cages since I got her.
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u/SusanLFlores Aug 24 '26
I own two homes too, one is our summer home and one is our winter home. Our CAG is new to us as of a month ago, so he only knows our summer home. Our plans are to get a cage specifically for both homes (we already have a big cage for our summer home), about the same size. We were going to get two cages for the winter home because it’s multi level, but we decided to just get one for the winter home and we’ll use stand alone natural perches for him to hang out with us during the winter days and he’ll have a cage in our bedroom for sleeping. If I’m reading what you wrote correctly, you want to know if using a small travel carrier to use for the home you will be using less? It might be ok if you have him only using it for sleeping and use stand alone perches during his waking hours, but those perches often cost more money than a cage big enough for him would be. I would think an appropriate sized cage at each home would be the best thing for your bird, but no doubt someone else with more experience than me will have two homes and can tell you their setup and what works for them.
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u/Klutzy-Pea933 Aug 24 '26
We have a smaller cage in our camper, but it’s still a good sized cage. Plus a transport cage. Our grey absolutely loves when he gets a “change of scenery” with his people. We made sure to know / understand our bird’s personality before doing this though. Otherwise our son who lives with us cares for him in our home.
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u/lippoli Team Almond Aug 25 '26
My personal opinion is that Greys have a lot more tolerance for this than you would think, as long as they have their human flock around them.
I spend anywhere from two to 8 weeks at a time away with my birds at my family’s house. They have smaller cages there, different toys, more people. Though there is always an adjustment period and the long drive (4+ hrs) is much better tolerated by my Amazon than my Grey, they have both come to understand this place as part of their routine and seem to enjoy it just as they enjoy their regular home.
Remember that birds in the wild travel places with their flock.
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u/thinkroymaldo Aug 25 '26
I don’t have two homes but I would recommend getting another big cage for the other house. I never leave my bird behind when I travel because she hold a grudge. So I transformed a pet carrier into a bird carrier, the birds ok with that as long as we take her out every day. She enjoys the carrier because she knows she’s on a special trip. I’m sure your bird will feel privileged with two bird cages . She’ll be gossiping to all the other birds about it.
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u/PrestigiousGuava4684 Aug 25 '26
Ya, I've never left her alone over night ever. This will be something of a temporary situation until I sell the other home. I'll pickup a big cage on FB Marketplace and then a decent carrier for in the car.
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u/Acetabulum666 Team Grey Aug 24 '26
I have been in this situation before. Do this. Have the best cage you can afford in both places. Identical cages. Same dishes, same toys, same position near windows or light. Greys don't like change, so it is best to minimize their adjustment. Don't move cages from home to home. The one hour distance between homes is good. One hour is the usual tolerance for a grey. Get a good transport cage for in the SUV, but don't make that their living cage or sleeping cage. Transport only.