Bird Cage Selection

BIRD CAGE SELECTION

Selecting the Right Cage for your Bird.

One of the basics of bird ownership is providing your pet with adequate living space. A cage is the most important piece of equipment you will invest in so buy the best cage you can afford. A bird without a cage is not safe. If you do not introduce your bird to a cage, he may not accept one later and birds live a long time. With all the different sizes, colors, and models of bird cages today, it's easy to become overwhelmed when shopping for a home for your pet. Although it seems there are endless choices when it comes to the types of bird cages available, there are a few simple guidelines you can remember that will make the process of choosing one much easier

New or Used?

Your bird deserves a brand new cage. Do not use hand-me-down cages, particularly if you know that a bird died in that old cage. Sick birds can harbor many diseases and you don’t want to unknowingly pass along any of those diseases to your new bird!

Materials

Antique and wooden frame cages are not bird-friendly and may be treated with toxic chemicals or paint, so stay away from them. Wooden frame cages are horrible for Parrots, as they will chew through them.

Some important things to consider when shopping for a cage:

The bigger the better, as long as the spacing between the bars is narrow enough to prevent injury to your bird in the event your bird tries to escape.
Your bird's head should not be able to fit in between the bars.
The door needs to be large enough to easily put your hand through, catch the bird, pull out the bird, and put the bird back in its cage.
The latch/lock on the cage door needs to be escape-proof, since the bird is going to try to figure out a way to open it. And he or she will try!

Bar Spacing

Bar spacing is critical for the type of bird you are buying. Please see our bar spacing and bird type chart if you are not sure what the correct spacing should be for your bird. If you have further questions or cannot find the answer on our site, please feel free to e-mail us with the species of bird you own and we can advise you accordingly.

	Species/Breed Examples	Cage Bar Spacing	Minimum Size
Small Birds	Finches, Canaries, Parrolets, Parakeets, Lovebirds, Budgies, Cockatiels, Small Conures, & similar sized birds	1/2" To 5/8"	18 x 18
Medium Birds	Conures, Lories, Senegals, Ring Necks, Caiques, Mini Macaws, Pionus, Quakers, Small Cockatoos, & similar sized birds	1/2" To 3/4"	20 x 26
Large Birds	African Greys, Amazons, Macaws, Cockatoos, Toucans, Hyacinth, Alexandrine Parakeets, Congos, Eclectus, & similar sized birds	3/4" To 1-1/4"	36 x 48

Bar Thickness

The actual thickness of the bars on the cage. Look for larger bar thickness for larger breeds of birds, as it’s important for the bird to be able to grab a hold of the bars and climb. This gives their feet good exercise and can help ward off diseases like arthritis!

Bar Orientation

The direction or orientation of the cage bars is something to consider. Parrots need a cage that have horizontal bars so the bird can climb on the cages side. But for those birds who do not use their beaks when climbing, such as finches, doves, and/or canaries, it does not matter what the bar orientation is. It will make sense that horizontal cage bars are the most desirable for the cage walls. At least two walls of the cage should be horizontal to allow your bird to climb and hang as it chooses. Vertical bars are difficult for birds to climb. Smooth vertical bars are slippery and birds tend to slip. Vertical bars are easier to clean since droppings will slide down 1 or 2 bars instead of hitting many bars below

Food Access Doors

These doors allow you to access food and water bowels without having to reach inside the cage. Some access doors are solid and others are bars. Solid doors reduce the amount of food and water thrown outside the cage. The access doors are especially important when you have others tend to your bird. They reduce the possibility of your bird escaping and keeps the care giver out of biting range

How Big?

Look for wide cages. A cage that's at least double the adult wingspan of the bird that will reside in it is a guideline for minimum space requirements. This is one instance in which bigger is definitely better, especially since most birds will have anywhere from four to six toys in the cage at any given time. Tall and wide cages are important for housing birds in the Macaw family, as they have long tails and wide wingspans. Choose the largest cage that your house can handle and that is appropriate for your type of bird. The roomier inside the better, as birds like to have room to climb around, explore their environment and flap their wings freely. This is your bird's new home, so put yourself in their position. You would not want to live in a small, cramped space and neither do they! Ultimately, it’s important to get the biggest and best cage you can possibly afford. A responsible bird owner is willing to provide a spacious, durable and safe home for their bird companion. Birds need plenty of space to climb around. Also, their cage should contain a variety of perches of different sizes to exercise the bird’s feet. Fresh food and water should be supplied daily and the cage should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week.

Color

Choose the color of cage that you prefer. The bird doesn’t care about the color. They are most concerned with roominess and comfort.

Extra Features

Make sure the cage is roomy enough to hold the right amount of toys for your bird. Most birds need stimulation from a wide variety of toys. You should provide as many different toys as possible and keep in mind that many species like to chew wood and leather (especially African Grays, and Macaws). By providing numerous and varied toys, you will help keep your bird active, happy and healthy. A bored bird will become destructive to their surroundings and quite possibly destructive to themselves (feather plucking is often due to boredom). Parrots are extremely intelligent creatures and need a lot of attention and stimulation to keep them happy and healthy!

How easy is the cage to clean?

People tend to overlook this when shopping for a bird cage & this is arguably the most important factor to consider beyond the toxicity levels in powder-coated cages. Let me tell you why; when a cage is easy to clean it not only cuts down on the amount of time you need to spend on cleaning, it also increases the lifespan of your cage. If your cage is a major pain to clean and it takes multiple hours you will tend to put off cleaning it for longer spans of time and this will drastically shrink the lifespan of your cage (especially a powder-coated cage). Bird droppings can actually become an erosive chemical to your cage and the longer that sits on your cage, the more damage it can do. Even the best of cages will only last 3 or 4 years if not properly cared for. And on the other hand, a properly cared for, good quality powder-coated cage can last over 10 years. So what makes a cage easy to clean? The biggest thing to look for is a cage that is sturdy, but can still be broken down easily in a matter of 1 or 2 minutes without the need for tools.

Slide out Grate

This keeps a nice separation between your bird and it's droppings

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