FINCHforum

Recv'd the Doctors Foster & Smith catalog in the mail yesterday. Pg 26/27 has the absolute perfect cage, or go to the website DrsFosterSmith.com

Hampton breeding/flight cage system. 37x34x34.5 each cage, two on a stand, making upper & lower apartments which I love. Cage has a divider in the middle, 2 latch doors on front, 2 side doors. Separate trays for both sides; that would be 4 total trays for the 2-cage setup.

Albeit, it's $399, but WOW.....it's the cage we dream about. The other nice thing is that it's not so low to the floor. My F050 is lower to the floor & I have to get on my knees to service the lower apartment.

That is a nice one and I bet it's easy to work with, too.

I see it is $199 not $399...

Diana ... that's for one Diana, two on top of each other with the stand is $399.

ohh

That looks a lot like the one I have. Mine is a greyish color, has 4 compartments, but does not have the bottom shelf. I got mine at a bird show for about $250, maybe a little less.

wow! That is a nice cage. Why are breeding cages smaller? Does that help the birds to breed better?

Most finches need as much space as we can afford to give them, but is you have a lot of finches, these style cages help with space management.

37x34x34.5 each cage

I don't consider that small for a cage; breeding or not.
Todd, you were lucky to find one at that good price.

maybe cut in half that's small is what was meant? 37in long isn't too bad by itself. half of that is a bit short. to me. or is each divided section 37in long in which case OMG.

each section (top & bottom apartments) is 37" long

Acelin_Wolf wrote: maybe cut in half that's small is what was meant? 37in long isn't too bad by itself. half of that is a bit short. to me. or is each divided section 37in long in which case OMG.

finchandlovebird wrote: each section (top & bottom apartments) is 37" long

Each cage system is 37 inches and that can be cut in half.
The combo two cage system are two cage systems, one on top of the other. At least that's how I read the description.
Also note that the bar spacing is 1/2 inch, might be too big for the smaller species.

I think they are off on their dimensions - they seem to have doubled the depth as well as the length when describing the undivided cages.
Assuming 17 inches is the measurement from front to back, that remains constant, unless you are joining four compartments together (then you'd really have something).
No offense to those who are fans, but these types of cages remind me of puppy mills or pig breeding operations - just enough room to pump out babies and nothing else.

mayble I agree with you about the width dimensions; it seems they may have doubled them.
But I disagree with you about the "bird" puppy mills. I see it as a GREAT cage for a pair of birds raising a family. If I'm going to raise a few birds, I want it to be in the best possible home for them.
With the divider in the middle, it's not meant to put a pair on each side. It's meant to keep the male one one side & female on the other....until they get accustomed to each other, & then allow them the 37" cage for raising a family.
Or, for putting the youngsters in one side of the cage after weaning, if the parents want to nest again on the other side.

finchandlovebird, I do understand the concept and purpose of divided cages.
I also understand that these are creatures who are built for flying, for covering distance and spending much of their time in motion.
Keeping birds in a cage this size is, in my opinion, akin to keeping an elephant in your garage. Unless you are letting your birds out for free flight time, they are essentially spending their lives in a cell. Imagine living your entire life in your living room or bedroom.
The "best possible home" is one that allows the closest thing to a natural environment that we can provide. It's unfortunate that there aren't more (or any) decent sized flight cages on the market. We make do with what's available, or we make our own. Okay, it's a nice cage, but (again, in my opinion) far from perfect.