Creative Ways to House a Cockatoo

Indoor Cages

• Indoor cages for cockatoos should be no smaller than 2.5-by-2.5-by-3.5 feet. You can purchase or build a basic cage for your cockatoo, but a customized indoor cage provides for creative options. If you are worried about taking up too much space in any one room of your house, build or buy two half cages and cut a window or a series of openings in the wall between two rooms. Position the two cages on either side of the wall so your cockatoo can travel in between the two rooms and the two halves of its cage.

Outdoor Cages and Aviaries

• Outdoor aviaries or flight cages are excellent for keeping cockatoos because they are better able to provide the space your cockatoo needs than an indoor cage. Turn an unused shed or dog run into a cockatoo aviary by building a covered shelter on one side and by enclosing the rest of the space with heavy duty wire mesh or fencing. Keep in mind that cockatoos have very strong beaks that can bend or break wire, so perform routine checks to make sure the cage remains in good shape. Be sure to install perches and ropes in your outdoor aviary for your cockatoo to climb on, and take measures to control the temperature in the sheltered area of the cage if the weather becomes extreme.

Play Stands

• Many cockatoo owners allow their birds to spend as much or more time out of their cages as in them. If you are able to give your cockatoo time to play outside its cage, it is not as necessary for you to have a large cage. Instead, build or purchase your cockatoo a play stand to climb on outside of its cage. Construct a tower with perches, posts, and ropes sticking out from PVC pipe or branches from your yard. If you are using PVC, wrap the perches with rope or twine to make it easier for your cockatoo to grip them, and drape thick ropes and plastic chain over different areas of the play stand for your cockatoo to climb on.

Balcony Aviaries

• Build your cockatoo a combination outdoor and indoor aviary by utilizing an existing outdoor balcony on your house. Enclose the balcony with sturdy metal mesh and cover one wall, the wall exposed to the most weather, with glass to protect your birds from rain. Create a 3-foot opening in the door or indoor wall of the balcony so your birds have access to the indoor area. Inside, build an indoor cage or aviary for your birds complete with a nesting area, perches and play ropes. During the winter and during extreme weather, you may need to close off the balcony area entirely and limit your cockatoos to the indoor cage.