Are "Gun Metal Gray" and "Sculpted Bronze" finishes safe?

[zvezdast]

I am considering getting one of these two cages for my lovebird:
Blue Ribbon Pet Products
Blue Ribbon Pet Products
I am concerned whether of not those "Gun Metal Gray" and "Sculpted Bronze" finishes are safe for birds. From those pictures I don't see that they are powder coated, and I don't want my bird getting heavy metal poisoning.
Anyone have experience with these cages?

 

[roxynoodle]

Based on those little color swatches they show they appear to be powder coated. But, hopefully any cage you buy these days has safe paint or powder coating on it. My conure's cage is painted rather than powder coated and none of it has come off in more than 11 years. I think her cage might be from that same company, but I can't remember anymore.

My vet likes A&E and King's cages if you want to take a look at those brands and see if you find anything you like. One of mine is A&E and it also has held up well for 11 years now or so.

 

[zvezdast]

Thanks Roxy for your response.
I found a similar cage, a much bigger one, at Petco local store, and it was in a box, so they only opened a small area for me to see the metal. From what I could tell, it did seem like it was painted, not powder coated, so I still wasn't sure if they are safe.
My last lovebird, who just died at 11.5, had many health, neurological issues, and one of the concerns was heavy metal poisoning - which turned out to be negative, like all other tests - but I don't want to ever fear exposing the bird to that again.

I wanted a cage that's not just square and has fold down door, and doesn't have play top, is big enough and sturdy. I was also hoping to find one with large and small door, one for moving in large items and the other for safe handling so that the bird can't escape until tamed. This blue ribbon one kind of has all of that, although door could be bigger, but it doesn't have the seed guard.

I looked through all a&e cages, and couldn't find anything that I liked. The closest one was this
22"x17" Dome Top Cage with Removable Stand - Dome Top Cages by A&E Cage Company
but some reviews said it was flimsy. Although, I like how that one has deep plastic base.

The King's cages I saw would cost me an arm and a leg - at least for me.

 

[roxynoodle]

King's does have an economy line, and I don't think a lovebird would destroy smaller bars the way a large bird would. There is also a seller on ebay with the King's line for less money.

Well, my Grey ate a bunch of powder coating off her grate but she also tested negative for poisoning. But just in case she no longer has a grate in her cage.

The paint on the cage should be safe for birds though. My conure has never had an issue with her cage.

However if your bird is the sort that chews on it's cage all the time you would be best off with stainless steel (uber expensive) or one of the King's aluminum cages (still expensive compared to painted or powder coated cages).

 

[roxynoodle]

Hmm, I just saw that A&E has 3/4" spacing. I think that might be too wide for a lovebird. You don't want it to get it's head stuck.

There are a lot of companies that make flight cages for budgies and cockatiels that are reasonably priced and are quite large. One like that might fit your budget and provide a large cage. Some have little ladders and platforms in them that might be fun for your little bird.

 

[zvezdast]

Yes, you are right, I forgot about that wire spacing on that cage. So that one is out of the picture, too.

I actually don't have the bird at the moment, so I don't know what the temperament will be. (It's apparently impossible to find lovebird in Austin, TX!) My previous bird didn't chew on bars either, just used the beak to climb on them, and of course play on the grate.

The closest King's cage that has fold down door was this
King's Cages - Avian and Pet Bird Cages, Supplies, Food, Toys, Perches, Aviaries, Pluck No More
and it's reasonably priced, but it doesn't have 2nd door, I don't like that top that opens ...and I don't need the stand.
Their Cheap, European, and Economy Line Small all seem to be too small for a lovebird.
HQ has almost the same cage
HQ Dometop Small Cockatiel Cage - Presented by BirdsComfort.com

This is probably the third week of my every day cage search. I looked at A&E, Prevue, Super Pet, YML, Blue Ribbon, Hagen Vision, Prtco, Petsmart, Marvelous Pet Supplies, HQ, ... they are all missing something, either door that folds, good latch, horizontal wires, 2nd door, pull out grate, nice top,.... maybe I am being just too picky.

My budget is up to $150. I used to have a regular "economy" style cage, and 11 years it's ready to be retired or used for travel only. Once I saw those cages with thicker wires on the edges, like the blue ribbon one, I kind of fell for them as looking more sturdy and durable. I think I am ready for those "grown up" cages now. If only I could find one that has all my other requirements!

 

[roxynoodle]

I know HQ cages are considered top quality as well.

