which cages work the best?

[kirthefierce]

Hi everyone! I was here around 2 years ago asking on about IRNs in general. Lots of good advice given! I was hoping I could bend your ears again and maybe glean some more helpful information.

I'm on a list for getting a baby IRN from my favorite pet shop this upcoming Summer and wanted to get stuff ready for the little man, so I was looking around at cages, which is HARD online, let me tell you! Anyways, I found one on Amazon that seems to work nicely and it's reasonably priced WITH a play topper (always a plus ) and I was wondering what you IRN experts think of it:

It's on Amazon and called "New Parrot Bird Wrought Iron Cage 22x22x60 Play-Top *Black Vein*" Sorry, this website won't let me add a URL.

The bar spacing is 5/8" which sounds reasonable, it's got feeder doors, a play stand and is roughly 24"L x 22"D x 31"H. I want what's best for my little man since I'm gone 5 days a week at work for 8 hours each.. Is this a good one for him? If not, what IS a good size for a cage? And are there any cage places anyone would recommend I take a look at?

Thanks again! Can't wait to bring an IRN into my bird family

[MissK]

Hi. Nobody else responded to you yet, so I'll have a stab at it.

I'm going to step on a WHOLE lotta toes here, but in my opinion a cage that's in the 24" x 24" square footprint range is too small. There. I said it, and I feel better. Also scared of the backlash.

The cage is big enough to sustain life, don't get me wrong, and it's not the straight jacket a cage, say 18" x 18" would be. But I think it is unkind and provides insufficient room for flapping and expansive expressions of general physical goofiness. Remember, it's not just a big space with a bird positioned always right in the center. There's other stuff in there, at least, there *should* be. If the cage is very high, that's good, because those hanging toys take up some vertical space.

Now you might be saying "But MissK! Not everybody has room for a bigger cage!" My feeling is that "Nobody's forcing you to keep a Ringnneck." I'm a little bit opinionated that way.

I'd like your cage to be at least 36" in at least one horizontal direction. You are not likely to get a cage that is more than about 20-23 inches in the other direction, although it would be desirable. Unless you have it done custom, that is.

My bird's cage is the HG Double Flight, I think it's 62" long and about 20" deep, almost 36" high inside. It's not perfect. I would like it bigger front to back, and my soft heart would like it twice as high. However, I couldn't bankroll the bigger cage, and I did think this one is big enough *WHEN USED WITHOUT the center divider*. I've been using this cage about 18 months and I love it. I find it easy to use, though with some MINOR details I would have designed better. My thoughts on this cage have been posted in another thread already.

Do I hold a popular opinion? Probably not. But, I was the person willing to respond to your post, and that's what I think. Best wishes selecting your cage.

[SunniDai]

Kind of hard for me to say since all three are out of their cages all the time. They each have a night cage, but only the youngest actually sleeps inside. The other two sleep on top of their night cages. That being said, I would fee bad to leave any one of them in those cages all day since they cannot truly stretch and flap their wings. They have a macaw-sized cage for the daytime. Plenty big for flapping.
I'm fond of the flight cages as well.
Dana

[kirthefierce]

Thanks both of you for your quick responses! I found a cage online that seems to do the job, it took me a while to do my research but when it came down to it this cage worked out for both space for the IRN as well as it didn't take a huge chunk of change. It's roughly 40"H x 32"W x 23"D. Very nice if I do say so myself Free shipping and 2 day delivery. This way I'll be ready next year for when he comes home!

Thanks again for all your help!
Kirsten

[MissK]

Sounds adequate, if not luxurious. Plan for daily fly in the house time. Good luck waiting till then; I know it's hard!