When choosing the right Canary bird cage, it’s extremely important to select one that works well for the comfort of the bird and allows ease of maintenance. Discover the proper size, shape, bar spacing, and other features that allow for easy maintenance.
While pretty cages appeal to our human visual senses, they may be uncomfortable, or even unsafe, for their feathered inhabitants.
Canary Bird Cage Shape and Size
Canaries are soft-billed birds that prefer to fly back and forth horizontally. The hook-billed birds on the other hand, like Parakeets, enjoy using their beaks to climb vertical objects and cages.
Long, rectangular cages work best for Canaries and should be no smaller than 12″x16″ for one bird. The depth of the Canary cage, ideally, is at least twice the length of wingspan. The longer the flight length, the better.
Round cages serve no purpose and, in my opinion, are rather cruel for any species of bird. Round cages could be used for housing a bird for a very short time period; less than an hour while doing a photo shoot, or taking the bird outdoors to bask in the sunshine.
The right Canary bird cage will be as long (horizontally, NOT vertically) as possible, with perches placed front to back, allowing the greatest flight distance from one end to the other.
The bird cage shown below is a great example of a Canary bird cage, however, you’ll notice the long perches are going in the wrong direction. You can easily remedy this by measuring the cage from front to back and cutting the perches with a jigsaw to fit the other direction. New perches, of the proper diameter of dowel rod, can also be cut and notched on the ends to fit.
Learn more about Perch Placement here.
This perch configuration (running lengthwise as shown in the image above) IS often used by breeders, but only during bird expos, to showcase as many birds as possible in one cage.
Canary Bird Cage Bar Spacing and Direction of Wire
Cages with no larger than 1/2″ bar spacing, and the majority of bars running vertically are recommended for Canaries. They offer the most options for perch placement and placement of other items.
If you already have a bird cage with mostly-horizontal bars, it can be painstaking trying to attach water tubes, perches and feeders, or keep the water clean. Inexpensive, hooded or winged food and water cups and twist-in perches can help with such horizontally-wired cages. Here are a couple of options for cages with horizontal bars. You’ll need to measure your feeder door openings to insure correct sizing.
Bird Cage Floor Grates and Trays
There are pros and cons to removable floor grates. The biggest “pro” to a removable grate is that you can remove it for cleaning without any difficulty or bruising up your forearms.
“Cons” include the fact that they may not stay put without reinforcement zip ties, they’ll rattle or move out of place as the birds land on the grate or the cage is moved, and when removed, the remaining gap may be so large that a bird will get caught or escape.
Examine the removable debris trays. Look for trays that are not constructed of metal which can rust, and do not have little “indents” where the handle is located. Few things are more frustrating than trying to clean 20 cages and none of the trays are a uniform shape. You’ll spend far too long trying to cut your tray liners so they fit around that little handle indent. Here is a photo to demonstrate what I am referring to:
Bird Cage Functionality and Maintenance
There are some very beautiful cages on the market, however, when it comes to functionality, they fail miserably. Questions to consider…
- Will you be able to reach in and catch a bird when needed or will they fly up to a part of the cage you cannot even reach through the door opening? See image below.
- Are there adequate options for placing or relocating perches, feed dishes, water tubes?
- Is the wire portion attached securely to the bottom so that you can hang it, or pick it up by the handles, without it falling apart? The cage below could easily come apart from the frame base as well as from the tray. Notice how the top piece (with the handle) is barely attached to the main wire frame.
- Is the wire a sturdy-enough gauge so that it won’t easily bend or separate causing large gaps between wires?
- Are the included perches, feed cups or swings sturdy or appropriate? In the image below, the included plastic swing is of a diameter that is much too small and unsafe for most birds.
Here is an example of a bird cage design that makes it very difficult to “catch” the bird housed inside. Note that the door is located at the bottom of the wire, so you’d have to do some sort of bodily-contortion to reach a bird who has flown to the top while trying to escape your grasp. Vertically-centered doors are much more practical.
Cages with Dividers
By far, the most versatile Canary cage is the long flight cage that comes equipped with removable cage dividers. Canary breeders prefer cages that can be quickly divided with wire and/or solid panel inserts. Divided cages allow proper introduction for pairing and help to reduce aggression. Unlike other species of birds, Canaries prefer solitary living during much of the year regardless of gender. Of course, there are exceptions and much depends upon the breeding cycle, individual personalities, and space provided. The cage at the top of this post is a very attractive cage for Canary hobbyists, and offers the full functionality required by the Canary breeder as well.
Safety Tips for Used Bird Cages
Be sure to carefully inspect and clean any used bird cages that you find in online marketplaces or local yard sales. NEVER just pop your birds into them without thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting every centimeter of the cage and all of its’ accessories!
Look for rust, chipped paint or flaking wire coating. Inspect the plastic parts to be sure they haven’t deteriorated or weakened. Determine if all of the main parts are still there, such as the cleanout tray or specially-designed feeder cups. Try all of the access doors to be sure they open and close properly, and to discover any bent or weakened door springs.
If the seller mentions that she is selling the cages because her birds got sick or died, then proceed with extra caution. There are many highly-contagious avian diseases (such as Psittacine Beak and Feather Diseases or PBFD), along with bacteria, fungal, viral and parasitic issues. Some of these can be deadly for birds and may still be present on the cage or its’ accessories.
Invisible parasite eggs or pathogens may also be present in the porous wooden perches, or embedded in rope toys or rope perches.
Bird Cage Cleaning Tips
If you decide to take your chances and have agreed on a fair price for the bird cage, the first thing you’ll want to do is clean, sanitize and disinfect the entire cage, along with everything that came with it. I would advise throwing away anything constructed of rope fibers though. Keep in mind that whichever cleaner you use will absorb into porous surfaces such as wooden perches or swings, so for this reason, I do not personally use diluted bleach, or any other products containing chemicals that are unsafe for birds, on porous surfaces.
Completely wash the cage and accessories from all obvious visual debris first. Since the UV rays from sunlight are a natural disinfectant, it’s a great idea to let the cage, and its’ parts, sit in the sun for one or two days as well.
Finally, I recommend using a product called F10 SC according to package directions. This is a veterinary and hospital grade disinfectant that is non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-irritating. It is proven effective against all types of bacteria, fungus, avian influenza, e coli, PBFD, aspergillosis and more. F10 SC is cost-effective and can be used for routine cleaning to help avoid sickness or disease in your aviary.
