9 Tips for Choosing the Best Cage for your parrot

Every parrot needs a cage to call home. Even if your parrot remains out of the cage most of the day interacting with you or playing on a playground, at bedtime a parrot wants a comfortable cage in which to sleep.

In the wild, parrots must guard themselves against predators. By providing the right cage for your parrot, your bird will only feel that it needs to guard a small area and, therefore, will sleep more soundly. If the cage is too large, the parrot may feel less than safe and secure during the nighttime.

Here are some tips for choosing the best cage for your parrot:

Choose the Best Size

When selecting a cage, bigger really is better. If you must be away from home most of the day for work, your parrot needs space in which to play and entertain itself until your return.

The size, of course, depends largely on what species of parrot you own. Small parrots like budgerigars require a small cage while large parrots like macaws need a very large cage. As a minimum, the cage must be large enough for the parrot to fully spread both wings and still have plenty of room.

There should also be sufficient room in the cage to allow the parrot to move from perch to perch freely. You'll want to provide several perches and have space for the parrot to jump or climb from perch to perch easily.

Parrots with long tails need to be provided with tall cages. This prevents the tail from becoming ragged and tattered in appearance. Parrots also like to climb up and down and you want plenty of room for this type of exercise.

Choose the Right Shape

Parrots simply do not seem to like round cages. They like to snuggle into the top perch in a corner for sleeping. They like to have their backs protected on two sides by the cage and round cages to not provide this security.

Select a rectangular or square shape. This will allow lots of climbing area in addition to the extra coziness. It is also very difficult to place perches and toys into a round cage. Round cages are not the best choice for your parrot.

Choose the Best Bar Size and Configuration

The bars of the bird cage are important for several reasons. You want to choose bars that are of sufficient diameter to be strong and spaced correctly for your parrot species. The bar configuration can make a big difference as well.

Bar Diameter

Small cages have bars that are thin and should only be used for species like budgies and cockatiels. Medium sized parrots such as conures need a slightly larger bar thickness while macaws and cockatoos require bars that are quite thick.

If you place a conure or other medium sized parrot in a really large cockatiel cage with thin bars, you'll find that rather quickly the parrot may chew on the bars and cause the welds connecting them to fail. This will ruin a parrot cage quickly. Of course, a large parrot must have the thickest bars for the same reason. Sturdy connecting welds are important as well.

Bar Spacing

The important of bar spacing is that you must be certain the parrot can not stick its head through the bars, potentially getting stuck and breaking its neck in fright. The wings should not be able to become caught in the bars easily as well. Simply look at the bar spacing to ensure that the bars are close enough together to provide no danger to your parrot.

Small parrots like budgies can be housed happily in a cage that has bar spacing of one-half inch or slightly more. If you place a small budgie into a cage with too large of a space between each bar, the bird will likely hurt itself.

Medium sized parrots like conures can live in cages with bar spacing of three-fourths to seven-eight inch while large parrots can have more space between each bar.

Bar Configuration

Bar configuration means bars that go vertically (up and down) or horizontally (side to side). Most parrot cages will have at least two sides with vertical bars but cages can be found with all bars horizontal.

The reason that two sides are often vertical has to do with the cage openings. The food dish openings have sliding doors that move up and down in most parrot cages and this can be more easily created with vertical bars.

Budgies and cockatiels highly value the ability to climb on their cage bars. They want to be able to use the bars as if they were a ladder and their little feet are not strong enough to prevent sliding down vertical bars. For these parrots, choose a cage that has at least two sides with horizontal bars. Some owners of these playful little birds prefer to search for cages that have all the bars horizontal, which work very well but can be challenging to locate.

Medium sized parrots with their stronger feet, as well as large parrots, don't seem to have as strong a preference for horizontal bars. It is nice, however, to provide these larger birds the option of using the bars for climbing. In medium and large cages, it is not, however, crucial to locate a cage with horizontal bars on any side.

Construction

When selecting the best cage for your parrot, consider the quality and materials used in construction. You want your investment in a cage to last for years and poorly made cages simply will not last as long as a slightly more expensive but more durable cage.

The welds should be strong to prevent bars from breaking loose. There should be no rough metal edges that a bird can cut itself on accidentally.

There should be a bottom grate separating the bottom of the living space from the tray where seeds and wastes will drop and it should also be strong and fit well into the cage. This will prevent the parrot from lifting the grate and retrieving dropped food that may have become soiled and unsanitary.

For small and even medium size parrots a plastic tray is just fine. For large parrots, a metal tray or one made of very thick plastic is preferable.

Cage Finishes

Choose a parrot cage that has a powder coated finish or one that is bare metal that is rust-proof. Avoid painted cages because parrots can easily remove paint from the bars with their constant beak contact.

Do not purchase a cage that is painted but if you need to refurbish a cage, you can paint the cage but only with nursery-safe paint or enamel that is thoroughly dry and has been aged to allow outgasing of the fumes. Petroleum-based paint, if not dry and aged, can quickly kill an avian.

Door Configuration

There are several types of door openings available. Choose the one that will be preferred by your parrot as well as practical for you.

The Veranda Door

Many parrots adore having a "front veranda" to sit on and many cages have a door opening that drops down and has a support bar to create this front porch. If the cage you want has a door that opens from the top with hinges on the bottom but doesn't have the bar to create the veranda, you can add a chain or, if you bird is small or medium sized, a string to make the door act as a porch.

Large and Small Doors

While a parrot doesn't require a huge opening to exit the cage but you want to be able to reach inside easily and reach every part of the cage for installation and removal of toys, spot cleaning and to capture the parrot in an emergency easily.

Many cages have a small door for the parrot that is inside a larger door. This is the best configuration possible. However, you might choose to settle for only a large door. Avoid choosing a cage that has only a small door because that will cause strain when you need to reach into the cage corners at the top.

Test the cage door before you purchase the cage by reaching inside. If you can't reach the extreme top and bottom corners, you should consider a different model.

Stands

A cage stand is an option that you may or may not want to include when shopping for the best cage for your parrot. They can be very handy, however, and top-quality cages usually have this option except for small cages such as you'd select for a budgie.

Avoid hanging a parrot cage, even for a budgie, because it is simply too difficult to reach inside a swinging cage to change food and water. It's also difficult to get your parrot to step up or capture it during an emergency when the cage can move freely on its hanger.

Attached Playgrounds

Many models have playgrounds that attach to the roof of the cage. This can be a great addition for your parrot. Some smaller cages have roofs that open to create the playground and these can be just great as long as the rooftop playground is easy to open and close.

Spare Parts

When selecting the best cage for your parrot, check whether spare parts are available for the model you choose. This can increase the life of the cage and also make maintenance much, much easier.

A set of extra food dishes should be obtained when purchasing the cage. You want to have clean food and water dishes at all times and, with an extra set, you can have one set being washed while the other set is being used. This helps greatly in the morning rush of feeding while preparing for work or getting the children off to school.

In Closing

As you can see, there are lots of factors to consider when choosing the best cage for your parrot. Be sure to choose a cage that both you and your parrot will be happy with for a long time. Parrot cages, especially those for larger birds, are an investment and it is well worth the extra time, and even a little extra initial investment, to get the one that will make you both the happiest.

Don't choose a cage that is less than the best because it is slightly less expensive. You'll regret the decision if you do. Spend the extra money to get the very best cage for your beloved parrot and your parrot will thank you.

Thanks for posting a very helpful information, I am positive that these informations would help a lot of people especially the first time owners. I totally agree that the main consideration in buying a Parrot cage is it's size, Parrot needs a cage wherein there is enough room to spread it wings and be comfortable in it.

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Thanks