What size and kind of cage does everyone use?

[rph]

I’m looking to upgrade my cage. What size and kind of cage does everyone use? What are some specific things to look for when buying a new cage? Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[SailBoat]

We buy exclusively from birdcages4less.com

- Targeting their large bird cages (Amazons) with a flat top.
- We purchase the 'play top' style as it provides an additional perch space
- Full height cage door, as they greatly easy cleaning and access into the cage to move the Parrot in an out of the cage, clean the cage.

I like birdcages4less.com as they are the sales side of one of the three China based cage manufactures and as a result they tend to have better quality than other cage resellers that buy in lot volume.

Plus, the vast majority of what they sell cages and items related to cages, which translates into the correct 'stuff' shipping together.

Tip: Assembly large cages on the floor, upside down as it easies assembly!

Enjoy! Assure your Parrot helps with the assembly of the cage!

 

[noodles123]

I’m looking to upgrade my cage. What size and kind of cage does everyone use? What are some specific things to look for when buying a new cage? Thanks for any recommendations!

what bird are you buying for? That is essential in order to answer in terms of size, gauging etc etc.


Small birds should have "flight cages" and they should be large (despite the smaller size of the bird).
Go for cages that are free-standing (have legs) if at all possible-- table top cages are far too small for any bird and you want the cage elevated off the ground anyway.
No hanging cages!

Do not get a cage with a shelf-top that you can't see through. Those mess with the bird's hormones.You should be able to look through the bars at the top of the cage (no solid roof)
Avoid guillotine-style doors (they are dangerous)
Make sure you have a cage that allows you to change out food and water without having to open the main door and reach in.
Avoid cages that are shaped kind of like houses, where there is like a tall tower, next to a wide area low to the ground-- their setup basically renders their size unusable to the bird...
Width and depth are more important than skinny and tall. Birds fly side to side, not up and down.
Make sure if your new cage comes with dowel perches that you swap them out for perches without uniform texture (manzanita, grape vine, dragonwood, or "Nu- Perches" by the Parrot Wizard. Dowels lead to bumble foot over time.
You want enough room to have multiple perches and multiple toys.
If you have a small bird, they should have enough room to fly some.
If you have a larger bird, your bird should be able to flap its wings without hitting any toys or perches
Look for bird-safe powder coated iron cages or stainless steel (zinc, copper , paints etc= toxic to birds).
Make sure your cage has a pull-out tray at the bottom that is covered with a grate if possible. This allows you to change papers etc without having to place the bird elsewhere.

In terms of shapes, rectangle/ square sides with either a flat or round top...again, nothing partially segmented/oblong/tiered <-- the tiered/partially segmented ones prevent the bird from using their space properly

 

[noodles123]

here are some good videos-- This girls is EXTREMELY knowledgeable when it comes to birds and she does videos where subscribers send pictures of their cages and she reviews them (she always finds something positive to say, even about the worst ones lol) -- you can tell when she is trying to think of something positive...
They are great for gauging options in terms of setup, size, toys, perch types etc. Highly recommend watching


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFT2bHptiGY"]Reacting to My Subscribers’ Bird Cages! - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNDyy3B-34c"]Reacting to My Subscribers’ Bird Cages! | Pt. 2 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aDicZLr5gU"]Reacting to My Subscribers’ Bird Cages! | Pt. 3 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBWuV8Emwko"]Reacting to My Subscribers’ Bird Cages! | Part 4 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[chris-md]

You posted in the eclectus section so im going to assume you’re asking for an eclectus?

I had a 40x32 cage until recently. We upgraded to 48x36. I’m quite happy with the size of the cage for my boy.

 

[noodles123]

You posted in the eclectus section so im going to assume you’re asking for an eclectus?

I had a 40x32 cage until recently. We upgraded to 48x36. I’m quite happy with the size of the cage for my boy.

Didn't see that- good call

 

[Betrisher]

I've got two large double cages, each 2m x 1m x 2m. Each cage has a divider so birdie can be coralled on one side while I clean the other. We suffered a theft of our lovebirds some years ago, so the cages have stainless steel chain padlocked around them to prevent that happening again.

