Mine don't have sleeping cages. I have a birdroom and they are out almost all day. They go in and out to eat and drink and then sleep in those cages. None are covered. When Diana ekkie lived in the living room she was covered in her big cage at night but there was too much TV noise so I moved her in with the other birds. I'd rather have her in here with me but hubby won't give up those all night cartoon shows and she wouldn't get enough rest.

I do have carry cages for vet visits.

Maxi has an extra cage like her regular one so when she's laying too much I could isolate her and change her environment. She went to the sewing room and pouted. Still laid eggs.

It didn't help so now I leave her with the others during egg time.

Annie

Mine don't have sleeping cages either.  I used to keep them in a room upstairs but then they missed all the action.  So...they are now in the living room in the middle of it all and I have to cover them at night since the blinds don't keep out the occasional headlight. 

 

I just realized we haven't answered your specific question about how you determine size.  Figure out where the perch can be placed. Will the bird's tail clear the floor when he's perched? Will his head clear the top? Can he turn around without scraping the sides? That's your cage size. Long tailed birds need a bigger carrier or cage to prevent damage to the tail.

When I had my scarlet macaw I couldn't find a tote cage big enough for his tail to clear so I carried a huge heavy cage. Very hard on the back but he looked better after all my pain.

Birds like pionus, amazons, ekkies and conures can fit nicely in a medium sized cat carrier. You'll have to measure and drill a perch and the carrier and screw the perch in place.

I shipped a DYH to my cousin, from Oklahoma to Arizona, with a layover in Dallas, in one of those. Planned the perch height and depth from front to back. She did great. She came out at the airport, which I had told them not to do, and yelled, "Surprise." She made quite an impression on travelers.

 

BTW, I have a microphone mounted in my birdroom so I can hear what goes on in there when I am at the pc and can't see them. You should hear the crunching after the lights go out. Mine all eat after bedtime.

Annie

Mine don't have sleep cages, but they are out all day, only going into their cages at night of if I am leaving the house.

What I call a sleeping cage is only because mine are outdoors all day long. The cages they have are large but compared to a 40 foot flight!! so I call them sleeping cages...

There is an Amazon in his cage I can't spot him... 

Too2

 

 

 

I am looking and I can't spot him either...lol

Here are pic's of my girls sleepy cages as Twiggy calls them.  My birds only sleep in them and also we use them as travel cages for the vet visits and in case of emergency.  They are fairly small, 18 longX 14 high X14 wide.  Just perfect for my girls.  The doors open either on the endlike Glory's  or on the side like Twiggy's.

This one is Glory's

 

This one is Twiggy's she has had the same blankets since she was a baby  the palid flannel wraps around the entire cage like a feather barrier and the red and blue have always covered her when she sleeps since she was a few weeks old.    Twiggy's sleepy cage is on a shelf in a bookcase in our bedroom where she has slept all her life with us.  That's where she thinks she belongs and she asks to go to bed in her sleepy cage about 7:00 every night.  She is restless and stays up telling us it's time to go night night until we put her to bed in her sleepy cage.....Whe she was little...she slept in haer little glass aquarium on that same shelf, and then graduated to a canary cage, and then this carrier.

di 

Glory has a sleepy cage because she was a night owl when she came to us and wasn't a very healthy bird.  She wanted to stay up until 2:30 AM with hubby.  

 

After Glory was here for about 4 months hubby had surgery and I was trying to take care of all the animals, our home business, be at the hospital as much as possible and Glory needed to change her schedule.  I introduced her to the sleepiy cage and she caught right on.  Her feathers brightened up, her appetite increased and overall she became a healthier bird with her increased sleep time,  It took her about two weeks until she was begging to go to sleep at 7:00PM right along with Twiggy.

I took an extra yellow sheet and made what I call Glory's sleeping bag, which I sleep over her cage to capture all the feathers and powder they shake out during the night.  Then I cover her cage with a dark blue sheet.

 

Neither of the girls eat in their sleeping cages but both have water available.  They sleep a good solid 12 hours, as recommended by my vet and in most parrot health books.

 

The reason for the sleeping cages for my girls is to insure that they get their 12 hours of sleep for Glory, and for Twiggy, she needs the sleep, but it's just what she's accustomed to and we'll keep it that way.  di