Birds
Find and offer birds in Guatemala.
A canary cage here is picked for its roof, whether peaked, rounded or pagoda-style, and then hung on the veranda so the bird spends the day in fresh air. Those cages, the flight cages, perches and feeders that go with them are bought and sold new and pre-owned, often with the cups still clipped to the bars. Now and then a canary, a budgie or a cockatiel needs another home too, because its owner is moving or a pair has raised more chicks than one house can keep. Those birds are passed on to someone who will look after them, never priced like the cage they arrive in.
Length for a canary, height for a cockatiel:
the bird decides the cage, not the roof on top of it. Canaries and zebra finches fly from side to side, so length matters more to them than height: a breeding cage, long and low with a wire divider that slides out, lets a keeper bring a pair together, and a flight cage gives a small flock room to fly. Budgies and lovebirds climb as much as they fly, and a cockatiel carries a tail nearly as long as its body, which frays against the bars of a canary-sized cage; they need the tall cages on casters with a tray that slides out at the front. A parakeet will chew a bamboo or wooden cage apart, so its cage is metal. Seed mixes, nests, cuttlebone and perches of mixed thickness are bought and sold in bird supplies.
Opossums, rats and a cage left out overnight:
are what a bird kept on the veranda has to be protected from. The opossum climbs, hunts at night and lives perfectly well among houses, and a rat will reach through wide bars for a sleeping bird. Even when nothing gets in, a canary woken by a cat on the roof of its cage can thrash against the wire until it hurts itself. A cage that hangs outside by day should be easy to lift down and carry in at dusk, with bars close enough that no paw fits between them, doors that clip shut and a tray that cannot be pushed out from below.
A cage on casters, complete or missing its tray:
that difference decides what it is worth. A small cage with a peaked, rounded or pagoda-style roof is around Q200 new, and a tall cage on casters with room for a pair of cockatiels runs from about Q1,400 to Q2,000. The tray, the floor grille and the feeder cups are made for that one model and almost never turn up on their own, so a tall cage without its tray is a repair job, and a complete one is worth paying more for.
Rust, flaking paint and mites on a second-hand cage:
show up where droppings and spilled water sit, so look along the bottom bars and the corners of the base first. Wooden and bamboo cages, and old nests, hide red mite in their joints; the mites come out at night, so a cage that looks clean by day can still be carrying them. Slide the tray in and out, lift the grille and work every door: lovebirds and cockatiels learn to push a sliding door up with their beaks. A bird looking for a home is judged by watching it before anyone reaches in. Fluffed feathers, a bird sitting low on the perch, a tail that bobs with each breath or soiled feathers under the tail all mean it is unwell. Blow gently across the seed dish: parakeets leave the husks behind, and a dish that looks full can be empty. A cockatiel can outlive most dogs, so taking one on is a long commitment.
A cage photographed with its tray out:
shows a buyer exactly what they want to see. Give its measurements and roof style, and say whether the original tray, grille and cups are all there. For a bird, name the species and give its age, its ring if it has one, the seed it eats, whether it steps onto a hand and why it is moving on. A bird that has escaped from the veranda belongs in animals lost and found. Whoever comes from Jutiapa or Salamá to collect a pair should bring a small carrier and a cloth to cover it, and travel in the cool of the morning: a bird rides calmer in the dark of a little box than loose in its own big cage.