Cages for mustache parakeet?

Snapdragon · Mar 1, 2020

A mustache parakeet at work (a parrot shop) has chosen me. He will have nothing to do with anyone else, and is considered the most difficult bird in the store, haha! It's looking more and more likely that he'll eventually come home with me.

I'm trying to figure out what cage I'll get for my little buddy so I can start budgeting. The recommended size is 3' x 2' x 3', and bar spacing should be 1/2". Ease of access is especially important for me due to finger and wrist issues, so I prefer larger doors. Here are a few candidates; please let me know what you think, and feel free to suggest others!

So far, this is the closest I've found to being big enough AND being budget-friendly:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002AQ228
It's huge and has more than enough room for my little buddy. On the downside, those small doors may make it difficult to clean. I HATE doors that slide up or that don't latch. This would be a pain to secure.

However, with my employee discount, I can get any A&E brand cage for a bit above wholesale. I know they're a VERY good quality cage, and I would prefer to go with that. However, none of the cages are at least 3' x 2' x 3'. They're close (generally around 32" x 21" x 30"), but not quite there.

These are the two A&E cages I like:

8003223 Black - 32"x23"x66" PlayTop Cage
I love the door size, I love the playtop, I love that all of the doors latch securely shut, I love that it has stainless bowls and a seed catcher, love, love, LOVE this cage. However, the bar spacing is 5/8". Could I get away with the size and bar spacing?

MA3221FL Black - 32''x21''x61'' Elegant Flight Cage
This one has the recommended bar spacing, plus all the doors latch and it has stainless bowls. However, the door is small, which may make it difficult to clean. I'm also not a fan of cages that don't have a flat top. Seems like wasted space that I could use for a bigger playtop.

Help?

Jen5200 · Mar 1, 2020

Moustache parakeets are similar in size to my sun conures I think (mine are 110-120g). I would be comfortable using 5/8” with them, but wouldn’t go any bigger than that with bar spacing.

The rest of this is just my thoughts - I too prefer the full height door. I would totally skip the one on Amazon. I had to buy clips to hold slide up doors shut, it took my conures about 20 minutes to figure out how to open them. And the small doors are terrible for getting in to clean!

I like the first A&E that you posted! Very nice cage.

I will also suggest this one (I have one and it has held up very well). It’s one of the few I’ve seen that is wide and deep, and my conures have really liked it. It came with the first two conures that came to live with me. It’s still in use now, and haven’t had any issues with it. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...MI5Z-2kd_45wIVENtkCh2aCAv9EAQYBSABEgK8UPD_BwE

Snapdragon · Mar 1, 2020

Yes, I think he's about the size of a sun. He's also the size of an Indian ringneck, if that helps.

The slide-up doors on most of the cages in the shop make me crazy. They are SO hard to secure, unless you use C rings that screw closed. And with my finger and wrist issues, it takes me forever to get them open and closed. The open plastic C rings aren't reliable, so I bought a bunch of hobby clips because it's easy to tell whether they're on properly... but the birds chew on them and sometimes still manage to pop them off. I have cats, and I would be a nervous wreck worrying with slide-up doors. I love the amount of space the Prevue cage has, but I love the security of the first A&E cage. (And even then I'd probably put an extra lock on the front door when I'm not home; my cats are clever little stinkers and might figure out that lever.)

I like your cage! Nice amount of space, and reasonable price. I did see in one review, though, that the playtop tray blocks the top bars, so you can't hang toys if you use the tray? Maybe they've changed things since that review, I don't know.

LaManuka · Mar 1, 2020

Everyone’s gonna say “Oh no, here she goes again!” but last time I had to buy new cages I went top shelf and bought stainless steel. I was kind of forced to because my tiny lorikeet (think smaller than a budgie) found what was probably the one flaw in the powder coating of a brand new cage and chewed a chunk of it off in the blink of an eye! They are HIDEOUSLY expensive here since only one retailer sells them and they can charge what they like, and do, but for me it was worth it to not have to worry about that kind of thing happening ever again. I assume they’d be a bit cheaper in the USA. For a bird the size of a moustache I’d go for the medium size, don’t be tempted to go smaller just to save a few bucks. They’re beautifully designed, easy to clean and should not need to be replaced for a VERY long time, and my birds actually really quite like them so we’re all pretty happy

Jen5200 · Mar 1, 2020

Snapdragon said:
I like your cage! Nice amount of space, and reasonable price. I did see in one review, though, that the playtop tray blocks the top bars, so you can't hang toys if you use the tray? Maybe they've changed things since that review, I don't know.

I think most people just don’t use the tray under the play top (I don’t). Mine run around and play on top just fine without the tray. I kind of prefer it - I think it would feel like it’s a bit dark inside when the top is covered

Snapdragon · Mar 1, 2020

Jen5200 said:
I think most people just don’t use the tray under the play top (I don’t). Mine run around and play on top just fine without the tray. I kind of prefer it - I think it would feel like it’s a bit dark inside when the top is covered

The more I look at your cage, the more I like it. I would love to find a nice wide cage so he has room to practice flying -- poor guy is woefully out of shape due to the difficulty everyone else has getting him out of his cage -- but it is awfully difficult to find well-made wide cages.

