Cages, design, size and requirements.

[Joshuwaaa]

Hey,

So I hope everyone is doing good, just wanted to pick some brains.

Past few days I've been looking at cages, my local pet stores don't do much on parrots and their cages are either HUGE and like £500.00 or there slightly too small. No inbetween.

I started looking online and found some nice ones, just wanted peoples opinions on the designs etc.

I really like corner cages, I also like the box look cage.

Some have top perches, some don't, some have different doors etc.

I want something I can change a lot too keep him proactive in his cage, something with lots of capability for fun and something pretty large.

What's worked best for you? What hasn't? And why? Any design you think gives best space and works well?

Corner cage? Box style cage? Long or wide?

Thanks x

 

[Jtbirds]

Ok well I'll start wit the corner cage, I have one and hate it. My amazon is in it it is hard to clean, hand toys and perches, newspapers don't fit it right. The cage is just a royal pain. I do like cages with play gym tops as it is an alternative place they can be on instead of a play gym all the time. I usually put toys and treats on my cages that are play gym tops and my guys love them. I prefer a box style cage honestly. Like my macaws are in mostly 40 by 30 hq or California playgym tops. My eclectus which is a bonded pair is in a 30 by like 24 Dome to and it works great as I hang boings and plenty of toys and have plenty of room in it of both of them to have there space if needed.

I'd say look at some hq and a and e cages and see what they have that you'd like, I strongly say no to the corner cage it is a space saver but not a time saver.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

oh poo, i thought they looked nice, i can imagine they are tough to clean though thinking about it.

plenty of room for a cage, just need to find a nice one. May have to be the box shape on online. Its about £212.00 but its huge.

more then 36", 30", 30"

x

 

[Jtbirds]

Wow tha would be rather large for and Ekkie, but that is dang cheap to. I have to leave soon but when I get back around(going to do behavioral work ) I can find se cages and post some links for you hopefully. Cages that I like and the styles I found work.

 

[tab_xo]

I have to disagree ! I have a corner cage, it is huge, one of the biggest macaw cages, there is sooo much space, and i love it, so does Fargo..

Its exactly the same as cleaning a normal rectangular cage, but there is 2 panels? That just means you are cleaning more because its BIGGER!

Its honestly not hard, i fully scrub Fargos cage every single day, its an easy routine, and newspapers fit like normal, unless your corner cage has a curved front, instead of straight edges, the only newspaper i have to fold is one, which takes 2 seconds to fold

 

[Jtbirds]

I have to disagree ! I have a corner cage, it is huge, one of the biggest macaw cages, there is sooo much space, and i love it, so does Fargo..

Its exactly the same as cleaning a normal rectangular cage, but there is 2 panels? That just means you are cleaning more because its BIGGER!

Its honestly not hard, i fully scrub Fargos cage every single day, its an easy routine, and newspapers fit like normal, unless your corner cage has a curved front, instead of straight edges, the only newspaper i have to fold is one, which takes 2 seconds to fold

The macaw corner cages are easier, but I don't think he is getting one of them for his eclectus lol. I meant the amazon sized corner cage it is a huge pain to hang toys and perches in. The size that would be more apprioate for an eclectus. I like the macaw sized corners though.

 

[rbreck]

We have the big corner macaw cage... Older cage, bought used. It's huge!

 

[sodakat]

I prefer the play top cages compared to dome top or open top. The open top cages where you can place a perch between the two flaps that lift up are really dangerious, IMO, because when the flaps are closed and the bird is in the cage the flaps can be pushed up by the bird who can easily get their neck stuck. I have one older cage like that which is in great shape so I still use it, but I keep the top flaps tied shut with zip ties.

That cage is also my smallest cage and funny thing is, I used to think it was a big cage. I even kept a pair in it way back when. It is 30 x 28 I think. something like that. I like the 40"x30" play top cages by far the best and have 3 of them.

I also have 40x30 dome top which neither I or my Eclectus like too much. I let my flock choose where to sleep for the most part and some nights there will be 2 or 3 in one of the play top cages and no one in the dome top. It's weird.

For a bird who must be kept caged much of the time, I do think the 40x30 dome top is probably the best choice because the dome provides more room to hang toys. But, if the bird is out much of the time, the play top provides a wonderful area to toss foot toys, dry foods, chewables, etc. and keep them contained because of the lip on the upper tray.

I also have an older flat top cage that I haven't used in a while. It does not have a tray on top like the play top cages and is not as tall as the newer cages. Before I built the outside aviary I kept it on the porch and 3 or 4 birds could sit outside in it for a while each summer day. The feeding doors are awful on that thing also.

