Gothic architecture is a world-known medieval style and is described in detail in many history and architecture history books.
Even today, it’s rooted in subcultures and people with dark and impactful styles and looks.
It’s easy to make things goth, but in terms of bird cages, it’s not easy to make them safe. This is where these worlds collide and we’ll help you manage it and pick out the safest one for your bird.
IN THIS ARTICLE:
The Summary
★★★★★
The dome is just one thing that makes it gothic. The other one is the stand that you can easily remove the cage from if you want.
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★★★★☆
The dense wire top might be harder to clean, but it’s a visual bonus when paired with the fact that you can hang it as well.
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★★★★☆
The plastic base shouldn’t worry you too much because the rest is made out of wire. Besides, it does feature a slide-out cleaning tray.
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The Gothic Style In Bird Cages
As it is with architecture, goth-style bird cages feature darker prominent colors, pointed arches, ornate decoration and resonate simply astounding craftsmanship commonly with the use of metal and wood. They are commonly shaped like castles since that was the common style back in the day of the dark middle ages.
Decor Problem
Although plenty of complex decorations is what makes them unique and gothic, that’s the first problem we run into with these. They’re hard to clean and don’t leave much room for proper ventilation of the inside and visibility on the outside.
Are These Cages Readily Available?
Most of what you see classified as gothic-style bird cages are handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces that took months to make. If left for sale, they’re extremely expensive (we’re talking upwards of $10000)and seen as artwork rather than functional bird cages.
A Functional Goth Cage: What To Focus On
How do you even recognize a somewhat gothic cage for birds? Well, the best thing to do is to take all of the characteristics that make up the goth-style architecture and tone them down. This makes up for the visual segment but that’s not what will make it safe. What will make it is carefully choosing the materials, finishes, cage shape, wire spacing, and more.
Material Basics
Getting a cage with good materials is simple. Make sure it’s easy to clean and that it can fight of rusting well and you’re good to go. In descending order from best to worst, they are aluminum, stainless steel, wrought iron, and iron. The last two are the most common bird cage materials.
Bird Cage Size
How big is your bird? Is it a playful and active one? These are the things to consider when looking for size. Generally speaking, the focus is 1 1/2 times the length and width of birds whose wingspan is larger than their length. The same rule applies to birds that are longer but is focused on height.
Cage Protection Through Finishes
With wrought iron and iron cages, the finish is what’ll keep them from rusting and corroding. The reason you want to avoid is that birds can ingest these parts and suffer metal poisoning. Powder coats are the most common ones seeing as they don’t chip away often and over time.
Bar Spacings: The Importance
Cages should primarily be made out of wire and the spacing between each is what can make it safe or unsafe for your bird. The worry is big wire spacings seeing as birds can get their head or wings stuck in between. As a general guideline, these are the wire spacings for the most common bird species.
- Canaries, Finches – 0.25”- 0.5”
- Budgies, Lovebirds, Parrotlets – 0.5”
- Cockatiels, Parakeets, Ringnecks – 0.5” – 0.65”
- Conures, Caiques, Poicephalus – 0.65” – 0.75”
- Small Cockatoos, Mini Macaws, Amazons, African Greys – 0.75” – 1”
- Large Cockatoos, Large Macaws – 1” – 1.5”
Intro To Bar Gauges
Bar gauge determines the thickness of each individual wire. It’s important to look for cages for larger birds with stronger beaks with whom they can easily bend the thin wire. This means it only includes birds like small Cockatoos, Macaws, and African greys that will prefer a cage with 12 gauge or lower while even larger birds like large Cockatoos and Macaws will prefer a 10 or lower gauge cage.
Perches And Toys
You don’t want to overcrowd the cage with accessories but you don’t want to leave too little inside either because the bird will get bored. Perches should be bought with different diameters to exercise bird feet while for bowls, we recommend stainless steel ones as they can’t be chipped and broken. There are plenty of other bird cage toys and extras, these are just the most basic ones.
