Best 5 Metal Bird Cages: Bird Safety Through Durability

Rigid and durable, metals surround us completely. From kitchen appliances to cars and planes, they’re used in many applications and one included are bird cages.

It begs the question if the metal is excessive as a building material of bird cages. It might appear at first glance that birds don’t need a durable cage but we’d be wrong to think so after everything we talked about in here.

What we tried to do is to teach you about the most common metals used in making bird cages, why they’re good, why they might be bad, and more.

The Summary

What Are Metal Cages For Birds?

It’s quite common for a birdcage to be made out of metal but that doesn’t really say anything about what type of metal it is. There’s a huge range of metals out there and it might seem like the differences are not important but they truly are,

Metals Available For Use In Bird Cages

Ranging from alloy steel, stainless steel, all the way to wrought iron and iron, there are many metals applicable to bird cages. Let’s name the properties of the most common ones:

• Stainless Steel – This metal cleans easily and is one that barely ever rusts and corrodes. It’s completely safe for birds and since it’s thick, birds will have a hard time bending their wire.
• Aluminum – This metal simply doesn’t rust. Even if it did, the white residue called aluminum oxide is safe for birds to ingest.
• Wrought Iron – This is a low-carbon version of iron cages. The material is much more durable than its counterpart, has high tensile strength but does rust easily.
• Steel And Iron – They are bird-safe metals but you have to be aware that they will rust when introduced to water without the protection of a finish coating.

Are Metal Cages Any Good?

We’d argue that getting a metal cage for birds is the best decision you can make. They’re often characterized as being extremely durable and their application in other fields, not just bird cage making, stretches far and wide.

Durability Like No Other

The reason metal cages are durable is due to their density. Of course, some are denser than others but no other bird cage material like wood or plastic for instance is a match for them.

Easy Cleaning

There are no cracks in metals and it’s not an organic material that can get easily infected with bacteria, unlike wood. Cleaning them is just a matter of wiping the bars with a cloth or cleaning solution, scrubbing down the dried-up dropping and debris, and disinfecting them.

Long Lifespan

Since it’s hard to break metal material, the metal cage is almost certain to last your bird its whole lifespan but it’s not something that just happens right when you buy the cage. It’s something you achieve constantly by providing proper maintenance like cleaning, preventing rusting, reapplying a finish coating, and more.

Deciding On A Metal Bird Cage: Things To Know Beforehand

Since there’s a large array of metal cages for birds available, we need to get into the general and the nitty-gritty details of them. They’re not perfect but it’s nothing that a little knowledge beforehand can’t fix.

Confusing Finishes With Certain Metals

Finishes are the answer when it comes to protecting certain metals from rusting and corroding. Quite often though, people will confuse a colored finish with a type of metal. Take platinum as an example, a cage finished in a platinum color is not actually made with platinum just like many brass cages only feature brass colors and aren’t actually made from it.

Metal Gauges

Gauge is an important factor to know about with these cages since each one is going to feature it. It determines metal thickness, specifically, wire thickness. The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire is. It’s a factor especially important for larger and large beak birds. You should also note that a stainless steel 9 gauge wire is going to be more durable than an iron 9 gauge wire.

Cage Size And Bar Spacings

Both will greatly determine whether or not the cage is suitable for housing your specific bird. As long as the cage is at least 2 times wider than your bird’s wingspan, it should be a suitable match, As for bar spacings, Make sure it’s not too big. You can easily find the recommended ones for your bird on the internet too. Generally speaking, up to 0.5” spacing will be good for small birds, medium birds enjoy up to 0.75” bar spacing while larger birds can go up to 1.5”.

Stand With Wheels For Mobility Issues

Since these cages are usually extremely heavy and we’re talking about anywhere between 70 up to 120 lbs, it’s going to be hard to move them. That’s where a stand with wheels might come in handy. If you can, focus on getting wheels that can be locked to set the cage into place when it’s not being moved.

Metal Prices

Wrought iron and iron are the cheapest options you can go for with these. Of course, not all are cheap but you’re looking at an average price of $250 up to $350 dollars depending on the size of the cage. Aluminum and stainless steel are extremely expensive, we’re talking about cages priced at $800 and above if they’re large of course.

