Death of a cage

[Michael]

What's the oldest cage you have? How long did it last? How much longer do you expect it to last based on how it is holding up so far? Are you satisfied with the cage overall? Would you buy it over again and recommend it if it is still available? What is the life expectancy of a typical parrot cage?

Has anyone owned a cage long enough to witness it fall apart and require replacement? Or does anyone have such a destructive parrot that no cage can stand up to? Do you have any tips for making a cage last longer?

[Natacha]

I don't know?

Joey came with his original cage, which was purchased new, so it's over 6 years old and still in great shape. I've also purchased used cages of the same model and I know Petey's is older due to the lock system being different but how old exactly it is, I do not know. Still in pretty good shape!

[Cage Cleaner]

Both the cages that I am currently using are about four years old. They are both absolutely usable, and I don't expect to replace them any time soon, due to wear.

My sun conure, given that she is a baby, is in a 24x24x36 wire cockatiel cage that she will have until she is about 6 months of age. This smaller cage is so that she will not injure herself falling as she grows into her bones. I purchased this cage at petco. It is petco branded, and sold as a "parrot cage" and is acceptable for a baby conure. I wouldn't call it a parrot cage, and I wouldn't purchase it again for a conure. For a cockatiel it was ideal though.

My other one was from a maker called Elite cages, which made cages to fit Fenix Crocks with a slide out tray and very impressive acrylic seed guards. If I could, I would buy this cage again, except in a larger size for my GCC. I absolutely love the feeding system. It is pictured below:



I've noticed some rust where I put the bath bowl, but other than that it has held up very well. Came with natural perches and ceramic crocks (Fenix, as mentioned above).

[HungryBird]

The flight cage I have for Squeaky and Iggy is getting a bit old. I think I've had it for somewhere around four years but I'm not 100% sure. It had been sitting around in the pet store for a long time before I got it. Here is a picture of it, complete with a very handsome model.



And here are a bunch more pictures I took for someone:

http://hungrybirdfood.com/2011/04/14/pictures-of-my-big-flight-cage-for-coco/

I liked it well enough to buy another one for Malachite but that was a mistake. The second one was not made nearly as well, one bar is missing, one of the holes where I was supposed to put a screw in was accidentally sealed up so I can't use it, and the wheels were forgotten at first, and then when I finally got them I discovered they don't work. So I was unsatisfied with my second flight cage but I'm keeping it. Especially since they raised the price by $120 a week after I bought my second one. I won't buy any more though, unless I get the old price and I can see it before buying it.

If you can get one of these that is well made it is 100% worth it for the smaller birds. These cages are not the strongest though and I have plans to buy a new cage for Malachite. I was considering the aluminum ones but have heard some bad things about them, like that they are not very strong and that they are basically a low grade cage done in aluminum, I think I actually read that in one of your reviews. So I guess I won't get an aluminum one.

My tan flight cage is starting to show signs of wear though. The door hinges show signs of rubbing against the bars and the door seems to have shifted slightly. It's a great cage though and I love it. The black one is not nearly as good but I think that is more of a lazy manufacturing issue than anything else. It's obvious no human being actually assembles the cages before offering them for sale to make sure there are no defects. I will never buy a cage without seeing it, unless I get an Expandable Habitats one. Then I will have no choice but I would trust that company to make a top notch cage.

I've decided that Malachite needs a stainless steel cage. He has proven that he considers bars to be the ultimate challenge. I must say that so far the cage is standing up to is abuse very well and there is no chipping or anything like that, which would cause me to go insane. I seem to remember seeing a video of Kili's cage and I thought she was in a powder coated one. Am I right? Do you find that she is too rough with the cage or is Malachite just especially annoying?

My short term goal is to get an Expandable Habitats cage for Malachite and then transfer Romeo and Juliet into the black flight cage, which they will love. I am unsure whether to get stainless steel cage for Squeaky, Iggy, Romeo, and Juliet. They don't chew on the bars and have never caused any problems with powder coated cages. An Expandable Habitats cage that is the same size as the flights I have now would cost a little over $2,000. The bigger one that I want to get for Malachite would be more expensive than that. I would like to get him a large one that is pretty wide as well. I figure if I spend that much money on a cage (of course I will not be telling my friends and family how crazy I am!) I might as well spend a few hundred more to get a humongous one.

[MandyG]

One cage I've had for 3 years, it's still in perfect condition and I love it. The other cage has been with my conure for 10 years and it's still in great condition. I would buy another cage like my Amazon's but not like my Conure's. The Conure's cage has a lot of pieces that need to be screwed together and it can be quite the pain to take it out to pressure wash it. I don't know the brand of either cage as I didn't buy either of them.

[cml]

I think cages are stupidly expensive and apart from buying this one Stitch has now, I cant see myself buying a new one when this one has served its time. I plan on building an indoor aviary in a year or so, and dont expect it to be too expensive (around 200$ or so if my calculations are correct). I have a few ideas already and made a few tentative blueprints, but if anyone got ideas, suggestions or good links, throw me a PM =)!

[Cage Cleaner]

I think cages are stupidly expensive and apart from buying this one Stitch has now, I cant see myself buying a new one when this one has served its time. I plan on building an indoor aviary in a year or so, and dont expect it to be too expensive (around 200$ or so if my calculations are correct). I have a few ideas already and made a few tentative blueprints, but if anyone got ideas, suggestions or good links, throw me a PM =)!

Yeah, I'm looking to buy my next one from a wholeseller at a Bird Expo. Those are the best.

[Naurthon]

I have three cages that my boys are currently in now. I had a nice corner cage that I sold because it was too big for my apartment and much larger than Maxwell needed. (Plus, I felt guilty because it was a MUCH nicer cage than Nikko had at the time. Nikko and Maxwell both have identical cages now.) I have Nikko's original cage in storage, and three small "night cages" (which I am not using at present since the boys have their own room). The only cage I had a problem with was the one I originally had Dante in. The bars were too small and he pulled two of them loose. All my cages are less than three years old.

[cml]

Noone with experience at building aviaries?

[liz]

Noone with experience at building aviaries?

There is a thread in here somewhere to tell how to build an indoor aviary.