Cage Cleaning
Cleaning extras like bowls should be a daily thing. Other toys, perches, and the whole cage should be cleaned at least once a week, sooner if it’s a visible mess. To help with cleaning, you’ll typically get slide-out cleaning trays. Another focus should be large entrance doors so you can reach for the inside if the cage isn’t small and can’t be disassembled in a jiffy.
Cage Shape
This is a gothic cage-specific thing. Many goth cages out there are round which you should avoid. The simple thing to focus on is that the bird cage has corners and nothing more than that. The lack of corners is not only confusing to birds but can lead to serious physical and mental problems like bird psychosis, depression, and even feather plucking.
Best 7 Gothic Bird Cages
We took all the guidelines to get a bird-safe gotch cage successfully and implemented them to our choices for the reviews. Unfortunately, they can’t be full-on goth but they are the closest thing to them available on the market currently.
Superdeal Gothic Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 18.9” x 18.9” x 63.9”
For: Cockatiels, Ringnecks. Conures
Extras: Playtop, Perches, Bowls
This is a classic antique or vintage bird cage. It features a stand with curved and hollow legs and a dome arched top. Ti’s fully black and can easily be taken off its stand if you so wish. The stand also features a wire grid for storage and wheels, 2 of which are lockable for stability.
The top does have a double door where you can place one of the 2 perches in between. The bowls can be clipped onto the perch or onto the side feeding entrances. The door is large and makes it easy to reach for the inside.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$100 – $120 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon
WHY TO BUY
- It assembles easily with the unfolding technique
- The dome top doubles as a play and rest area
WHY TO AVOID
- It may not be as gothic as some would like
Prevue Hendryx Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 18” x 18” x 25”
Suitable For: Cockatiels, Parakeets
Extras: Perches, Bowls
Not all people want a huge cage. Not many can even fit one inside of their house and that’s when a small cage like this comes into play. You won’t even have to use up floor space for it since it’s easy to hang on a ceiling or its own stand.
There are plenty of wire decorations on the outside. The top is curved and each wire piece connects in the center. It features a black plastic base, wire grid, a slide-out tray below, and comes with a plastic perch and 2 feeding cups painted white
Safety:
Finish:
Functionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
WHY TO BUY
- It’s an amazing space saver
- Can either be hung or you can place it on a flat surface
WHY TO AVOID
- The top is wire dense so might be harder to clean
Mcage Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 18” x 14” x 62”
Suitable For: Budgies, Canaries
Extras: Perches, Cups
The cage’s bottom body part is square, the side edges then curve to the outside, making the interior roomier, and then they meet up back at the top, forming a peak. The peak area might be harder to clean than the rest.
It has a straight leg stand with wheels and a storage grid you can remove it from. It comes with a single wooden perch and 2 cups that you can place on the front feeder doors. The bottom is a plastic base featuring a slide-out cleaning tray below a wire grid.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$90 – $110 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon
WHY TO BUY
- Its top shape is extremely unique
- The top part is wider so birds will have more room inside
WHY TO AVOID
- Doesn’t features assembly instructions
King’s Cages SLTS 1818 Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 18” x 18” x 55”
Suitable For: Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Parrotlets
Extras: Rest Top, Perches, Food Bowls
The wire thickness makes this cage look a lot denser and darker which is what we want if we are to achieve the gothic look. Even though it’s 9 gauge wire. it’s still made for housing smaller birds due to its small size. It comes with seed guards as well.
The actual cage is 29-in tall but it gets enhanced due to the stand with wheels and wire grid for storage it sits on. It has a triple archtop, featuring double play and rest doors, comes with 3 feeding entrances, a front one and on top of it, a vertical opening rest entrance.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$380 – $400 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon, Walmart, eBay
WHY TO BUY
- The thick wire makes it durable and looks more gothic
- Has 2 unique rest and play areas
WHY TO AVOID
- Might not be worth the money due to the size
A&e Cage Co. B-2217 Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 22” x 17” x 62”
Suitable For: Budgies, Canaries, Cockatiels,
Extras: Playtop, Perches, Bowls
This is another victorian top cage but instead of 3, it has 5 arched and a flatter top. Nonetheless, you’ll find a double door there where you can place one of the 2 perches it comes with to keep it open. The front holds the main entrance while the sides feature a total of 3 feeding doors.