Rosetta learned early on how to open the snib lock on her feed-door and squidged herself out into the world one day, so I use acrylic seedmaster feeding stations and the feed-doors are also padlocked. Rosetta couldn't exist in a smaller cage and I wish I could provide her with a larger one. She's very active and athletic and enjoys her rope swing and her dangling rope. She likes to fly about her cage, to jump on her pizza box trampoline and to hang upside-down from everything.

Barney and Madge thrive in the larger space as well. While they've been a bonded pair since I got them as babies, they still have an occasional little spat. Therefore, I make sure that every item in the cage is duplicated to avoid arguments. The Beaks are nowhere near as playful as Rosetta but they do enjoy being able to fly a few beats in their cage and to hang from a perch and flap for exercise. This wouldn't really be possible in a smaller cage.

I always make sure that there is space in each cage to allow flight from one perch (natural wood) to another. This allows me to place each cage's swimming pool strategically so that no perch overhangs it. Therefore: no poop in the pool.

Years ago, I bought a fancy mouse with dreadful bumblefoot from being kept in a wire-floored cage. This is why I lay heavy cardboard on my cage floors so the birds are not having to walk about on cage bars. Also, it prevents the loss of toys through the floor. Rosetta likes colourful plastic rings, which she wears round her neck and then flings them off with gay abandon. She gets really, really stroppy when one of her necklaces falls down through the cage floor and onto the tray beneath!

If money were no object, I'd prefer to keep my birds in a large aviary, but sadly it is and I can't.

 

[noodles123]

I've got two large double cages, each 2m x 1m x 2m. Each cage has a divider so birdie can be coralled on one side while I clean the other. We suffered a theft of our lovebirds some years ago, so the cages have stainless steel chain padlocked around them to prevent that happening again.

Rosetta learned early on how to open the snib lock on her feed-door and squidged herself out into the world one day, so I use acrylic seedmaster feeding stations and the feed-doors are also padlocked. Rosetta couldn't exist in a smaller cage and I wish I could provide her with a larger one. She's very active and athletic and enjoys her rope swing and her dangling rope. She likes to fly about her cage, to jump on her pizza box trampoline and to hang upside-down from everything.

Barney and Madge thrive in the larger space as well. While they've been a bonded pair since I got them as babies, they still have an occasional little spat. Therefore, I make sure that every item in the cage is duplicated to avoid arguments. The Beaks are nowhere near as playful as Rosetta but they do enjoy being able to fly a few beats in their cage and to hang from a perch and flap for exercise. This wouldn't really be possible in a smaller cage.

I always make sure that there is space in each cage to allow flight from one perch (natural wood) to another. This allows me to place each cage's swimming pool strategically so that no perch overhangs it. Therefore: no poop in the pool.

Years ago, I bought a fancy mouse with dreadful bumblefoot from being kept in a wire-floored cage. This is why I lay heavy cardboard on my cage floors so the birds are not having to walk about on cage bars. Also, it prevents the loss of toys through the floor. Rosetta likes colourful plastic rings, which she wears round her neck and then flings them off with gay abandon. She gets really, really stroppy when one of her necklaces falls down through the cage floor and onto the tray beneath!

If money were no object, I'd prefer to keep my birds in a large aviary, but sadly it is and I can't.

I totally get why you would be cautious about this after such a stressful experience with your fancy mouse, but....


Bumblefoot from a grate is not going to happen for a parrot (95%) unless they are sick and spending all of their time on their grates. A healthy bird won't spend all day or night on the cage floor, so that shouldn't be an issue. The problem is when they are spending too much time in an area without proper foot variety, but parrots shouldn't spend much time down there--- even if grass-types (because their natural inclination is to sleep higher on perches etc). I know that parrots may go down to play or forage, but it's not long enough to cause issues. If a parrot is sleeping down there, then you have bigger issues besides bumble-foot, as that is a sign of a seriously sick bird. I am just commenting because a mouse could easily get bumblefoot from a grate (as that is all they walk on)...But for a healthy parrot who can perch, this shouldn't be an issue.


For me, a grate helps keeps things cleaner and for a bird this size, toys should be big enough that they wouldn't fall through the cracks (for the most part, anyway)- You may have wider bar spacing than I do, but just thought I'd put it out there. I will admit that many plastic rings have fallen into the poop land below the grate, but that's pretty much all that goes through there, and they can either be washed or replaced (as I buy mine in tubs). For me, the risk of not having a grate is Noodles picking at her own poop to try and clean up or touching food/toys that she has pooped on while I am at work (before they can be removed).


