Parakeet Cages

Read on for parakeet cage requirements, what to avoid, and recommended parakeet cages.

Parakeet cage Requirements:

The cage should not be made of toxic metals such as zinc, lead, or brass (wet brass tarnishes - this tarnish is toxic). Stainless steel is best or powder-coated.
Do not put your parakeet in a cage that is rusted or has chipping paint.
If you find an old cage in the attic, basement, trash-picking, or at a yard sale that only has a few rusty patches or a little chipping paint and you want to re-paint it for your parakeet - DON'T. Throw it out and get a new cage on eBay. The cost of getting a cage sanded down and then powder-coated is more than you would pay for a new cage on eBay.
Big enough for the parakeet to not only fully turn around and spread out their wings, but to fly from one side to another - a absolute minimum of 18x18x24.. Buy the biggest cage you can afford. Parrot cages are MUCH cheaper online than they are in the petstore. Please check ebay for new parrot cages at great prices!
Horizontal bars because parakeets love to climb!
Width is more important than height as parakeets fly horizontally.
Bar spacing should be no wider than 1/2 inch so that the parakeet doesn't get their head stuck between the bars. Their heads are smaller than they look!
No round cages - a parakeet doesn't feel safe in a round cage - there is no back wall to retreat to. Along the same lines, be sure there is a wall behind at least one side of the cage.
A good size rectangular cage is best - the palace shape or house shapes actually restrict the room the parakeet has to fly and play and create a mess of poop and food the others do not.
Do not place the cage next to a window. Drafts can cause the parakeet to become sick. Keep the cage out of direct sunlight.
Place the cage in a room you spend alot of time in (though not the kitchen - because of fumes and hot unsafe surfaces) but that will be quiet at night.
Parakeets require alot of mental stimulation. Be sure they have lots of fun toys and that you rotate the toys frequently so that they do not become bored and so they get used to change.
Parakeet-proof the room the parakeet will be flying in by making sure no open water surfaces, open windows/doors, uncurtained windows, other pets, etc will harm them.
Be sure to cover the cage at night to provide darkness and a secure cover to prevent night-frights.
Several perches of varying widths are necessary to promote healthy feet and legs and to prevent foot sores caused by plain wooden dowels. We recommend the wood branch perches and rope perches.
Avoid: sand perch covers (cause foot sores), mite protectors (cause respiratory illness), bedding (breeds fungus and can cause crop impaction when injested) - paper towels or plain newsprint are best so you can watch poops for health.
Covered food and water dishes so parakeets don't poop in them and get sick.
Cuttle bone to chew on. It's good for their beaks and provides needed calcium.
Use stainless steel quicklinks to secure all cage doors and windows. Parakeets are smart little buggers and can quickly and easily figure out how to give themselves some unsupervised out time!
Place the best wood perches up high - and the stone ones that are good for toe nail health down low. Parakeets like to be up high and will spend most of their time on the nicer perches that are good for their feet. We don't recommend using the wooden dowels that come with cages for anything other than step-ups and collecting parakeets from around the room to return to their cages.
Make sure there is a food bowl for each parakeet in the cage so that they don't have to fight over it or the dominant parakeet doesn't let the other parakeets near the food.
If you are going to have several parakeets in the same cage - it's better to move them at the same time rather than moving a new bird into another's birds cage to avoid territorial issues.