Use Location

Maintenance frequency, price, and a lot of other things go up if you plan on buying an outdoor used enclosure. With these, we’d recommend aluminum or stainless steel enclosures since they’ll hand being outside during rain and sun exposure much better.

Best 5 Metal Bird Cages

The cages we reviewed here are metal-made. Ranging from aluminum and stainless steel to the cheaper alternatives which are the already mentioned wrought iron and iron. We looked at their finishes, cage size, mobility, and the birds they can house so that at least one can be a suitable match for you.

Prevue Pet Products Bird Cage

Even though it’s expensive, it’s still worth the money in the end. It’s easy to clean due to the material and it’s lighter than most people would expect for its size. The wheels are high-quality metal casters and all can be locked for stability.

The front panel holds a large front door. It’s easy to access the inside through it for removing extras and cleaning. It locks in two places and has a small door on each side. These doors act as feeding doors.

Every accessory it comes with is made out of stainless steel as well. This includes the single perch for the inside, 2 bowls, and the playtop that features an additional perch, 2 bowls, and a play ladder.

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King’s Cages Acp 2522 Bird Cage

Aluminum is a unique material in the sense that you can anodize it and it will change color. That’s what’s going on with the mainframe of this cage. It’s a black anodized metal cage for bird but does come in bronze, red, blue, and classic silver as well.

The top play top perch and the one you’ll get for the inside are made out of wood while the 4 food and water cups are stainless steel made. The play top also features a hook where you can hag  bird toy and 2 play ladders.

Aluminum is generally a light material but in the case of this cage, its weight still makes moving slightly problematic. It does feature a stand with wheels for easier moving and you’ll find a storage wire grid as well.

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Yaheetech Iron Bird Cage

This is a metal flight cage really. What it means is that it gives birds a greater chance to freely fly around in it. They’re known to have their size focused around their width and less so length and height.

It does have a metal tube frame and wire sides which makes it stronger. The finish featured is a black hammertone powder coat finish that’ll help with that rust and corrosion issue that you might run into eventually.

It has 2 smaller front doors so you can still access the inside fully. It also features side entrances where you can place the 4 plastic feeding stations that come with it. As for perches, you’ll get 3 wooden ones. It does sit on a stand with wheels and a storage grid.

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Yithopy Aviary Bird Cage

The price of this metal aviary for birds is definitely justified. Still, it’s a lot cheaper than the other models we reviewed, It’s shaped like a house and is meant to be used outdoors.

It has a huge front door that allows you to walk inside it freely. This allows you to fully customize its interior since it doesn’t come with any extras on its own. The standard extras would be useless anyway.

The mesh in this case is not as important in terms of wire spacing. It can easily host all sorts of birds ranging from budgies to much bigger birds like African greys and macaws.

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Mcage Breeding Bird Cage

You’ll get 4 cages instead of just one. They’re fully made out of wire and are flimsy compared to the other ones we reviewed. The cages can be stacked and you can use them for breeding birds.

Each cage comes with 2 perches and 2 feeding stations. In total, you’ll get 8 of each. The front doors are large enough for you to reach inside them with your hand too.

They’re made as iron wire cages that feature a slide-out cleaning tray made out of plastic. each cage also features a side nesting box door. We advise you to approach breeding birds with extra precaution.

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Facing Rusting Problems

As we said, metal cages aren’t perfect and you’ll run into their own set of problems in the end for sure. This shouldn’t pull you back from deciding on one though, they’re still the best at what they’re for.

How Can Rust Affect A Bird?

We’ve briefly mentioned metal rusting but not why this is a problem. Apart from destroying the cage, rendering it useless, rust, if ingested by a bird, can cause metal poisoning. Common symptoms include constant thirst, loss of coordination, seizures, depression, weakness, and tremors. The galvanization might be the solution. It’s a process of applying a thin layer of zinc to wire just so that it can be protected better from rusting and corrosion.

What Type Of Materials Should Be Avoided When Choosing A Bird Cage?

Certain cages are going to feature finishes with lead and zinc. It might seem harmless but these metals are going to have you risking your bird suffering metal poisoning. Other metals you should avoid are brass and copper. They are heavy metals.