The other issue is that $400 is pretty much my absolute, painful, ramen-for-a-couple-of-months upper limit if I don't buy the cage from work. I get a fantastic employee discount on everything, PLUS they want Tashi to go home with me so much that they've offered to do a long no-interest payment plan for the initial amount on him, cage, toys, and food.

At this point, I think these are my top two, in order:
You & Me Standing Parrot Cage 30" x 30" x 43"
8003223 Black - 32"x23"x66" PlayTop Cage

More input definitely appreciated!

Jen5200 · Mar 1, 2020

Your workplace sounds great - that is a wonderful way to help you get set up with Tashi!

I have done a lot of searching for cages (I have 6 birds lol) - and good ones are hard to find in that size. I’ll be watching to see what others suggest, as I’m always on the lookout for ones that are a decent size with the full height door, stainless bowls, and none of the sliding-up openings. I need another cage for Mr Tee (his has the stupid slide-up doors), and I’m undecided what to get him. I’ll share it if I find anything else that looks good

Snapdragon · Mar 10, 2020

Jen5200 said:
Your workplace sounds great - that is a wonderful way to help you get set up with Tashi!

I have done a lot of searching for cages (I have 6 birds lol) - and good ones are hard to find in that size. I’ll be watching to see what others suggest, as I’m always on the lookout for ones that are a decent size with the full height door, stainless bowls, and none of the sliding-up openings. I need another cage for Mr Tee (his has the stupid slide-up doors), and I’m undecided what to get him. I’ll share it if I find anything else that looks good

I'm now leaning toward this cage:
9003223 White - 32"x23"x63" DomeTop Cage

I realized that a playtop would block out a good amount of light. I want a chandelier-style hanging play gym, anyway! (Might even build it myself.) As for changing the color to white, I want the cage to feel as airy and light-filled as possible, plus I want Tashi to be able to be in patches of sun without burning his little feet. The one thing I DON'T like about this cage is the bar spacing -- when he's racing around on the bottom, I've seen him trip over grates with slightly greater spacing -- but I'm going to ask my boss and my manager whether they have ideas. Or if I'm REALLY lucky, maybe they can sweet-talk the company into doing a custom 1/2" grate (or two) for me.

Oh, and Tashi is fascinated by the floor model of this cage! I took him over to see it, and he immediately wanted to climb around on and in it.

Jen5200 · Mar 10, 2020

That is a nice one too! The bar spacing was a bit weird on it - I saw 2/3” listed which I’ve never seen before

. I have lots of play areas hanging from the ceiling here, and they get used way more than the tops of cages. I do tend to make the hanging areas go to things like the play stand - I have some birds that never learned to fly, so I try to make things easy to navigate for all of them.

DonnaBudgie · Oct 8, 2023

Snapdragon said:
A mustache parakeet at work (a parrot shop) has chosen me. He will have nothing to do with anyone else, and is considered the most difficult bird in the store, haha! It's looking more and more likely that he'll eventually come home with me.

I'm trying to figure out what cage I'll get for my little buddy so I can start budgeting. The recommended size is 3' x 2' x 3', and bar spacing should be 1/2". Ease of access is especially important for me due to finger and wrist issues, so I prefer larger doors. Here are a few candidates; please let me know what you think, and feel free to suggest others!

So far, this is the closest I've found to being big enough AND being budget-friendly:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002AQ228
It's huge and has more than enough room for my little buddy. On the downside, those small doors may make it difficult to clean. I HATE doors that slide up or that don't latch. This would be a pain to secure.

However, with my employee discount, I can get any A&E brand cage for a bit above wholesale. I know they're a VERY good quality cage, and I would prefer to go with that. However, none of the cages are at least 3' x 2' x 3'. They're close (generally around 32" x 21" x 30"), but not quite there.

These are the two A&E cages I like:

8003223 Black - 32"x23"x66" PlayTop Cage
I love the door size, I love the playtop, I love that all of the doors latch securely shut, I love that it has stainless bowls and a seed catcher, love, love, LOVE this cage. However, the bar spacing is 5/8". Could I get away with the size and bar spacing?

MA3221FL Black - 32''x21''x61'' Elegant Flight Cage
This one has the recommended bar spacing, plus all the doors latch and it has stainless bowls. However, the door is small, which may make it difficult to clean. I'm also not a fan of cages that don't have a flat top. Seems like wasted space that I could use for a bigger playtop.

Help?

How big is a moustached parakeet? The first cage- the big one with the small doors- the doors may be larger than you think but look small because the cage is so big. They are probably 8 inches wide. I go for this one because of the price and size. All of them are good.

Cages for mustache parakeet?

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