What will be easier/better?

[Raleighwheels]

The date for the move into my new apartment is getting closer, and I'm starting to think more and more about the set up for my bird rooms. I am planning to start breeding my finches once we are all settled in. This has me thinking about cages. I plan on having about six pairs total. I would like to keep them in the simple 30X18X18 flight cages.

So, here is my dilemma. Do I get four individual cages and set them up on cheap tables, or do I go for the three cages stacked on a rack, like this http://birdcages4less.com/page/B/PROD/S ... es/PA5723s ? My concern about the rack has to do with the birds on the bottom. Breeding or not, I would think they would feel nervous and vulnerable. But, what do you guys think? Does anyone use the cages with the rack, and how are the birds on the bottom?

[L in Ontario]

I have and had lots of stacked caged with no problems with any of the birds breeding on any level - top, middle or bottom. One thing that I do is to attach a clamp light to each cage on the middle and bottom rows so that they all get bright light during the day.

[Raleighwheels]

I have and had lots of stacked caged with no problems with any of the birds breeding on any level - top, middle or bottom. One thing that I do is to attach a clamp light to each cage on the middle and bottom rows so that they all get bright light during the day.

Alright, thanks for the suggestion. I just was concerned about them on the bottom, but I'm glad that you've had success with all levels. I've got to do some searching around and see if I can find that cage at a cheaper price.

[wellingtoncdm]

The stack-able ones are really great. You can easily roll them and they take up less room than four on a table. You can buy four high with a stand really cheaply on ebay. They are designed to be wider than taller which is great. Some finches don't like the bottom, others could care less. Easy to breed finches would be better on the bottom. On the top cage you can also put a tray with potted plants (like spider plants) that hang down and are edible or just a towel on it. Some birds don't like the open top.

[Lisa]

Same as what Liz said. I have this same setup and the only problems I've had on the birds in the middle and on the bottom is lighting. It is quite dark under there! I've had to install lights for each.

[Raleighwheels]

Thanks for all the responses. I feel better about getting the stackable cages now. Space is always an issue, but the well-being of my birds goes over that. I'll check eBay now for some cheap stuff.

[ac12]

Ideally, you don't want the bottom cage at floor level, or very close to the floor. The lower it is, the harder it is to work on the cage, because you have to bend down and sometimes lay on the floor. Also the lower cage is harder to visually monitor, because you have to bend down to see deeper into the cage.

But the birds in my bottom cages seem to be OK with that. Even when I'm vacuming around the cages. I think they got used to that noisy white thing.

As for stacking, it also depends on how tall you are.
I have a stack of 24x16x16 cages, stacked 5 cages tall. To do anything with that top cage requires me to get on a stool or even a ladder. A royal PIA to deal with.

Get the BREEDER cages with the dividers. I have used the dividers for so many reasons, I do not want to have a cage w/o a divider.

I use clamp on reflector lamps from Home Depot with 'daylight' balanced CFL on each cage.