From pet parrots perched on the arms of scooter riders in central Taipei, to wild red-breasted nuthatches hopping across douglas fir branches above hikers armed with binoculars in Oregon, birds are one of the most loved (and important) animals on the planet. And if yours is one of the almost six million US households that has a resident bird, this one is for you.
Hot on the heels of the smart chicken coop and the smart bird feeder and bath comes this elaborate high-tech system that aims to make life more enjoyable for both human and animal. The Reli Birddy is the world's first smart cage, a spacious home base for your pet that handles most of the hard work that comes with keeping a feathered friend happy and healthy.
While many people have an open-door policy with cages when they're home to supervise, the Reli Birddy is a sizeable space at 32 x 18 x 71 inches (82 x 46 x 180 cm). Four large doors in the front and four on the side let your bird fly in and out safely and easily, and can house extras like more perches and toys.
But beyond the design is where this gets interesting. For starters, there are five customizable light settings, including a nesting mode that borrows from nature. As the sun goes down, the cage will be illuminated in a way that encourages your bird to return to its home base for the night.
Now, birds can be messy. So, perhaps of more interest to the humans in the house, the system has a self-cleaning and UV light sanitizer, as well as smart water and feed dispensers. Bird droppings are automatically swept into a waste tray, where they're treated with a UV light sanitizer to zap bacteria and odor, and it's all locked away until you're ready to tip it out. It also means no disinfectant or additional cleaning products are required.
The smart feeder sorts seed casings or shells as food is dispensed, greatly reducing the food that birds will scatter around the bowl as they hunt for the good stuff. The feeder can be set to fill at scheduled times, which is great if you have a bird that likes to play with its food. Similarly, the water dispenser filters out old, stagnant liquid, keeping it fresh and clean around the clock.
All the automation is controlled via an app, which is easy to use and available in 16 languages. On it, you can see how much food and water is dispensed each day, and monitor the temperature and humidity inside the space. A digital dial on the cage can also be used to control cage functions
It's the latest offering from Reli, whose previous creations including the Birddy Smart Bird House, Feeder and Bath were all big hits when they launched in 2023. The cage is designed for strength and safety, with a nontoxic coated wrought steel frame, stainless steel feeder linings and swivel wheels (with brakes) for moving the setup around the house.
Sure, it's certainly not the cheapest bird cage on the market, but worth it for the time saved on cleaning, let alone all the other handy automation. While the Kickstarter campaign is underway, it's available for US$599, 33% off its retail price of $899. The system is easy to assemble and connect (Bluetooth and WiFi), and comes with cage, water and food dispensers, charging cable, cleaning tray, wooden perches and a user manual.
There are also a bunch of extras you can add once you place an order (or you can customize with your own accessories), and there's free shipping for residents in the US and Canada, with a flat rate of $29 for the rest of the world.
Source: Kickstarter
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