Best 8 Antique Bird Cages: Functional Or Decorative?

Vintage styles have found their way back to us. From clothing to refurnished vintage furniture, a lot of antique stores are opening up as well and business is booming. Some say it’s because ”back in the day, things were made better and with quality in mind” while some just want to own a unique one-of-a-kind piece.

The rules don’t apply to antique bird cages though. They weren’t made keeping bird safety in mind so they are only used as collector items if that. There is plenty of newer retro(new but made to look vintage) style cages to browse and buy that will please both you and the bird.

The Summary

What Makes A Bird Cage Antique?

An antique cage, also known as vintage, usually has incredible detailing, uses more than one material for its construction, and typically has rounded areas unless they’re fully rounded. Its design reminds of some styles from history.

Vintage Bird Cage Styles

Victorian Style Cages – These cages feature an arched top with 2 or more half arches on each side that meet at the top with one full arch. The arches can be both concave and convex and the final arch usually holds a double entrance that acts as a rest and play area.
Gothic Cages – These cages are commonly all black and feature numerous details. They often, as the architectural style suggests, have a lot of pointed arches. A functional gothic cage is going to be toned down. Look out for dense wire areas with these that are harder to clean.
Dome Top Cages – These cages are clear cut. They feature one large arch at the top and often feature a double entrance acting as a rest area if you place a perch in between them.

Where Can You Use It?

Decorative Purpose – In most cases, truly antique cages are used to enhance decor appeal. They can hold candles, flowers, wedding cards, and many other things. Some are even collector items depending on how they’re made and when they were made.
Functional Cages – A truly functional birdcage, however, will feature all of the things that make a cage antique but it will be toned down. They will be easier to clean and maintain, and their shape will be safe for bird housing.

Pros And Cons Of Vintage Cages

The Pros

• They can look amazing in homes
• Often come with extra features for out-of-cage time
• They feature stands that make leveling birds to chest height easier

The Cons

• There are a lot of decorative pieces that can be confused for functioning cages
• They don’t have adequate rust protection
• Can often be made out of bird toxic materials
• They can be harder to clean

How To Pick Out A Safe Antique Cage For Birds

To choose the safest cage possible, plenty of factors have to be taken into consideration according to the bird you own that will in the end, make or break the cage in terms of safety. Their cons can all be avoided if you know what to look for.

Cage Size

Although birds can be placed into size categories: small, medium and large, even the birds within those categories can have different cage size needs. A cage should be big enough for the bird to stretch its wings and tall enough for it to not touch the ground with its tail feathers. Here are the recommended sizes for the most common bird species.

Cage Material

Safe birdcage materials include stainless steel, aluminum, wrought iron, iron, alloy steel, and steel. Apart from the first two, others do rust which is toxic to birds if ingested so make sure they’re well protected with a finish coating. Another material that often makes antique cages is wood. Wood is okay but it is harder to clean and is only limited to housing small beaked birds that can’t easily chew through it.

Distance Between Wires

This is a big issue with antique cages if they’re made for decorative purposes. The wire spacing is just too big which can lead to your bird escaping or hurting its wings, legs, or head. You can aim for smaller wire spacings, but still not too small because this means the wire will be thinner (thick bars are important for big beaked birds like macaws. Aim for at least 5mm thick bars with them).

Wire And Other Material Decorations

Wire and other decorations, usually on the outside of a cage, are fine as long as they are easy to clean and they don’t limit air coming through the cage. Here are some decorations to look out for

Cage Placement

Antique cages can often be hung on a ceiling or stand but they are likely to be smaller in size. Either way, with cage placement, make sure it’s not somewhere where there are a lot of smells coming in, make sure it’s not right next to windows, etc. There are plenty of places to avoid placing your birdcage, these are just a few.

Cleaning The Cage

A cage should be cleaned fully at least once a week while bowls and cage bottoms should be cleaned every day. Toys and accessories have to be cleaned at least once every 3 days and disinfection is key. Especially if you have a denser wire area cage.

Best 8 Antique Bird Cages

As you can see, even the seemingly unimportant factors can make the cage unsafe for bird housing or at least inefficient. We made these reviews considering all of the safety factors to bring you the best possible cages that shine in the visual department and in the functionality department. Please note that the first three cages are not meant for bird housing and their purpose is simply decoration.

D’eco Metal Bird Cage

Although it’s clear, we have to start the review by saying that this cage can’t, in no way, house birds. Apart from the huge wire spacing, too many details, and unsafe metal construction, its rounded shape limits its use to only decorative uses.

It comes with a stand that makes it 47-in tall altogether. You can remove it from the stand and use it as a tabletop cage or you can hang it someplace due to the hook it features at the top. The top comes off for access and it features additional small entrances on the cage body.

