Whats the best size cage for a GCC? Whats this about metal cages killing them?

I am researching bird cages, and I came across someone saying that metal cages kill them, something or other, and that you should get a cage with acrylic. Can someone clear this up for me? So far I have found that you are suppose to get a minimum of 18x18x24. Of course to me the bigger the better, but I just want to know whats the minimum cage I should be getting. Thank you much!

I'd say the minimum is more like 20x20x24 but bigger is better. I dont know why metal cages would kill them....as long as its powder coated it should be fine..

I was told that some cages(very few) had zinc/lead (very poisonous to birds) on it.

Oh ok, yea lead is not got for anyone.. So when you buy the cages, does it tell you that it's lead/zinc free? Where do you go to find good quality, affordable cages? How much would a 20x20x24 new or used be?

I went to birdcage.com so far, do the seed catchers really work? It looks like a good addition to have if it caught the seeds.. I am leaning towards getting a cage with one of those, and something for at the top, but if it's not really going to work then, I won't bother. I see having a good vacuum will be a must anyway.

Bigger is better. This is the cage my GCC, River has Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO I really love it! The guards are great too, and seem to work well for me. It could vary from bird to bird though. Some birds can really give their food a far fling! lol

Rio Mom said:

Bigger is better. This is the cage my GCC, River has Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO I really love it! The guards are great too, and seem to work well for me. It could vary from bird to bird though. Some birds can really give their food a far fling! lol

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That is actually very spacious for the price. Would you say 90 percent of the seeds are caught with that for your bird?

Pinkstiletto66 said:

Rio Mom said:

Bigger is better. This is the cage my GCC, River has Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO I really love it! The guards are great too, and seem to work well for me. It could vary from bird to bird though. Some birds can really give their food a far fling! lol

Click to expand...

That is actually very spacious for the price. Would you say 90 percent of the seeds are caught with that for your bird?

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For my bird, I would say yes it does catch pretty much all the mess. A little bit might get past it, but not much. He doesn't get much seed, that's mostly just for a treat. But it does catch that, the crumbs from pellets that don't go to the cage floor, and bits of whatever else he's been eating, along with stray molted feathers.

Rio Mom said:

Pinkstiletto66 said:

Rio Mom said:

Bigger is better. This is the cage my GCC, River has Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO I really love it! The guards are great too, and seem to work well for me. It could vary from bird to bird though. Some birds can really give their food a far fling! lol

Click to expand...

That is actually very spacious for the price. Would you say 90 percent of the seeds are caught with that for your bird?

Click to expand...

For my bird, I would say yes it does catch pretty much all the mess. A little bit might get past it, but not much. He doesn't get much seed, that's mostly just for a treat. But it does catch that, the crumbs from pellets that don't go to the cage floor, and bits of whatever else he's been eating, along with stray molted feathers.

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Nice! I think I'm sold on getting the seed lip.

As long as you buy a cage from a company that makes bird cages it will be safe. It is when the paint isn't bird safe and rust that can kill them. My conure's cage has the seed catchers on it and it saves me a huge mess everyday. I amstarting to look for a cage just a little larger for him now and if it doesn't have them on it i'm not even looking at it. He is my messest bird and they save my floors.

melinda said:

As long as you buy a cage from a company that makes bird cages it will be safe. It is when the paint isn't bird safe and rust that can kill them. My conure's cage has the seed catchers on it and it saves me a huge mess everyday. I amstarting to look for a cage just a little larger for him now and if it doesn't have them on it i'm not even looking at it. He is my messest bird and they save my floors.

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Thanks. Where do you go to buy your cages.. So far the only decent site is birdcage.com, and of petco, in that order.

I got my cage off Craigslist. It was exactly the cage I was looking for, and I got it for half the price. 32x24x67" with 46" interior. My GCC LOVES it. Great size, front top folds down, and it has room for storage underneath. His older cage 24x22x30" is now his outdoor cage, so he can be outside when the weather permits

Bobioden said:

I got my cage off Craigslist. It was exactly the cage I was looking for, and I got it for half the price. 32x24x67" with 46" interior. My GCC LOVES it. Great size, front top folds down, and it has room for storage underneath. His older cage 24x22x30" is now his outdoor cage, so he can be outside when the weather permits

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Very nice and spacious! I saw a 800 cage for 200 yesterday!! Too bad they were in NH. It was wide, and in great condition.

Alex has the newly produced and bigger version of this one. The version we have is larger, has a different latch (My little guy can open sliding latches) which turns and locks into place, and the door is longer.





It is an A+E cage - A&E Brand Cages - Quality cages. Always free shipping.

They are quite expensive here as we have to import them. I believe this cage retails at around $250 in the us, I paid just over $400 for mine. However, most of that additional charge was probably markup since I bought from a petstore that imports them. But this cage comes veterinary certified with no toxic compounds, and it comes with a pretty decent warranty. In addition the store I bought from extended the warranty to 3 years, and guaranteed me Alex couldn't destroy this one (He has a habit of snapping the welds on cages. He can slowly but surely over a month remove a cage bar! No welds on this since it is cast, hopefully no breaking it!) The cage itself is wrought iron and steel, and powder coated in the charcoal colour.

It's very sturdy, and the seedcatchers DO help a a lot. He still gets food everywhere, but it's certainly an improvement! I think the original cage was designed with a GCC or cockatiel in mind. I saw them in the local shop, but it wasn't really an upgrade from our old cage size wise. The newer, bigger one is nice for a larger conure though! When I saw it, I snapped it up.

The only downside to the A+E cage is that it is not an open dome top or open platform top like I wanted. However the door is large and Alex finds it easy to climb on top and back in as he pleases. It's also not the prettiest cage (The stand is quite bland, IMHO) but that's mainly because I am obsessed with the aesthetic of things. It is extremely functional however.

On online buys. -I made the mistake of purchasing a cage online recently. The cage was lovely, but the bar spacing was wrong... Alex could get his head out! The people accidentally sent me the size up from what I ordered. Unfortunately that means a size up in the bats, too. Luckily it's finding a new home with someone who has an Ekkie (This cage is pretty big, it's more of a too or ekkie cage) so it turned out ok in the end.

Another online buy was Alex's first cage. It was ok, but a quite flimsy quick ebay buy as he was coming home much sooner then expected! It's served us well though and is migrating to my parents house so we have a large cage there (Me and Alex travel a lot, and it's no fun living out of a travel cage for extended periods when visiting the parents) so we can continue to use it on the holidays. It is this one but with a pointed roof. This cage did have an open top roof.