Best 7 Cheap Bird Cages: Money Saved, Quality Assured

Owning a bird is a great expense on its own and many people don’t want or can’t handle any wild additional costs either.

A cage is an essential part of owning them though and since you can’t go without them, you might as well get a cheap bird cage that’s going to save you money without comprising quality if you know what to look for.

The Summary

How Much Does A Cage For A Bird Cost?

If we’ve discouraged the prices right off the bat, there is a way to lower the costs. To start, we’ll define what cheap is from each size category because you simply can’t compare a small birdcage with a large birdcage in terms of price.

Small

These cages can house birds like budgies, canaries, finches, lovebirds, and sometimes cockatiels and they typically fit the minimum cage size for these birds.. They’re typically made with alloy steel or iron wire and feature plastic bases fairly often. Their price varies anywhere from $50 to $150. The cheaper versions are going to be placed in the below $100 category. You can buy larger cages for these birds.

Medium

This is where it gets tricky since it’s hard to define what a medium bird actually is due to such large size differences. For example, an  African grey is considered a medium to large-sized bird while a conure is considered a medium to small-sized bird. Their price can be anywhere from $150 up to $500 dollars and more. We’ll define these as cheap if they’re in the $300 range.

Large

Large birds are, again, clearly defined. They have strong beaks and need a lot of space so it doesn’t surprise us that cages for these birds are going to be very expensive if you want your bird to be safe and happy inside it. They can range anywhere from $300 up to $1500 dollars. The cheaper versions are going to stay within the $450 dollar range.

Specialty Cages

Whether it’s for cleaning, trips to the vet, or simply travel, you’re going to need an additional cage that you can easily transport your bird in. In case you have a small bird, you can get away with having them in their permanent cage for traveling but otherwise, this is just an additional expense. Their prices vary and can climb up to 500 dollars easily. The cheaper version is going to be in the $150 dollar range.

The Good And The Bad Of Inexpensive Cages

The Good

• Their quality can be in par with the more expensive ones
• Apart from money saving, they often save space
• If you’re a beginner owner, it’s smart to spend less before you see how do you like to care for a bird

The Bad

• The size and construction options are limited
• They have to be maintained more frequently

Things To Be On The Lookout For When Purchasing

Cage Size

Since we’ve already discussed the prices of different cage sizes it’s time to talk about what cage sizes bird’s actually need. The list below is guidelines and you can go lower than those but definitely not by much. Even with a perfect minimum recommended cage size, you’ll still want to make sure that your bird gets plenty of cage time. This saves you money you’ll have to spend on the cage but definitely costs you time since you should always supervise the bird.

Cage Materials

The most commonly used materials are going to be aluminum, stainless steel, wrought iron, iron, and alloy steel. This of course stands if you don’t care about cage price. Aluminum and stainless steel cages can easily pass the cheap marks we’ve set by hundreds of dollars, sometimes even thousands. Wrought iron, iron, and alloy steel are cheaper. We’d definitely focu on getting a wrought iron cage if you’re looking for a bit more durability.

Wire Thickness And Spacing

Thickness – thicker the wire, the more likely it is that the cage can house larger, strong beaked birds. For smaller birds that have smaller beaks, wire thickness(gauge) isn’t as important. For larger birds focus on getting a cage with at least a 12-13 gauge wire(recommended would be 9 and lower but they are more expensive

Wire Spacing – You won’t be saving any money with a bigger or smaller wire spacing but this will help you determine whether or not the cage you’re looking at can actually house your bird. It’s important that the spacing isn’t too big since that can seriously harm your bird.

Finish Quality

It’s hard to say how durable a finish is just by knowing what it is. You’re going to have to perform finish maintenance either way. We’d go for powder coat finishes as long as they don’t contain bird toxic chemicals. If you’re untrustworthy of a cage’s finish quality, get a white version that’ll help you easily notice imperfections, cracks, chips, rust, and corrosion in the end. (Important because rust is toxic to birds.

Shape Of The Cage

Some cages simply can’t ever house birds. What you want to look for are corners so fully rounded cages are out of the question. The most typical shapes are going to be rectangular and square but you can find irregular pentagons once and even hexagon ones. These are going to be pricier from time t time.

Best 7 Cheap Bird Cages

We made this list considering size, pairing it with the price and of course, looking at the quality of the build like construction materials, access to the inside for cleaning, included accessories, and so much more.

Mcage White Bird Cage

Even though we set the price limit for small cages up to $100 dollars, this cage is worth spending 30 more bucks on. The reason is simple, it’s a flight cage and can house multiple small birds inside. It’s colored white so imperfections will be clearly visible.

It has a decently sized front door that will allow you to access the inside with ease. Each of the 4 cups can be placed on the corresponding small feeding entrances. It sits on a stand with wheels and even has a storage shelf.