Buy On Amazon

Hmw Wedding Bird Cage

The lock on the dome top is specially designed to prevent the cage from opening and falling down if you choose to hang it. Its body isn’t rounded but is instead square. Make sure you’re aware of its width and length before putting anything rounded inside like flower pots.

It’s pretty small so we’d only recommend it for smaller detailing work. Luckily, it’s fairly cheap so in case you like to purchase more than one you certainly can. It has a mesh bottom so there will be no water build-up if you decide to water your flowers inside it.

Buy On Amazon

Gane Wooden Bird Cage

If the problem with the second vintage decorative cage was the fact that it’s narrow, then with this one you come to the problem of it being a bit too short. On the plus side, it’s decently wide but doesn’t have a large enough entrance to be used as a flower holder

It’s made with bamboo wood which allows you to mae a choice to care for the environment. Besides, paired with the detailed metal hook, it gives chinese style energy that can bring warmth to your home.

Buy On Amazon

Caitec Stainless Steel Bird Cage

There’s no worry about the fact that this cage doesn’t feature a finish since it’s made with stainless steel and it doesn’t need one. Apart from the perches it comes with, everything is made out of it, even the seed guards and stand with wheels it features(wheels are plastic).

The best thing about it is that you can fold it down for storage when you’re not using it or you want to transport it. Its weight of 39 lbs should make it easy enough to do so. The sides feature 2 feeding doors that come with coresponding bowls for them.

Buy On Amazon

A&e Cage 782217 Bird Cage

Instead of a dome, this cage features a victorian style top. This means that the sides have curved sides that all meet together at the top. On top, you’ll find a double door that you can convert to a rest area if you place a perch in between them.

The stand looks weird and looks robust but nonetheless, makes it look even more antique. It features wheels and a storage basket. the front door features bird-safe locks and the interior is equipped with 3 bowls and a perch.

Buy On Amazon

Mcage Victorian Style Bird Cage

Although all birds appreciate and need out-of-cage time, bigger birds need it more. For that reason, the rest top area is perfect for these birds. Even though it’s large, it’s somewhat easier to clean because it has a large front entrance. It even features seed guards.

At the top of the front door, there is an additional rest top area door that opens vertically. The sides hold a total of 5 doors, 4 feeding and one nesting box door. It comes with 2 perches and 4 bowls made out of stainless steel.

Buy On Amazon

Prevue Hendryx Designer Bird Cage

This is a modern take on a classic cage but a lot safer if you ask us. The reason is it square body whose sides are angled and get wider as you go to the top. The top is curved and features wire details that make it look even better.

It even features a hook that you can use to hang it someplace. The top is fully made out of wire while the bottom is a plastic made base featuring a slide-out cleaning tray. The 2 cups and one perch it comes with are also made out of plastic.

Buy On Amazon

Prevue Hendryx Silverado Bird Cage

This is a large parrot exclusive cage. The reason why is its huge size and the fact that it features a wire spacing that goes over 1” which we ourselves have never seen before in commercial cages. This means that the wire should be thicker as well and it is with its 9 gauge wire.

It’s no wonder that the front door is huge and allows you to easily acces the inside for cleaning. Cleaning up floor messes will also be reduced due to the seed guards it has near the bottom. It does sit on wheels and surprisingly only weights 70 lbs so it will be easier to move

Buy On Amazon

DIY Antique Cages

There are plenty of uses for a decorative cage. You can really let your creativity shine with them, from flower holders, cardholders, and candle holders, all the way to decorations for weddings or patios, their uses are limitless. Even though you can buy one fairly cheap if you’d like to tackle a fun DIY project, continue reading for steps and tips.

The things you’ll need are: Walnut hollow basswood country round, a drill press, needle-nose pliers, acrylic paint, decor stencils, glue, and some wire.

1. Take your wood round and draw dots 1” apart from each other along the edges.
2. Drill a hole on each mark you made (the holes can go all the way through)
3. It’s time to get creative with the round. You can paint anything you’d like but if you wanna keep it simple dab your chosen paint over the stencil of your choosing and you’re done.
4. Take your 12” wire and cut strands. One will be used for each hole you drilled in the round.
5. Each end should be curled using needle-nose pliers.
6. Turn your round upside down and place it on something like a tall glass. Then, take your wire and pull each through the hole so that the bent end ends up on the back wall of the round.
7. Flip the round, bundle up the wires and tie an additional wire near the ends.
8. Press it down with needle-nose pliers and start twisting and decorating the leftover ends to your liking.
9. Take each wire that now makes up the cage body, and bend it to fit the shape of a birdcage
10. The curled ends can be pointed outwards for an additional visual appeal.
11. Take your glue and add a dab of glue to each hole to better secure it.

Keep in mind that this cage cannot house birds, it’s only meant for decorative purposes.