It works for you, so keep on keeping on, I just wanted to put that out there.

 

[Betrisher]

My lot spend a fair amount of time on the floor, because that's where they drop their foraging toys and the sprays of grass seed we give them. They also like to chat with the dog, who snoozes in a particular sunny spot beside the cages.

It never ceases to amaze me how cleverly both the Beaks and Rosetta (and even the Lovies, tbh) manage to *avoid* pecking up poo from the cage floor. They must know it's bad, because they go to great lengths to avoid it. IME, most animals actively avoid eating poop, unless it's necessary for their biology (eg. lagomorphs and rodents etc etc).

Some birds naturally like to spend more time rummaging around on the ground than others. I know most of the large Australian Cockies do. My friend, Umar who lives in Pakistan, tells me the (native) Alexandrines like to sun themselves on the ground and spend lots of time each day fossicking about for grass seeds and fallen fruits etc. This surprised me, as I've always viewed the parakeet types as birds of the treetops, spending most of their time in the heights of the trees.

I've been considering for a while now whether I should offer my birds a digging tray, perhaps with a small crop of millet in it. 'Setta is a rummagy, fossicky kind of person and I bet she'd enjoy poking around in some dirt.

 

[noodles123]

My lot spend a fair amount of time on the floor, because that's where they drop their foraging toys and the sprays of grass seed we give them. They also like to chat with the dog, who snoozes in a particular sunny spot beside the cages.

It never ceases to amaze me how cleverly both the Beaks and Rosetta (and even the Lovies, tbh) manage to *avoid* pecking up poo from the cage floor. They must know it's bad, because they go to great lengths to avoid it. IME, most animals actively avoid eating poop, unless it's necessary for their biology (eg. lagomorphs and rodents etc etc).

Some birds naturally like to spend more time rummaging around on the ground than others. I know most of the large Australian Cockies do. My friend, Umar who lives in Pakistan, tells me the (native) Alexandrines like to sun themselves on the ground and spend lots of time each day fossicking about for grass seeds and fallen fruits etc. This surprised me, as I've always viewed the parakeet types as birds of the treetops, spending most of their time in the heights of the trees.

I've been considering for a while now whether I should offer my birds a digging tray, perhaps with a small crop of millet in it. 'Setta is a rummagy, fossicky kind of person and I bet she'd enjoy poking around in some dirt.

<3 "person"

 

[Cardinal]

For Cockatiels and Budgerigars , I would recommend a cage that is at least 3 feet long, 2 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide. This cage should be on a stand that is about a feet tall on top of a table.
A flight cage which is 4 feet long, 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide mounted on a one foot stand would be even better.

I think the above posts including videos have given sufficient information but want to stress on Horizontal bar spacing. I find too many parrot family birds being kept in cages with vertical bar spacing and this is not good for their toe musculature.

For people living in the Indian Subcontinent : Most cages sold in pet stores are completely unsuitable for birds. They are often of the wrong material, shape, size, bar spacing, overall design and often all of the above. Best to get your cage custom made by a blacksmith.

 

[Alembic772]

I have an HQ side by side for Basil and Paprika. It?s quite large.

Before this and Paprika, Basil had an all acrylic cage that was 48x24x36 inches.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scott]

I have an HQ side by side for Basil and Paprika. It?s quite large.

Before this and Paprika, Basil had an all acrylic cage that was 48x24x36 inches.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Magnificent cage, more than ample for Ekkies! My pair of Vosmaeri were in an acrylic cage decades ago, not too fond of perceived sound isolation!

 

[ALRAINBOW]

my cage here in Nyc is about 48\36 and near 7 feet high , it has a playpen on top . but they have stand alone multi level perch stands one has a play pen midway . I’m posting this as soon after I’m up at 6 am till roosting time they are out . Raising hell making massive messes of food and toys . So does a larger cage matter , they don’t seem to like being inside until bedtime . they have toys inside and they use them but I can tell they want to be outside . if I’m going out I do put them away to be safe . they take turns jumping off the cage then climb back up with a ladder in installed. if I ask what is upside or downside of birds being out most times.