Cage

can I use a dog cage for my cocketiel's cage?

I have this dog cage at Petsmart the other day because I needed a bird cage... I was told you can do that as long as its never homed a dog becasue I was looking at the bird cages and they are just so expensive and with the dog cage its reasonably priced and is alot bigger than the bird cages???

Public Comments

1. Sure why not that sounds like a good idea its bigger and less expensive thats good buying :)
2. yes but be careful with the size of the slots...and bars
3. i would think so as long as the bird can't get through the bars and it has a branch to perch on.
4. The thing I would worry about is the spacing between the dog cage. The bird could get out, stuck or get hurt by some other animal because the bars on the cage are spaced out differently. I look on Craig's list alot, and they usually have a couple bird cage listing for $25 or so dollars, so you could try there. It would probably be fine, but if its possible I think in the end it would be safer to get an actual bird cage.
5. The openings in the wire for a dog crate are usually too large except for macaws. If your bird can squeeze it's head between the bars, this is very dangerous and sooner or later will end in death. Cockateils need a 3/4 inch space between the wire, as I recall. There is a reason dog crates are cheaper. And....you must be sure the paint on the wire is not toxic which means it can be eaten and not hurt your bird. They use their beaks to climb and will injest paint.
6. Dog "cages" are not good substitutes for bird cages. There's a reason why pet stores expect people to buy the more expensive bird cages--they are actually built for birds. Dog cages tend to have small crannies in the corners and where the wire meets the bottom, in which a bird could get its beak or toes stuck in, which will end in pain and large amounts of blood, and vet bills later. In the long run, you'll not only be paying more money thanks to the vet bills, but your bird will have suffered as well. The bars are also probably too far apart for a cockatiel--bars should be no farther apart than three quarters of an inch, that is the maximum for how wide the spacing can be. Any larger and the cockatiel will be able to get its head through, where it will become stuck, and again, the bird will hurt itself. And as mentioned above, you do need to be careful about what kind of paint was used on the cage.