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Yaheetech Play Top Bird Cage

Most cages will only come with a set of perches and food cups but this one features a play top and even a hanging rope toy as an extra. to top it all off, the food bowls are made from stainless steel which will make them last longer.

The front door is 21.6-in tall and 11.8-in wide which makes you easily access the whole of the inside since the cage body is 35-in tall. It features a wire grid and cleaning tray on the bottom and a cleaning tray for the play top. it sits on a stand with wheels.

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Vivohome Flight Bird Cage

Although decently tall, the door is only 7.9-in wide which limits your ability to access the inside. On the upside, it has a bird-resistant lock and features 4 smaller doors acting as feeding entrances.

Although we’d advise keeping it on the stand if you’d like you can remove it. You can then place it on a tabletop for example and it shouldn’t be a problem to do so since it weighs 23.1 lbs. The stand has wheels and a storage wire grid.

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Yaheetech Parrot Bird Cage

The biggest problem with this cheap cage for birds is its seed guards that give off the illusion of a much wider cage than it actually is. In reality, it’s 24-in long and 22-in wide making it suitable for only some medium to large-sized birds if you pair it with the fact that it has a 1” wire spacing.

To compensate, it has a double door victorian style top that you can use as a rest top if you place the given perch in between them. This will make out-of-cage time funner and more practical. It might be harder to access the inside since the door is only 18-in tall while the cage is 44.5-in tall.

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You & Me Small Bird Cage

This is a small flight cage that’s perfect for housing the smallest of birds. You can actually house at least 2 of the first three we listed that it’s suitable for. It can function as a travel cage as well and it’s easy to carry due to the side wire handles.

It has one centered entrance in the front and considering the cage itself is small it will be easy to access the whole of its interior. It’s fully wire and only has a plastic tray if you don’t count the plastic cups.

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Mcage Extra Large Bird Cage

There are three functions to this cage: You can use it as an indoor cage even though it’s huge, as a flight cage and as a breeding cage. It can house multiple birds and we’re talking at least five. In fact, you can breed the birds since it has 2 nesting box entrances and features a removable divider to separate the birds when needed.

It has 2 stands that are connected so in total, it features 6 wheels and a lengthy storage shelf. It’s colored white so noticing any rust and corrosion will be easy to do. It even features shelves and ladders for birds to play with inside.

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Superdeal Stand Bird Cage

Although you can house a bird inside it and make it a permanent home for them, we would recommend the bir gets plety of time out of the cage. It is tall and although some birds that like climbing bars will appreciate it, it’s 4-in narrower than the recommended width.

On the plus side, it has 2 large entrances that allow you to easily access the inside. Since you can remove it from its stand and because it’s light and features a wire handle on top, you can also hang it if you’d like.

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Bird Owning: Price

If you don’t already own a bird you might not know that getting a bird is a big expense on its own. Bird prices vary, the bigger the bird the pricier they are. Price is also affected by how endangered the species is. For example, a macaw costs around 400-1000 dollars while budgies which are small and common birds cost around 50 dollars.

Beginner Expenses

It’s probably best to start with expenses that don’t even include buying a cage. This includes toys, bowls, perches, other essential accessories, food, cleaning supplies, veterinary exams, and vaccines. Put together, the beginner cost can climb all the way to 1000 dollars.

How Do You Make A Cheap Bird Cage?

To make the cage, you’ll have to follow a few simple steps but all you really need is a second-hand cabinet, a wire mesh, and a few tools like a saw, fret saw, a file, sandpaper, bird-safe paint, a brush, a drill, screwdrivers, hand drill, a hex saw, ruler, handles, and clips.

1. Strip the cabinet of any parts. This will require you to use a screwdriver. Keep only the frame (this includes taking out the doors and any drawers.
2. The parts you’ll want to color you’ll then want to sand. Take your time with this and make sure that there isn’t any debris left. We suggest wiping it down with a damp cloth so that the paint can stick better to it.
3. You can use the doors and cabinets to make a new support bottom frame that will elevate it from the ground but this step is optional. Another optional step is to make new doors for the cabinets where you can later store bird supplies and extras to keep it tidy.
4. The other drawer will have to be disassembled completely. Then reduce its height by more than a half. assemble it again and this will be used as a slide-out cleaning drawer. We suggest adding some door handles to it to take it out more efficiently. You can place a plastic strip on it and iron it down to prevent the wood from getting damaged by bird litter. and to keep smells in check.
5. In the place where the cabinet door once was, you’ll want to drill holes to put clips that’ll keep the wire mesh in place. Do this on the left, right, bottom, and topside.
6. You can acquire a premade mesh that features feeding doors and the main entrance. If not, you can buy wire mesh from the hardware store and make your own doors. Make sure to file down any sharp parts if you chose to buy the hardware mesh.
7. An additional step would be to make sure that you have a big enough door that’ll allow you to clean the cage easily. Another optional step is to fully sand down the inside and repaint it fresh. Make sure you dry and cure the cage if that’s the case.