Cheap cages?

[MiaCarter]

Does anyone know of a source for inexpensive cages?

I'm looking for a bunch of 30x18x18 cages and the best I've found is $50/each at Petco.com. That's obviously a retail price; seems like they should be available somewhere for $25-$35 for wholesale.

But I can't seem to find a good source!

I know of wholesalers for other pet products (PetEdge is my favorite), but they don't do birds.

So I just thought I'd ask in case anyone had a bird supply honey hole that they'd like to share!

[Sally]

When I used to buy these cages, this is one supplier I used. The 30x18x18 run about $40 per cage, and they come four cages to a case, with free shipping. You have to buy a case, and if you buy 3 or more cases, you can call them for a wholesale price.

http://www.countryfeathers.net/breeder-cages.html

[wildbird]

Do you ever go to the Orlando bird fair? They had the 30x18 cages there for $25. I think it was Lin Enterprises, Inc. Their email is: vlinenterprises@yahoo.com. They are located in Tampa. Phone: 813-431-8799, 813-831-9280. They are wholesalers & probably will refer you to one of their distributors, but they sell single cages at the show for $25. The divided ones were $32.

[MiaCarter]

wildbird -- Thank you! I'll shoot them an email. They're about 100 miles from me, so it could be worth the ride if they had something we could pick up in person.

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the Orlando bird fair. Husband had to work and I didn't want to do the long ride alone.

And thanks, Sally!

I was looking for 3-6 to start and probably another batch of 6-10 once I see how it works out with spacing and so forth.
I'm going to be re-doing my bird room and want to make "tubes" of 30x18x18 cages.

That Country Feathers link is definitely the best I've found so far at $40/each and with free shipping.
Bummer they come in 4-cage cases, as I was hoping for 3-cage cases, but it's close enough!

I found such a tease on Alibaba, with tons of wholesalers selling them around $10/each....except the shipping price and productoin timeframe is exorbitant as they ship from China - like hundreds of dollars and 3 months. (That is if they even sell in small quantities. Most want you to buy a few dozen.) So that's not viable.

Anyone know of anything better than $40/each?

[MiaCarter]

Also.....
Does anyone have a cage like this one:
http://tinyurl.com/meobxrg

If so, how hard would it be to remove the wheels?
I can't seem to tell by the image, even with the zoom.
I'm guessing I'll probably need to assemble and probably just skip the wheels. I emailed the seller a couple times, but no word back.

I'd like to get this one to replace my main cage. Nice and spacious for 4 birds! I'd like to put it on top of a table, though.

[saulosirds]

MiaCarter

The wheels come off but anything else like such as post would have to be cut down or modified. I have two and they are OK but my wild birds really don't like them that much. For zebs and societies and other more domesticated Australians, it would be fine.

Anytime you can get free shipping on cages, it's a he; of a deal. Most times shippers will add nearly 3% to your total cost as most cages are shipped in over sized boxes and are over weight also. If you sign up for Petco emails, they often have a 25% or 30% promos with frees shipping over $49. I tend o like these as they are better made and have a service door high up on the side which I think is better for breeder boxes.

Whatever you do, I would suggest buying a few of what you get to try them first. I have a bunch of the "cheap Chinese" breeders that I am considering getting rid of as I don't much like them. One last thing, the racks you can get with them are notoriously crooked or out of shape, the last rack I had needed about a half inch worth of washers just to get it level.

Rob

[Olympic_Aiairies]

Mia I found my cages on eBay. They are a stack of four. I think they were listed as breeding cages?? Can't remember I'll see if I can find you a link this evening (if I still have it).

[SandyinLargoFL]

Are you handy with hand tools? DH is planning to make our cages that size and has found the cage wire at Lowes, the clips for holding the edges together at our local feed store, and will build the nest boxes himself. Awhile ago I was raising Cockatiels and he made not just the cages but a stand of PVC pipes to hold them.

[mayble]

Most of the cheap cages I've picked up on ebay have proved to be very flimsy. Broken and missing wires, big gaps, sticking doors, etc. Not sturdy or safe at all.

I've acquired a few of the Petco cages and honestly think they are worth the extra money. I think they will last longer and the birds are safer. My advice is to keep an eye on craigslist and ebay for used ones, and pick them up from Petco when they're on sale.
If you sign up for their "repeat delivery" you can get them for $36.99. You can have a few shipped every month (or whatever) 'til you have as many as you need

[Ginene]

My suggestion is eBay also. They sell bundles of cages for great prices. Best of luck to you

[MiaCarter]

Thanks everyone!
I hadn't thought of the Petco cages with the recurring delivery. That may be my best bet.

ETA -- Just looked into it and you can schedule it for anywhere from weekly to yearly, so super flexible. Only problem is that with the cheaper price, it's not eligible for free shipping so it comes to $42.98, but they offer free shipping promo codes often, so I'll just wait until I see one (or buy more than one.)

I've seen a few 3-4 cage sets on ebay, but the ones I saw were all around $50 when you broke it down.

@saulosirds -- that was my thought too: buy a few to see the quality and see how they work in terms of spacing.

@SandyinLargoFL -- Husband is extremely handy. I thought of that, but then decided the effort and materials would probably make it not-so-worthwhile. But maybe I'll look into it a bit better.
What are you doing for doors?

[Sally]

For those who are handy, this place in CA has a lot of tools and supplies for building your own.

[608duj]

When putting cages together, whether bought or made by me from hardware cloth( like for the tiny finches ) I use cable ties instead of metal clips. Much easier to handle, no rust, and easily replaced. They get brittle after a few years but unless you have hook bills that will chew them, not really an issue.

[MiaCarter]

608duj -- Agreed!
I do the same. In fact, I reinforce all my cages on the corners with zip ties, just as a precautionary measure.
I have 16 cats and while I have 2 latches on each door, plus a heavy wooden trash can in front of the french doors, you never know.
So I've reinforced those cages like crazy so you could toss them on the ground and they'll still hold solid!

[Sally]

For those who are handy, this place in CA has a lot of tools and supplies for building your own.

Oops, I forgot to add the link.

http://clover.forest.net/kwcages/index.html