HELP:Need Cage to keep in Dander from my AFRICAN GREY

[ricoman]

Hello Everyone,
Been a member for several months,first time posting,and hope I can get some help.
I have an African Grey who I have raised from 6 months old and is now 17...he is part of the family and an EXCELLENT talker.
Problem is my doctor says he has to go because of all the dander and feathers,which are causing problems with my health.Even though we vaccum everyday and clean his cage/change papers etc..also everyday,the dander is still all over.
Does anyone know of a cage that is enclosed with maybe a filter,BUT still lets air thru and allows us to interact with the bird and still hear him????
Please reply here and if possible direct to: ricoman at myhome.net since I dont check the board to often.
THANKS:

[huntress]

No but in BirdTalk magazine there is a special air cleaner that is designed to go right under or next to the cage. Was designed especially for this type of thing
JWR Exotic Bird Air Systems Home Page

And then you can maybe look for an Acrylic fronted cage? I have a cage that is Acrylic on the front and back and open on the sides and top. Im sure with a cage like this and a good air cleaner it would greatly help. I'll go look for the cage online for you now. Plan on an investment.

Decorative Bird Cages by Prevue Hendryx

[ricoman]

Thanks Huntress,
The cage you mention sounds interesting and I would love to see the web-site if you find it.As far as Air Cleaners,I do have 2,a HEPA and an Ionizer,they do help alot,but there is still a dusting of dander on everything,and when he flaps his wings,WOW...time to leave the room..!!

[huntress]

OK, so I'm adding a pic of my cage. I got it recently, gently used. It was quite poo pooed by some of the opinions on here and I almost didnt buy it but now Im glad I did. Some concerns were1. ventilation. It has plenty. 2. Ease of cleaning. It has doors on both sides and one is half the length and as wide. I can sit a stool and clean the acrylic faster than I can wipe down bars on my other cages. Trays pull out. Grate has a bolt but thats good for MY bird who likes to slide them out. Its actually easier to keep clean than all my others. I can see the grate needs cleaned NOW though,lol. 3. No versatility for perches. We have four perches in there and the dowel will be replaced by manzanita - we had to order the right size. The long rope perch can be changed around. We took out the dish holders and replaced them with ones that are more versatile. 4. Designed for the people not the bird. Hmm, she seems more content in this and she doesnt protest to come out as much. I Think she actually feels more uncaged in it. She goes in to bed on her own now! She would bang the bars for an hour after putting her in her old cage. She can still bang the bars on this but doesnt do it very often at all now.

Liz really seems to like it better and she actually will spend more time in it even when it is open. It is VERY roomy and she can still climb the sides.
The top stays open without the aid of a perch so we added our own perch that is not in the way of opening and closing. We can still hear her well.
Something like this with a good aircleaner hung on the side or even set on top could work for you?

[ricoman]

Hi Huntress..
THANKS...looks and sounds very interesting!! What is the maker of your cage? Is it the Prevue Hendryx Cage which you listed the link for...I checked it out and at $500.00 isnt really to expensive....
I will have to give it some thought ,maybe this with an air cleaner underneath would work...just wondering with open sides and top just how much dander it will keep in..for sure more than my open 4 sided cage I use now... :-)
George

[huntress]

The acrylic is very thick too. You dont even want to know how much I paid for mine,lol.

[ricoman]

Well I've been doing some searching on the web today and have found them from around $300.00 to $3,000.00 ...and of course the one I really like is in the 2K range...But my health and his welfare is the #1 thing...so if I cant find a good used one like you did,guess it will be Rice and Beans for dinner for the next year... :-)
George

[TheFrantom]

The BEST air cleaner I have found is a 18x18" Box Fan, reversed, with a furnace filter put on both sides. Turn the fan so the front "sucks in" the air and pulls in the filter. The dust and dander will catch in the filter. You can then vacuum, or bang out the filter outside, and put it back on the fan and run it again. I have used these fans in my birdroom for years. I turn it off at night or when I am not home, though. There is no draft to affect your birds either. I think I have mentioned this on other chat sites, so please excuse the repeat if I have mentioned this on BirdBoard.com already......

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[jylu97]

I may have additional suggestions or ideas since I have really bad allergies and asthma with my bird's dander.

I noticed that whenever my bird fluffs up or even turns her head, the dander tends to float upwards. This is really apparent with sunsets--I guess it's just the eay the light falls but you can see the dander as wisps of smoke. A filter up top seems to make the most sense to catch the dander before it floats anywhere else. The dander particles are pretty small, so I would make sure the filters you have are truly catching the particles (you may need a Hepa capable of catching the smallest particles).

Avian Adventures makes acrylic semi-enclosed cages with filter/fans at the top, but they aren't Hepa.

Frequent thorough showers are also key.

There is also someone who makes a water filtration system to catch particles that go at the cage bottom. It's called aquaclean but it would have to be customized for your bird size.

Also, does your weather permit your grey to spend time outdoors?

These are just suggestions, but I hope they help.

Liz