Best 5 Plastic Bird Cages: Making Plastic Durable And Safe

Plastic usage has become a serious problem in the world and is only holding us back in terms of environmental protection.

Every year, up to 5 trillion plastic bags are used and every minute, a million plastic bottles are purchased. This is single-use plastic though.

We can’t really say that plastic is inherently bad because there are so many types out there that fit their use perfectly and can be recycled as well. We will aim to teach you all about its use in bird cages and what are the things you should look out for too.

The Summary

Plastics Used In Making Bird Cages

Probably the most frequent plastics used in making bird cages are acrylic material, PC plastic, PVC, PP plastic, and ABS plastic. Almost all cages are going to have some plastic bits but their frames and sides aren’t usually made out of it.  Typically, metal is used for these areas of a cage.

Plastic Hardness

The types we listed below all have different levels of hardness. This determines the durability of a certain plastic material. PVC for example is very soft as well as PP plastic. PC plastic is harder as well as ABS plastic while acrylic material is the hardest. PC and Acrylic material are both transparent.

Fully Plastic Cages

Fully plastic cages are going to be hard to find and with good reason. Birds need their cage to be well ventilated and it would just take a lot of work to properly do it with a fully plastic cage. Many plastic cages will combine different plastics as their build material.

Plastic In Bird Cages: Hits And Flops

The Hits

The greatest benefit of plastic cages is that they just don’t rust as metal does. Ingested rust is toxic to birds so they are an easy way to avoid trouble altogether. Another benefit is that it does last longer than one might assume and the cages are fairly cheap.

The Flops

Plastic scratches easily and since you’ll mostly be focusing on getting cages made with clear plastic, it will defeat the purpose of clear sides by getting foggy. Some plastic materials also turn yellow over time but the biggest thing to worry about is bird plastic ingestion. Certain plastics are made out of chemicals toxic to birds. Another issue can be that chipped plastic is sharp which might damage your bird’s internal organs.

Things To Consider Before Purchasing A Plastic Bird Cage

Unfortunately, getting a plastic cage brings more cons than pros but this is the thing with bird cages in general. No material is going to be perfect for it except for maybe stainless steel and aluminum. Nonetheless, if you’re determined to get a plastic cage, be vary of these things before purchasing.

Plastic Bits Frequency

Typically, you’ll either see a plastic cleaning tray or plastic base on a cage but that’s not enough to consider the cage actually plastic. We’d say that if at least one side of the cage is made out of plastic, you can consider it as one.

Bird Size And Beak Strength

Is your bird large and has a strong beak? If that’s the case, we suggest you avoid plastic cages because the birds can easily break the plastic off. These birds can even bend the thin wire so the plastic will be even less of a problem.

Cage Sizes

Plastic cages are frequently going to be small or at most medium-sized. Birds will need at least a 1 1/2 time wider cage than their wingspan to comfortably live inside. For example, a budgie can be housed in a cage that’s 18-in long, wide, and tall.

Cage Ventilation

This concerns how many plastic sides are there. Cage ventilation is important because it stops the spread of harmful bacteria that might endanger you and the bird. We suggest that at least two sides opposing each other allow air to go through for proper circulation.

Metal Wire Areas

Since you can’t really avoid metal in these cages either. it’s important to know a bit about them as well. The two most important things are wire spacing and gauge. Gauge concerns itself with wire thickness important for larger birds but spacing concerns every bird. Since we’re talking about small and medium-sized bird cages, the appropriate wire spacing for them would be up to 0.5 inches and up to 0.75 inches.

Extras Materials

You’ll want the extras to be made out of natural bird-safe materials. We advise you to throw out the plastic perches and food containers because they might be toxic to birds and can harbor a lot of bacteria that will endanger your bird too. Stainless steel for the food containers and wood for perches will be okay.

Best 5 Plastic Bird Cages

All of the cages you’re about to see are well ventilated. Some are made with softer plastics than others but the crucial points are still durable. We also reviewed travel cages and indoor bird cages so no matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find it here.

Yaheetech Transparent Bird Cage

The front side of this bird cage is made with clear plastic, the base is as well. The frame isn’t clear but it is still plastic while the rest of the sides are made with iron wire. Its top even features a double door you can open, keep open with a perch, and your bird can then use it as a resting area.

