Please help me decide between Powder coated vs aluminum cage

marxxx · Jun 18, 2012

I am picking out a cage for my new red breasted cockatoo. I am trying to decide between the kings cages aluminum 35x22 cage and the kings power coated playtop cage

Aluminum
King's Cages - Avian and Pet Bird Cages, Supplies, Food, Toys, Perches, Aviaries, Pluck No More

Powder coated
King's Cages - Avian and Pet Bird Cages, Supplies, Food, Toys, Perches, Aviaries, Pluck No More

I was pretty set on the aluminum cage until I looked at the powder coated cage in person. It seems well built and is considerably larger (in vertical space). All in all, the powder coated cage is roughly 3600 cubic inches and the aluminum is about 2600 cubic inches. You pay $200 more for a 1/3 less cage....

How well do the current quality powder coated cages hold up (my experience has been with stainless - love em, but can't really justify the cost)? Which would you all recommend.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Mark

IcyWolf · Jun 18, 2012

I would go for the powder coated cage, if you take good care of them they last for a really long time. Clean them regularly and don't use anything abrasive or scrape them and you should have it for many years. And when the time comes you can always have it re powder coated(although sometimes it can be cheaper just to get a new cage).

A car club buddy of mine just recently told me that there is powder coating you can do yourself in your oven. Of course most cages don't break down small enough to fit in your average oven but it's something to think about if the playtop or any smaller pieces ever need retouched. I can only imagine that there are some nasty fumes that come off doing this though so I wouldn't recommend doing it in the same house your bird lives.

Oedipussrex · Jun 18, 2012

I have a powder coated cage, and in terms of the bird climbing on the bars, and scrubbing poop and food off, it has held up very well for the 2 years we have had it (we got it new)
However, it HAS started peeling around 2 of the screws, we obviously did the screw up so tight that it weakened the upper layer. luckily these are not within reach of the bird, but i imagine if this happened in the wrong spot it could become an issue...

PortaPerch · Jun 18, 2012

Just like a paint job on a car, 90% of a powder coating is preparation of the surface. You can't see that. If it doesn't have a good no-rust guarantee, I would be skeptical. You can look carefully into as many corners as your eyes can stand, to see possible thin spots. Powder is applied electrostatically, so the corners are most difficult to cover, due to electrostatic effect. Polyester coating is relatively benign if chipped off. It shouldn't be bit off if applied right.

Powder coating will chalk eventually if exposed to sunlight.

Pure aluminum won't corrode beyond a light film, but is not strong, this one is no doubt an alloy, which corrodes readily. Anodize is a chemically applied coating.

Why do you need a cage?

Lokums · Jun 18, 2012

Size wins, Al or SS cages are very nice, but gotta go as BIG as you can afford IMO. I have a powder coated California (sadly they our OOB) and it is 10 years old and problem free. The coating is still in great shape. There is just one spot that is rubbed off from use it is about an inch long.

RescueMe · Jun 19, 2012

I think that the aluminum cage may be a good choice. Most birds do not use a lot of vertical space, they tend to stick to the top half of the cage. I do not have much experience with the aluminum cages, so this is only speculation. Presumably the AL cage is lighter and will not rust which is a great bonus and upkeep should be minimal.

Lokums · Jun 19, 2012

RescueMe said:
I think that the aluminum cage may be a good choice. Most birds do not use a lot of vertical space, they tend to stick to the top half of the cage. I do not have much experience with the aluminum cages, so this is only speculation. Presumably the AL cage is lighter and will not rust which is a great bonus and upkeep should be minimal.

I didn't actually look at the size of the cages, now that I did, RescueMe is spot on. Most birds don't need a lot of vertical space, and the RBC is one with a short tail so even less so. 4 removable dishes, a place to put things underneath... just have to provide your own play area on top. Go with the aluminum.

Mike

Janedeaux · Jun 27, 2012

My babies have a A large cage with plenty of vertical space and horizontal space under that. Sorta like a house with a second floor to the side. They ONLY use the top half. They have me wishing I had gotten the stainless steel cage that was just a wider side to side instead of all the extra bottom space. It NEVER gets used. Maybe one day...?

Please help me decide between Powder coated vs aluminum cage

marxxx

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IcyWolf

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Oedipussrex

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PortaPerch

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Lokums

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RescueMe

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New to board... New bird in family need advice!

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