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Space, security and long/low vs. tall/high!

NEVER EVER get a "parakeet starter" kit cage.

Those little dungeons are 'way 'way 'WAY too small for a keet.  Think about it this way - ideally, you want to have a family pet who interacts with the family...you probably won't get that with a living space smaller than a shoebox.  You want to offer enough space to exercise, play with toys, and other sorts of interaction.

Thus, get a cage at least 18x18x18"...and hopefully bigger.   The reason why you want to go with the longer, low cages is that parakeets fly left-right, and not up-and-down - tower cages generally have birdies roosting near the top and ignoring the middle/bottom space. 

The spacings between the bars should be 1/2" to 5/8"...but no larger, else the parakeet might get stuck in between.

Here's what I like including in my cages:

• Ample food stations - if you have more than one keet, try to provide more than 1 food area to minimize fighting.
• Cuttle bone - helps keep the beak in condition
• Varying perch widths - forget about the smooth dowel thingees - instead, try to find natural perches of different diameters to exercise the parakeets' feet.
• Toys - Just sitting in a cage, day in, day out, is, well, boring.  Toys help amuse your parakeets and keep them active!  I'll go more into that in Chapter 7, Budgie Toys.
• Seed guard - This helps prevent seed husks from showering your floor.
• Playgym top - When you let your parakeet out to play, you can put a playgym on top of the cage.  It doesn't have to be bought either - I built one out of Tinker Toys.  More on that below.
  

How can you get good-quality cages?

There are several ways.  Certainly, you can buy them at petshops.  But before doing that, check out:

Your Local Craigslist ads. 

First, visit the main site and choose a city close by you.  Let's say, San Diego.

Then look for the section labeled "for sale", and click on "general". 

The top links at your browser would look like:

san diego craigslist > general for sale

(of course, if you weren't look at San Diego, it would show your current search area instead).

At the top, you'll also see a search bar like so:

Type "cage" next to "search for" and click "Search."  Do this on that page, not in this ebook (the search button is disabled here).

See what's displayed?  Generally, a good number of bird cages from folks who just want to get rid of them.

Nice, huh?

Another great way to find cages at super prices is to check out:

eBay

Think eBay is only for collectibles?  Think again!

eBay is a wonderful selling venue for merchants with brand new merchandise as well.  I wrote several books about eBay selling - you can explore them more at AuctionSearchProfits.

But I digress.  :-)

Click here to go to eBay.   Then click on Home and Garden (on the left hand side), and then Pet Supplies, and finally Birds.

Now, search for

cage

See all those cages waiting for you?  

Keep in mind, many of them will have a considerable shipping/handling fee.  For example, you might have one that is listed at a starting bid of 1 cent...but the S/H is then $78.65.

So!  If at all possible, you really want to look at local cages...say, within a 100 mile radius.   On the left hand side of the page, you'll see something that looks like (NOTE!  Below is not operational, it's for illustration only:

Search Options

See that "Location" search?  Select "100" next to "Items within", put in your zip code, and click

Show Items

You'll see something like:

Ain't that neat?

The next place to explore for discounted cages is

Your Local Thrift Stores

Quite often, you can uncover parakeet and cockatiel cages at your local thrift store.  An easy way to find these are to visit Yahoo Local .  There, type:

Thrift Store

under "Search for",  set your zip code, and then click Search.  Keeping in the same spirit as our earlier San Diego example, the search for zip code 92111 will bring you here. Some of the listings I see are:

1. New 4 You Thift Store
   (619) 275-7313
   3051 Clairemont Dr, San Diego, CA 1.55 mi
   Map | Directions | Send to Phone
   See all: Thrift Stores
2. (1)

   
   

   Rate it:

   

   Be the first to review

   Save to Collection
   Mission Outreach Thrift Store
   (619) 528-0026
   3186 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 3.48 mi
   Map | Directions | Send to Phone
   See all: Thrift Stores
3. Be the first to rate!

   

   Be the first to review

   Save to Collection
   Sams Thrift Store
   (858) 565-0869
   4425 Genesee Ave, San Diego, CA 1.68 mi
   Map | Directions | Send to Phone
4. (3)

   
   

   Rate it:

   

   Write a review

   Save to Collection
   Amvets Thrift Store
   (619) 297-4213
   3441 Sutherland St, San Diego, CA 3.92 mi
   Map | Directions | Send to Phone

   "I really enjoyed going to Amvets. It had a great selection and was of course cheap..." more

   See all: Vintage & Used Clothing - Thrift Stores

Other places that offer a similar zip code search include:

• Infospace
• Google Local
• AOL Local Search
• Ask Local
• Live Local
  

Where else can you find cages?  Consider:

Your Local Classifieds

You might be lucky enough and some folks in your neighborhood want to sell off their bird cages.  You can easily find all the local papers in your area by visiting

• Online Newspapers
• NewsDirectory
  

and browsing to your country/state/locale etc.  From there, visit the newspapers in question and search for their Classifieds listings.

Think that's all the Internet has to offer regarding finding great cages?  No no no!  Sometimes people are so eager to get rid of their cages, they'll give them away for free via the:

FreeCycle

FreeCycle is a national organization that lets you freely recycle items you don't want with people in your neighborhood.  Their main site is

FreeCycle.org

The majority of Freecycle groups are hosted off of Yahoo Groups.  Here are a few direct links to some locations:

Find your local Freecycle™ Group:

Once you've joined and read the rules, you can post your own Wanted: request.

There are discounted cage places online as well!  Your next adventure is to:

Search engine listings

Go to Google and search for:

discount parrot cage

Why not just search for "parakeet cage"?  Mainly because I've found lots of the responses are from your typical big-name sites online.

You can take advantage of all the ads on the right hand side (called "Adwords"), and then also peruse what's returned.  For example, at the time of this writing, I see:

Quality Discount Cages - Best Price on Bird Cages, Parrot Cages ...  Bird Cages, Powder Coat and Stainless Steel Cages, Aviary, Parrot Cages, Parrot Stands, Cage Covers and Birds Toys - for all your birds needs.

Parrot Cages at Low Price Guarantee  Parrot Cages,Over 9000 discount wholesale pet supplies including Parrot Cages at guaranteed lowest prices.

Bird Cages - Parrot Cages - Discount Bird Cages  COLOR CHART Discount powder coated wrought iron bird cages - parrot cages. Shipping on discount cages is FREE. Click on picture for descriptions. ...

Discount Bird Cages - Large Parrot Cages - FREE SHIPPING  We offer bird cages at discount prices. We carry everything from small cages for Finches up to large parrot cages. All our products feature our 110% Low ..

I like using the long, low 30x18x18" flight cages, and bought mine at Desmond Pet Depot.  I find these to be quite beneficial because the two handles on top make for easy carrying (I put my birdies to bed in a different room), and the top lets me put a birdiebath and a playgym on it as well during the day.

You can also choose to browse Avian-type classifieds as well!  Two to consider include:

• Up at 6 Classifieds
• Australian Classifieds
• TooLady Classifieds
  

Whew! You should have a pretty good idea now about cages...where to find them and how to buy them.  It's now time to actually choose a parakeet with whom to share your life!  Let us continue with: