Are horizontal bars necessary?

[TayKiren]

So I'm interested in getting this cage for my two parakeets: https://www.ebay.com/i/232530861558?chn=ps&ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fi%25252F232530861558%25253Fchn%25253Dps%2526itemid%253D232530861558%2526targetid%253D593772125173%2526device%253Dt%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9033372%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D1689945016%2526adgroupid%253D69559042447%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-593772125173%2526abcId%253D1140466%2526merchantid%253D8008454%2526gclid%253DEAIaIQobChMIw4jUltXJ4QIVdBh9Ch2FFgXLEAQYBSABEgI___D_BwE%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1931335100299%2526rvr_ts%253D0fb3779516a0ac7aa123132fffd08f7f

It's the only cage I can find that long, the rest are generally 30-36 inches with more height and I would really like to give my birds more space that they will actually use. However, the bars are vertical. I know that horizontal bars are better when possible, but would it be worth trading that in for the space this provides? Or are horizontal bars a must? Any suggestions for nice cages?

Also, does it look super cheap or flimsy to you? The one I have right now rattles every time my birds move and I would definitely like this to be an upgrade from that. Does it look sturdy enough for parakeets? Thanks for any input!

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

It looks good and sturdy but don't most bird cages have vertical bars, meaning only having a few horizontal bars? or maybe I just misread the thread. Also what's the width between the bars? I tried to find out from the link but I couldn't..​

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Complete personal, limited opinion here:

I do prefer a cage with more horizontal bars because Cairo has difficulty climbing along the walls of his cage if it's vertical bars. His Hacienda cage has two sides with horizontal bars and two sides with vertical bars. For the sides with vertical bars, I have had to put perches and string rope all along on it. Why?


One morning, he was heading to his breakfast, so he stepped off his sleep perch and started climbing along the vertical bars. Suddenly, he slipped down the vertical bars! His wing feathers threaded between the bars and he couldn't get a grip with his feet and his beak was just trying to latch onto something. He was screaming and I had to quickly check to make sure he wasn't holding onto the door before I could swing it open. I shoved my hand under his feet and body, lifting him up and away from the bars. He immediately went quiet. Luckily, he didn't even break a feather. I was terrified his struggling would cause him to break his wing. And breaking a wing would be so devastating for a free-flighted bird like him - he'd go bonkers trying to recover from that kind of injury. I mean, he gets grumpy if he doesn't get regular flight time.

So I've tried to adjust for the two sides of vertical bars by weaving hemp rope through the bars and affixing them to the sides, so they can't slide. He uses the stable rope to climb safely now when he wants to get to the top. Plus the extra perches means he prefers them to the vertical bars when moving along the sides.


As for your cage looking sturdy, I've seen a few members with something similar and haven't heard any complaints from them..

 

[EllenD]

Yes, as Ekkie stated above, the reason you want a lot/mostly horizontal cage-bars is because it enables your birds to easily climb up and down them, and encourages them to be more active inside of their cages...Also, horizontal cage-bars allow you to be able to attach a lot more toys, especially when you're talking about Budgies, who LOVE all of the cheap, plastic bird-toys that the pet stores sell for a couple of dollars each. If you have all vertical cage-bars, it's going to limit where you can hang toys, how many toys you can put inside of their cage overall, and then can also limit where you can hang other important items, such as Cuttlebones, Mineral-Blocks...and you can only use certain types of Food and Water containers/dishes!!! That's a pain in the butt!

I don't know how many Budgies you have or how many you're planning on keeping in one, single cage, but that is what is going to determine how large the cage needs to be. Obviously you can't put 2 Budgies in a cage that is the adequate size for 1 Budgie, and the size of the cage you're keeping them in needs to get exponentially-larger with each additional Budgie you're putting inside it...So you also cannot buy a cage large enough for 2 Budgies now and then keep adding more, which is often what ends-up happening...

Most people who own a Budgie keep them in a cage that is far too small for them, and most people who own multiple Budgies and house them together have a cage that is WAY TOO SMALL for the number of birds they have inside it (usually labeled as being a "Parakeet Cage" by the pet store or the manufacturer, when it's not adequate at all for a single Budgie)...And of course keep in-mind that you cannot ever bring home another Budgie and just put it inside of the same cage as your current Budgies are in...#1 you need to do a 30-day Quarantine with every new bird you bring home, in a totally different room than where your current birds are, behind a closed-door, and then #2 You have no idea whether any new bird you bring home will get along with your current birds, and vice-versa, so you must have another entire set-up ready to go for each additional Budgie you bring home, and it also must be of an adequate size...

***I don't know how much money you are looking to spend, but for Budgies it's best to buy them a large "Flight-Cage", as they are one of the only parrots who actually love to fly while inside of their cages...Amazon.com sells a really sturdy, well-made, large Flight-Cage for around $100, and the best part is that you can also buy a second one of the same cage at any time, and they connect to each other, so they can be separate and in different places in your home, they can be connected to each other and side-by-side but separate, and then you can also remove the panel that separates them so you have a double-size flight cage if you add more birds, or really if you just want to provide even 1 single Budgie with plenty of flying space, and plenty of room for tons of toys, ladders, swings, etc...I think there is a discount in price if you buy the "double-flight cage", but even the single version is a lot of cage and high-quality for $100! And they also sell other Flight-Cages that are cheaper as well, so I'd go that way if I were you, because you'll always know that their cage is nice a large, you can keep adding different toys, foraging-activities, bowls/dishes, etc. with no issue, and your Budgie or Budgies will be able to ge ample exercise every single day...Better to spend $100 now on a large, high-quality Flight-Cage than to spend around $50 on a small, tabletop cage or floor cage with vertical-bars that and that is eventually going to have to be upgraded anyway, especially if you ever want to bring home an additional Budgie..

 

[Terry57]

That is a really nice sized cage! I think that especially with budgies who do enjoy flying in their cage that more space is worth the trade off of having horizontal bars.
My budgies are in a flight cage with all vertical bars and they have no issue climbing, their bars are also 1/2 inch bar spacing. I also have plenty of places to put toys and perches because of the cross bars.