 

[Parrotdise]

I am not a fan of corner cages, i don't really feel they save that much space. I think if you are trying to provide a cage that is spacious but doesn't take up the whole room i would get a dome top. I just converted to cages with all play tops and in order to get enough space for my birds i had to go with really long cages because you lose the height. The worst mistake i ever made ordering a cage was not making sure it could fit through my doorways inside the house. Every time i need to take my one cage outside to clean (i have house water & seasonally wash down the entire cage) i have to take one end of the cage apart. Lucky for me the cage did not come with quick locking screws or it would have been stuck in the bedroom. So i would make sure one end of the cage can skinny through the door way, i think its kind of hard on a cage to have to take it apart.

 

[Peeker]

Well you are getting plenty of advice on cages, so I will add in on what I would avoid in cages. I agree with Sodakat on the ones that open on top and allow for a perch. I have two of them and have the tops zip tied closed as well.

Watch that there is enough space between the grate and the tray that the bird cannot reach through and tear paper, but also look to see if you can remove the grate for scrubbing without the bird getting loose. Convenient for those times when you may prefer your bird caged due to hormones or a guest or a dog loose in the house and you are doing some cleaning. I have a cage where I have to remove my female completely to a spare cage if I am cleaning the floor grate, otherwise she sneaks down to the bottom and runs off to look for nesting spots in the Spring.

Also I would prefer that the tray is not so low that the dogs can sneak their heads in and eat leftovers putting the backs of their heads at risk of a bite! (This is the same cage as the previous problem)

You may not have a dog or young children running around now but you will have your bird a good long time and it helps to consider everything!

 

[Joshuwaaa]

I think the problem I found is that when I first went to buy a cage for Loki I saw this one and trout it was huge. It genuinely looked massive as a cage, I bought it home and put it up, an again it looked huge.

On getting Loki and toys, and perches and dishes in, it's now looking to cramped and I don't like it.

When we went searching, we found cages again that looked huge, but this time had learned and took a tape measure to measure the inside of the cages depth, height and width. All the cages which were big were now smaller then our current one.

If I spend out, it will have to be perfect, so Im going to keep looking. Like the box shape, also don't mind the dome shape, but I find I can't hang enough from it.

Il keep you posted, thanks for all the advice

x

 

[Curiosity]

I am new here. I need to buy a cage for my macaw. Any thoughts on this one?

 

[Joshuwaaa]

heyy,

looks huge. What are the dimensions?

welcome to the forum, x

 

[Grenage]

I picked up a new Ventura cage for my GCC, and I think it came to £150 (+£20 P&P). I was slightly concerned about the bar width, but I couldn't find any other large cages with smaller spacing. Thankfully, it seems not to be an issue; it's a really good cage.

Liberta Ventura Parrot Play Cage ? Next Day Delivery Liberta Ventura Parrot Play Cage

 

[Curiosity]

I've seen 2. One from Kings cages Aprox 40" wide, 30" deep, 72" high. The other from HQ • Dimensions: 73'' height x 40'' length x 30'' width. I don't see much of a difference between the 2. If I am not mistaken, someone mentioned earlier in a post that they swear by kings cages. I would like to know what people think of both

 

[Curiosity]

Love the one you've got, Grenage. Trying to find a similar one in the US but only see an open top like that.

 

[Grenage]

Love the one you've got, Grenage. Trying to find a similar one in the US but only see an open top like that.

I was worried that my GCC would only live in the smaller top section, but thankfully not.

 

[Jtbirds]

I've seen 2. One from Kings cages Aprox 40" wide, 30" deep, 72" high. The other from HQ • Dimensions: 73'' height x 40'' length x 30'' width. I don't see much of a difference between the 2. If I am not mistaken, someone mentioned earlier in a post that they swear by kings cages. I would like to know what people think of both

The cage is big enough and looks great. I'd suggest kinds cages as I have the hq one and it goes together weird if you mess one little bolt up it gets all crookd. It is a royal pain so I'd say kings before hq

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Grenade I love the little house shape cage, like you, I was worried about him residing in one area of the cage?

Not sure how good it would be for a eclectus? Ay thoughts?

x

 

[sodakat]

I picked up a new Ventura cage for my GCC, and I think it came to £150 (+£20 P&P). I was slightly concerned about the bar width, but I couldn't find any other large cages with smaller spacing. Thankfully, it seems not to be an issue; it's a really good cage.

Liberta Ventura Parrot Play Cage ? Next Day Delivery Liberta Ventura Parrot Play Cage

I've heard from other owners that those are hard to clean, especially with the small door == you can't get your body in it to reach very well.