What dimensions should a cage be for a small parrot, ?

[Acka]

I'm thinking about getting a small to medium size parrot how big should the cage be, ?

[Polarn]

don't you have two already? anyways I personally would never go below 2xthe birds lenght on the short side and 4xthe birds lengt on the long side, and never below 45cm+70cm and atleast 60cm high for the really small birds, actually i wouldnt be allowed to here since that is the minimumcagesize allowed. but i do consider 2birdsX4birds and a decent hight to be a quite good rule of thumb for cagesizes wich means for a bird that is a foot from beak to end of tail I wouldnt go for anything smaller than 2'x4' and atleast 4' high.

[Acka]

Yep, thanksfor the advice I will look for some good cages in my local pet store tomorrow, (:

[Polarn]

I am aware of the fact that cages of the sizes i mentioned with using the bird as measurement is hard to come by for bigger birds, but for smaller birds it shouldnt be a problem, the one i got for my amazon is actually what i would consider slightly too small, but he is only in it when he wants too anyway so I havnt replaced it yet, but I am still figuring out some quirks for the back parts of the cage im currently building, becouse i prefer it to be covered rather than bars but still "interactive" simply to avoid getting leftover food etc trapped behind the cage since it will be of such a size so that moving it when cleaning will be harder... but he currently has a cage that is 3x his lenght X 3x his lenght. so it is all square but a new cage is in the process. Prolly wont be done until summer tho... but as soon as I make it i'll post an howto for it.

[GlassOnion]

Don't buy cages at pet stores, they're ridiculously expensive for how small they are.

I suggest this flight cage, it's a great deal and the perfect size for small parrots.
http://www.birdscomfort.com/flight_bird_cage.html

That cage ^ is $129 and it's huge. You could pay the same price at a petstore for a tiny little parakeet kit.

[Acka]

Are second hand cages alright ?

[GlassOnion]

Totally. Check craigslist!

[Polarn]

I dont mind buying a second hand cage, however I do spend a huge amount of time scrubbing it and disinfect it before i put it to use. Polarns cage i spent about 3 days soaking in alcohol and rinsing and then a day to make sure any alcohol residues that didnt get rinsed off vaporated properly. during the first day I actually used some nasty chemicals on it becouse it was not in a pretty shape when i got it, it is a cage for large birds and then they had added a thin mesh all around it, and covered the two backsides with a sheet of wood, and also the frontsides up about a meter, when i went looking at the cage i wasnt expecting much, looked like a homemade cage, but i was glad to find out it was actually in pretty good condition except for the poo piled up on the bars against the wooden sheets, and i understand that couse you wouldnt be able to clean the bars without removing the sheets, and they were actually not screwed but put in place with rivets, and to get the cage through a door I actually had to pick it apart wich ment going out to the car get a drill and a plier drill all the rivets and cuting the mesh, needless to say... there were a lot of shit on the floor of the previous owner... but i thought she could have it for keping birds in such a nasty cage... but i got it cleaned up and disinfected... starting from industrial cleaners used by sanitation companies working my way down to medical supplies, and thouse parts i could fit i actually ran through an autoclave, still do that regularly with bowl etc, might seem a little anal. but if I'm running the autoclave i might as well throw some bowls in.

But yeah, go for a second hand cage if you find one, just make sure todo the best you can to ensure to clean it up.

[Polarn]

Oh might add that if you go for industrial cleaners etc, don't clean it at home, get it done at a garage or a friends place or at work or whatever, but the fumes are quite nasty. pretty sure you know that just thoguht I'd remind about it.

[Acka]

thanks for the info guys, i was looking at this cage, (:
http://tas.gumtree.com.au/c-Pets-pet-supplies-pet-products-BIG-BIRD-CAGE-FOR-SALE-W0QQAdIdZ351854004