It sits on a metal stand you can remove it from if you’d prefer. The stand also features wheels and even a wire grid where you can store your bird’s accessories and supplies.

It does come with clear plastic feeding cups, 4 to be exact and 2 additional perches made out of wood. It’s mostly tall so it is going to save you some space indoors and look elegant in doing so due to the white color.

Buy On Amazon

Vivohome Acrylic Bird Cage

Both the front and the back of this cage are made with clear plastic, acrylic material to be exact. Even the base is clear and features a plastic slide-out cleaning tray below a wire grid floor.

It features an automatic feeder, 2 food/water cups, a bath box, and 2 wooden perches. One of the perches can be positioned at the very top between the two top doors to create a rest area.

It’s decently sized but small nonetheless. It can house smaller birds or you can use it as a secondary travel cage too. It has a white plastic frame while the sides are made out of wire-colored black.

Buy On Amazon

Caitec Polycarbonate Bird Cage

The cage is very small, so small in fact that you won’t ever get to use it as a full-time indoor birdcage. It is, however, great for traveling and can house a large array of birds in that function.

It is almost fully made out of PC plastic whose hardness is high enough to make it a durable option. The front and backside are made with wire, stainless steel that won’t rust or corrode when exposed to various weather conditions.

It comes with a handle and a perch for the inside. They’re both green and the handle on the outside can actually function as a resting spot. The PC plastic sides feature holes for additional ventilation points.

Buy On Amazon

Vision Mo2 Bird Cage

Excluding the wire sides, everything that this cage has to offer is made out of plastic, whether it’s clear or not. It features a top plastic frame with 2 wire vent windows, a clear plastic base, and corner connectors also made with plastic.

The 4 perches that come with it are one-sided so your bird will have more room to fly around in it. It also features non-conventional looking debris guards and 2 feeding stations. You can clean it by separating the base of the cage from its top.

It weighs around 10 lbs which is low considering its size. Keeping in mind its weight, the manufacturer also placed carry handles on the bottom so you can move it elsewhere with ease.

Buy On Amazon

Penzoni Display Travel Bird Cage

This is a fully acrylic birdcage. The unique thing about it is that it can house larger birds like macaws for traveling which not a lot of travel cages and carriers can do. It features a nylon fabric handle.

It comes with a single wooden rest perch you can place anywhere inside as long as you insert it into the vent holes. You can easily assemble it and fold it down for storage when it’s not in use.

The acrylic material is 0.25-in thick so it’ll put up well with any sort of bird abuse. Since it’s fully acrylic, you also won’t have any troubles cleaning it when it’s needed.

Buy On Amazon

Plastic In Comparison To Other Materials

To fully understand how and where plastic cages are placed in the birdcage market, we need to say a few things about other commonly used materials in making them like metal, wood, and rarely glass.

Metal Cages

The most common materials used in making bird cages. They are the most durable and heaviest too. Prices can vary depending on the metals used. Stainless steel and aluminum are the most expensive ones since they are safer while wrought iron and iron are cheaper.

Wooden Cages

You’ll typically see wooden cages in outdoor applications. Wood is a material that can easily be infested with bacteria and it’s very difficult to clean as well.

Glass Cages

It’s very rare to find glass bird cages. People usually use fish tanks to make them or they just DIY the whole thing. They’re good in terms of visibility but fully glass cages lack ventilation and they can confuse birds since they won’t know in the beginning that they’re in a cage with glass walls.

Plastic Maintenance

Over time, you won’t be able to avoid that some plastic is going to get scratched up and yellow with age. There’s hardly anything that you can do about it except to try and get rid of it with a few methods.

Yellow Plastic

There are many methods to clean yellowed-out plastic but we have to think about bird safety so it’s going to be done using vinegar. Apart from white vinegar, you’ll need a soft brush and dish soap, preferably dawn. You’ll add 1tbsp of dish soap to two cups of vinegar and water. You’ll let the cage pieces soak for at least 30 minutes, scrub them afterward, rinse them thoroughly and dry.

Plastic Scratches

Although there are methods to get rid of scratches on plastic, we would advise against it when it comes to bird cages since there are a lot of chemicals being used in the process that might hurt your bird one way or another.