Just curious, why the fold down door? My conure's cage has one, but I guess I don't really care what kind of door so long as it's not a "guillotine" type. I actually hate her cage though. It has this big plastic bottom, which does catch a lot of her poops that she tries to shoot out of the cage, but it's hard to take the cage apart to clean it. Sometimes it takes me 5 tries. She is very territorial about that cage or I'd have replaced it by now. I can do daily cleaning of my other cages in 5-10 minutes each, but her cage I have to take apart and then take that plastic bottom to the bathroom to scrub out.

I really like a pull out grate, which hers also doesn't have. I told her the other day I may make her move into a new cage!

 

[roxynoodle]

The King's cage has the smaller bar spacing, but I couldn't tell if the grate pulls out or not. It looks like it's similar to my conure's cage. If you get that one, I would upgrade to their stainless steel cups if they have ones that fit. Although my conure has plastic cups and has not dismantled them. But, I find them harder to clean.

If you call King's and ask, they will give you a 10% discount. Or check if the ebay guy has it for even less.

 

[zvezdast]

You are funny!

My old cage sat on a side table and had extra space around it. My bird, especially when she got more sick in the last couple of years and stopped flying, used the fold down door (which folded all the way down) to get around her "front yard" and play there. I eventually draped a towel from the corned of her cage all the way to the floor and that's how she got around. Having a sick bird I realized it was useful to have those doors to help her get out of the cage.

I also like it as a platform. When she was a youngster, she would protect the cage more and as soon as we called her name she would yet from where she was straight into the cage. She would fly into the cage. If there was a platform, she could have landed there first and then walked inside.

Oh, and finally, I found it cute when she figured out how to open that door. I had a pin at the top which prevented her to get out, but as soon as I took the pin off, she new how to push the latch to open it. It felt like a victory to her, the door would slam downward, and she would chirp and flap her wings!

I also had a hard time cleaning my old cage, which had to be disconnected from the bottom plastic to get the grate out. That's why it didn't get cleaned more than every couple of weeks, but my bird was out a lot of time and was (somewhat) potty trained. All my cages, for the last ~20 years, were that way, so I guess I just got used to it.

 

[roxynoodle]

Let me tell you what she did this morning, lol! I accidentally left the garbage bag next to her cage, on the floor after yeterday's cage cleaning. This morning she shot her huge morning poops onto that garbage bag. I think she may have been trying to help me out Of course I then had to clean those huge poops off the outside of the bag before I could use it, but I guess I thank her for trying to get them into the garbage.

Well, if your bird ever requires a platform you could probably make one pretty easily. I think I would worry less about the door and more about other features that make cage cleaning so much easier. I love my other 2 cages because they are so easy to clean. I'm actually glad Rowdy can't open her door or my house would have been eaten by now! Or her and the cat would have injured/killed each other by now.

But. on my other 2 cages I can just pull the grate out, wipe off any poop on it, put it back, pull out the tray and empty it into the garbage and it's done! Although those 2 birds don't shoot poop all over the bars either, lol!

 

[zvezdast]

Aww, she is trying to help you!

What are the other two cages that you have? I just realized that if I am getting the cage with the stand, I definitely don't need the door to fold all the way down, as there will be no play area around the cage like I used to have with the side table. I just might start looking at the hinge door cages now!

 

[roxynoodle]

I know one is A&E, but I don't know what the other is. In fact I didn't remember what the A&E one was either until I was cage shopping and saw it on a website, lol!

 

[zvezdast]

what do you think about this cage
HQ Bird Cages Victorian - Presented by BirdsComfort.com
I couldn't find it for less on ebay either, and not on other sites like wayfair. I don't really care for the open top, nor the super tall front door.

 

[roxynoodle]

what do you think about this cage
HQ Bird Cages Victorian - Presented by BirdsComfort.com
I couldn't find it for less on ebay either, and not on other sites like wayfair. I don't really care for the open top, nor the super tall front door.

I like that one a lot. I think the top would be fun for a small bird to climb on upside down. I like the slide out grate as well, and the bar spacing is good. He shouldn't get stuck and it should be easy for him to climb on the bars, which you want them to do for exercise. I think I like that one the best.

 

[427HISS]

That's a good price too.

We bought our cockatoo a Kings Cage and love the high quality and very well built, but you won't need the heavy duty like ours for small birds.

This is a King and is on sale for $299. Real nice size and high quality for your size bird. Has pull out tray and on wheels.
2 ft. Wide, 2 ft. Deep
5 ft. 8 " High
Inside Height 33 "


http://www.kingscages.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=134