What is most important in a cage?

[Michael]

What do you find to be most important in a cage (given equal size/bar spacing) in terms of features? A cage that is easy to clean? The way it looks? Ease of assembly? Layout of food bowls? Any tips for people buying a cage about these kinds of features and what they mean to experienced parrot owners? I think first time cage buyers may get too focused on price and forget about the importance of some cage features for the long term and I hope this discussion can help them understand the benefits better.

[Lady]

Hi Michael,
This is a post that will come in handy for many new and not so new bird owners that maybe looking to mix things up a bit. I have been considering a new cage as of late and still haven't decided which is the best for Lady as well as good for our home.
I am looking for many things in Lady's new cage. Given it is the correct size for her height,wingspan and bar spacing as you mentioned then the next thing for me will be where the cage will be placed in the house as well.
For me a play top is not something that interest me unless it can be put on and off when desired. Lady seems to like staying in her cage and I want to encourage her to come away from it more than she currently does.
I have also been interesting in placement of the dishes as well as room enough for a third dish that would be both easily accessible to both of us. I would also like to be able to move her perches in different areas from time to time.
Keeping it clean and having it last for a long time are both important but wide open doors and secure latches are also important as Lady has figured out how to open the latch we have now.
How many toys and things I plan to keep inside with her to keep her stimulated is also something I consider as they will also take up her space.
Hope this helps and looking forward to reading what everyone suggest.

[marie83]

Unfortunately cage buying is something I've done pretty rubbish at because there isn't really anywhere that sells a good selection of them round here so you can see them. I usually have to order online. I find it near impossible even with pictures and measurements to visualise what they would be like practically.

All the cages I have ever had have had faults, I had one come with a guillotine style door which can be downright dangerous. The door design wasn't apparent in the picture/description but to be honest the cage was otherwise perfect, including for ease of cleaning so I put clips on the doors to prevent them being lifted by the bird and to hold the door open at out times. I was always very very careful when opening or shutting it that the bird was far away from it in case I accidently dropped it.

Most of the cages I've had the doors have been impractical on though- they were usually on the small side for the size of cage, It's really something I should have learned to take into account by now but I still ended up buying another cage a couple of months ago where the door is too small This worries me in case I ever have an emergency and need to get the birds out quickly. With Ollies cage it is also impractical as I have to remove the bottom tray and physically crawl underneath and inside to fit new toys. Luckily I'm only 5'2" so I can stand up inside ok and I'm still young enough to get down on my hands and knees and crawl underneath without too many problems lol.

Another big issue I had with one cage I owned is the bars were not completely welded together. I got it seeing a nice big cage which looked easy to clean, had a nice big door, high feeders, not long after I hated the darn cage. Food got stuck in between the bars, water collected in the gaps and caused the end of the bars to rust which soon spread upwards and started to cause the powder coat to loosen..... never again...

I guess safety and ease of cleaning are the most important issues for me, although if I were able to design a cage I know exactly how it would be

[DustyTheGrey]

I think there are also a few other aspects that are important, especially size and safety. I have seen some cages that have decorative bars that a bird could easily get caught in.

But over all durability.. then size, then safety, then layout.

I love going to pet stores to look at cages and sometimes I notice that even though the cage is all round great, the layout is pretty bad. If you think of what parts of the cage the parrot would actually use, a lot of the cages are not designed well.