Thinking about a King's Aluminum Cage

[danny]

I will need to get a new cage for my African Grey. He damages powder coat cages by chipping the paint, so those are out, leaving the aluminum or SS cages. My first choice so far would be the King's Aluminum, but I am also considering the folding Featherland Stainless. I have read the review and have noted some things. I would prefer that the feed dishes were higher, something that I noted when I first saw one of these some years ago. You know, they say *waste products* roll downhill. I guess I can live with that with strategic placement of perches and toys higher up in the cage.

I do have some questions on the aluminum cage. Has anyone had any trouble with the feed door locks? One purchaser from Amazon said that all theirs broke within 18 weeks and no replacements or upgrade locks were available. I realize that some people can break just about anything without too much trouble. I am a bit skeptical on this review that ALL happened to break in the same time frame for this buyer, so I am throwing this out here.

How much distance is between the bottom grate and waste tray?

Would anyone that has maybe had the Featherland and King's Aluminum prefer one or the other?

Thanks,

Danny

[Pajarita]

I don't have either so I can't help you with this but aluminum cages sound great to me (I have a carrier and it's great).

[Michael]

I haven't had those problems. I have a few complaints about the aluminum cage and it could be better but there's nothing better for the money so it's a good option.

http://TrainedParrot.com/index.php?bid=2
http://TrainedParrot.com/Kings_Cages

I've had 3 full size cages, 3 travel ones, and have a friend with a full size cage. None broke and all work well even with time. My complaints are mostly about features, ease of cleaning, etc and not to do with the structural integrity.

The trouble with Stainless Steel cages is that they tend to be smaller and with poorer features than cheaper normal cages. Because the material is so expensive, they often shortchange other things and they don't live up to the price as well. That's my experience with the ones I've seen at least. In other words don't get a bottom end stainless, expect to spend a lot more to get one that is on par with good powder cages but with the benefit of it being stainless.

[danny]

Michael,
Thanks for the input on the feeder door locks. I suspected as much. I found it a coincidence that this person would note the same failure on all of her aluminum cages in the same time frame. I have noticed that some people have this ability to be able to destroy a tank with a styrofoam hammer.

As far as your comments about this cage being a good value with some issues, I suspect that is true. I have had about five powder coat cages so far. I have been lucky in that all have been fairly good quality, but all have had some issues, mostly in features. None were perfect. I don't expect the aluminum cage to be perfect, nor the most expensive stainless cage. Right now, I suspect that with the lock issue settled, the aluminum cage is probably my best choice and still my first choice.

I noted your comments about housing African Greys in the larger cage. I agree with that. This cage is the same size as my Bobby's current cage and he is not a big Congo. His normal weight is about 430 grams, so I think that he just fits your criteria for the large cage. I too agree with the dometop choice. I find that with a playtop design, the bird lives shaded from any light and in the case of the playtop design and the rectangular cages, as you mention, you are wasting valuable vertical space on the same footprint.

In the case of spending a lot of money (or even a little money) on a stainless cage, I would be afraid of ending up with one made of a 400 series stainless, which is somewhat magnetic and not as corrosion resistant as the preferred 300 series alloys, which are where your restaurant and medical grade alloys are found.

The real trick will come when I have to replace my Triton's Avian Adventures Grande Dometop. King's doesn't make an aluminum cage large enough. Frankie, even though he is not cage destructive like my Grey, has, only from the abrasive action of his beak from climbing, started to abrade the powder coat to the metal in about four years.

Danny

[Peyton]

After watching The Parrot Wizard's video on the Kings aluminum cage and doing a little research, I agreed with the logic that the middle of the road cost and the life expectancy made the aluminum cage the best option. That being said, we could not get the cage/ color combo we wanted. They were not even in production. We were told they are trying to find a new shop to produce the products. I went ahead and ordered a stainless steel cage from another company. I hope they get it worked out, it seems like a good product.