The stand legs are angled so they come into play in terms of the cage’s visual representation. It even features small seed guards to keep your floors clean. You can easily move it using the wheels provided on the bottom of the stand.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$320 – $340 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon, Walmart, eBay
WHY TO BUY
- The angles stand legs help its visual appeal
- The bowls are stainless steel made
WHY TO AVOID
- Has a small interior
King’s Cages SLT4 2620 Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black/Silver Powder Coat
Size: 26” x 20” x 64”
For: Conures, Cockatiels, Caiques, Ringnecks
Extras: 2 Rest tops, Perches, Bowls
There are 2 half arches and one full arch at the top of this cage. The top play double doors are well paired with the arched vertical opening entrance in the front that acts as another rest area when kept open.
It features 11 gauge wire but some parts are silver-colored so it doesn’t look as dense as other models. The front door though is extremely wide and allows you to easily reach inside to clean it. It has 3 feeding entrances, bowls to go with them, 2 wooden perches, and has a nesting box door.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$500 – $550 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon, Walmart, eBay
WHY TO BUY
- The front door is amazingly wide so the inside is easy to clean
- Features a nesting box door
WHY TO AVOID
- Combines black and silver color so it may not look as gothic
Yaheetech Gothic Bird Cage
SPECIFICATION:
Finish: Black Powder Coat
Size: 23.4” x 23.4” x 55”
Suitable For: Cockatiels, Conures, Caiques
Extras: Perches, Bowls
The top it features resembles a house roof so there are no extravagant arches that otherwise impress people. You can remove it from its antique-looking stand or you can move it while it’s on due to the wheels. Two out of the 4 wheels can be locked.
It comes with 2 wooden perches and although it looks and is cheap, it still comes with 2 stainless steel bowls for food and water. It weighs around 25 lbs so it’s best to move it around while it’s on the stand.
Safety:
Finish:
Funcionality:
AVERAGE PRICE
$80 – $130 varies from webshop to webshop: Amazon, Walmart, Chewy
WHY TO BUY
- Comes with stainless steel bowls for water and food
- It assembles easily
WHY TO AVOID
- Its stand is the only thing making it gothic
Vintage Options: A Solution
Gothic cages for bird are very similar to vintage bird cages. This type of cage is the closest option available that is still safe for housing birds. Since real gothic cages are rare on the market, antique cages may be a great solution for you. There are 2 main types of vintage cages:
Dome Top Cages
The top of these cages is arched and curved. There’s only one arch available. The benefit to this top shape is that birds can safely be housed inside them since they have a rectangular or square body and you can place more toys closer to the top as well.
Victorian Style Cages
Instead of one arch, victorian style cages feature 2 half arches and one full arch in the center. It’s very common for these tops to also have a double door that can serve as a resting area if you place a perch between the two doors.
What Else Can You Use Gothic Cage For?
We struggled a bit to find fully functional gothic cages for birds because the internet is overflowing with cages made for a different purpose – decorative one. How can you use these cages? Will they just be a waste of resources? There are plenty of other purposes for these, but we only named the most common purposes.
Letter Holders
You don’t even have to do much to make these cages letter holders. all they need to have is a lockable door big enough for you to reach inside and grab them.
Flower Pots
Especially with cages you can hang, you can easily place plants inside so they can grow in a downwards direction. The prerequisite is that the cage has a large enough entrance, most likely through the top, that allows you to place the whole plant inside.
Simply Decoration
These cages are amazing and even if you don’t have a specific purpose for them, you can still have them inside your home so that they light up the room by giving it a sort of flare and uniqueness.
To Sum Up
The wire thickness of the Super Deal Gothic Bird Cage not only makes it a durable option but also a fully gothic cage. Apart from that, it features a wonderful-looking angled stand. We’d definitely recommend it because it’s both functional and attractive.
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