Tips on purchasing a cage?

[ickleruthiekins]

Hi there; I know there have already been some posts on cages on this forum, and I've scanned through some of them (there are some beautiful cages out there), but I was wondering if anyone has any tips on hand concerning looking for a good cage to buy. If the little blue parrotlet I will be purchasing has been properly weaned by this weekend, I will be picking him up around then and will need a cage by then. I had originally planned to use a cage I already had, but I discovered that it had started to rust during the time it spent in the backyard. I've also thought about repainting it (w/ lead/zinc/poison free paint and all that other good stuff), but I think it's probably not worth that much trouble, since the cage is old and difficult to clean anyway.

Besides knowing that the bigger the size of the cage the better (and I will certainly take that into account when considering cages), the spacing between the bars should not be bigger than a certain width, and that a grate is good, is there anything off the top of anyone's head that I should keep in mind when I go to a few places today and the rest of the week? (I'll have to buy it from a store since I have no time for it to ship if I were to order it online.) Also, what's the deal with powdercoating? I'm getting contradicting opinions. Is it that it should be ok/better for little(r) birds since they don't have as much power as large birds to destroy that type of coating and ingest it?

[ArtS]

bar spacing = 1/2 inch.

My wife and I don't like grates. The main reason for this is that our birds like to forrage on the floor of the cage and the grate prevents this.

Powder coating is a plastic like product (it is much tougher than plastic)that is baked on at high temperature, it is very durable and should be inert. So far we have not had any problems with it. It is easy to clean.

In my opinion, powder coating and stainless steel are the best options.

If you can, get one of the bigger cages like Sally has. If you get a simple rectangle (rather than a fancy shape like Sally's), they are surprisingly affordable.

Good luck!

Art S.

[Pado]

Congratulations on your new Parrotlet - I bet you are very excited and can't wait to get him home :)

As you said yourself the largest cage you get the better. Plus you won't feel the need to upgrade at a later date ;)

As I'm sure you know the Parrotlets are very high energy and therefore use every inch of their cages. So the width of the cage is more important than the height. As Art said the bar spacing should be no more than 1/2 an inch. I've read some will refuse to eat from enclosed food dishes, so dishes without covers or hoods are the best.

I personally prefer a bottom grate as I feed fresh food in the mornings and inevitably most of it ends up on the cage floor - :p - I'd prefer it not to be picked at throughout the day as it can go rancid and get soiled by droppings etc.
If you do decide on a grate get a cage that the grate slides out for easy cleaning - believe me you'll be glad you did :D

I agree with Art that the powder coating and stainless steel are the best options and they are indeed the easiest to keep clean.

Just an FYI - you can get much better deals on cages on line than at the Pet Stores - look for a company that has free shipping. I ordered from KingsCages and they offered free shipping.

I purchased a smaller "travel" cage at the pet store and my P'let lived in that while his cage was on order. You can still use the smaller cage for vet visits or when you travel with your P'let.

Good luck with your shipping!

[Sally]

Chipper loves her large cage. This is the 2nd cage we got. She also has a travel cage. You just can't have enough room for them. They love to play all over the cage I have play stations on every level. 1/2 inch spacing for the bars. This is a Kings Cage. I ordered it online. Chipper also has five playgyms. I LOVE toys! This big cage has room for big swings and all kinds of toys. She has a big shaggy swing too. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/Newcageoutside.jpg

[Sally]

These are some of the toys. You can see a big wooden swing and then her shaggy swing.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/Newcageinside.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/PICT0615460.jpg

[ickleruthiekins]

Thanks so much for the tips, everyone! I completely forgot about being concerned with bar spacing; good thing you mentioned it, Art. I don't think I've realized how small parrotlets are yet, being that I'm used to the size of a peach-faced lovebird (I owned one that wasn't very hand-tamed for a few years). It only occurred to me the absolute "dinkiness" with which I'm dealing when I was looking at cages a few days ago at Petco, where they were selling a green parrotlet. She was tiny. And completely adorable. Very inquisitive too...I think she wanted to play with me (or take a chomp outta me, possibly :p), because she came up very close to the glass...and then proceeded to lose grip of the cage and completely fall to the floor of the cage after about a minute. It was sad, but also cute and funny. (She didn't end up hurting herself or anything :).)

Pado, the travel cage idea is excellent!! You're a genius! Why didn't it occur to me before :confused:. That should also solve the problem of how I'll be transporting the little dude back home when I do. I had been thinking about fashioning some sort of makeshift travel box, but a smaller cage or something should be the answer to that, and I'm sure I'll need it in the future. By the way Pado, I took a look at the pictures of your parrotlet, and I lol'd when I read the name of your bird. It's adorable/hilarious! (I also like the picture of Mr. Rupert Peepers being a cannibal - I've been a bit disturbed ever since reading about parrots being fed chicken legs in some bird care books I borrowed from the library...! :eek:)

Sally, ever since I first saw pictures of Chipper's cage with all his toys on this forum, it's been staying in my mind as the epitome of what a bird's home should be, and I've been looking at toys and other accessories in an attempt to emulate that. :rolleyes:

[Pado]

The chicken thing is weird isn’t it! :eek: - My Senegal LOVED chicken, her favorite was to crack the bone and eat the marrow :D
Mr. Peepers tears them apart and picks at the white meat.

My travel cage I purchased at PetsMart its a square one about 14x14x14 it works great in the car and is still large enough for him to live in for a weekend get-a-way - they have a lot of different sizes in this style. It’s like this one [hope that link works].

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444180 8365&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302047584&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023691&bmUID=1172691623751&itemNo=8&In=Bird&N=2047584&Ne=2

[Sally]

Thanks, nice of you to say that, Ickle. I just want all birdies to get all they need. I have a toy "problem," I LOVE buying toys, they are so pretty. I just found a cute one that is a stuffed bird with strings to pull as the tail. I will order and show you all.