Bird Cages that Aren't Actually Bird Cages

Does anyone have a cage that wasn't marketed for birds? Like, for instance, I have my rats in a modified bird cage.

If so, what kind of cage is it, and what birds do you have?

Yoshi has a large flight cage as his main cage but I recently stuck him in a small hamster/mouse cage for an hour while I cleaned it. I'm thinking about making it his travel/outside cage. It's only about 12inx12in (estimating) but Yoshi is Quaker so he still had room to climb around while he was yelling at me for touching his main cage.

Please be careful using cages made for animals other than parrots. The metals in other animal enclosures can contain zinc and other metals toxic to parrots. Being parrots are in oral contact with their cage far more frequently than other types of aviary birds and other animals, this is of special concern. Some rodent type enclosures that have coated bars may be ok for very small birds to be in for short periods of time, but I would say, if it isn't STAINLESS steel (galvanized steel is highly toxic, it MUST be stainless), it is probably not safe to house a bird in.

I completely agree with April (Kiwibird)! I personally wouldn't risk it. Ever.

Kiwibird said:

Please be careful using cages made for animals other than parrots. The metals in other animal enclosures can contain zinc and other metals toxic to parrots. Being parrots are in oral contact with their cage far more frequently than other types of aviary birds and other animals, this is of special concern. Some rodent type enclosures that have coated bars may be ok for very small birds to be in for short periods of time, but I would say, if it isn't STAINLESS steel (galvanized steel is highly toxic, it MUST be stainless), it is probably not safe to house a bird in.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I got to learn all about zinc, etc, while looking for the biggest rat cage possible. They too can't have anything galvanized. I was thinking about a Double Ferret/Critter Nation in particular. It has a removable center shelf. Pretty sure it's powder coated. You couldn't fit a large bird humanely in one anyway.

Thanks for the input. Looking forward to hearing more.

Curious why you are looking for something other than a bird cage to house a bird? Especially to house a smaller bird. Appropriate sized bird-specific cages for small birds are pretty inexpensive, and I'd imagine around the same price or just a little more than a comparable sized rodent enclosure.

RatAtaT2693 said:

Yeah, I got to learn all about zinc, etc, while looking for the biggest rat cage possible. They too can't have anything galvanized. I was thinking about a Double Ferret/Critter Nation in particular. It has a removable center shelf. Pretty sure it's powder coated. You couldn't fit a large bird humanely in one anyway.

Thanks for the input. Looking forward to hearing more.

Click to expand...

We have one of these cages that we use for our Parrotlets and Budgies. We kept the centre in and blocked the hole so as to make 2 cages. I had concerns as well, and emailed the company about whether it would be safe. They said that this cage was not marketed for birds, but is made using the same materials that they use in their bird cages, so would be safe for them.

What I love about this cage is how big it is inside, and how sturdy. I also love that all the bars are horizontal. The drawbacks are the huge doors that open, we have had many escapes when changing food and water. There is also no way to put in a grate, so if you have birds who like to be on the bottom it wouldn`t be sanitary. My budgies never go to the bottom, the parrotlets do rarely, and I clean the cage every single day so there is never a buildup of any kind.

As much as I love this cage for them, I can honestly say the actual bird cages are a lot easier for cleaning, etc.