FINCHforum

Hey all, so I'm probably going to get the HQ Double Flight cage and I'm wondering - are there schools of thought on advantages or disadvantages of particular cage colors? Is it just personal preference?

Also, any tips on finding the best price on a new cage? Everything I see is the same retail price, though some places aren't charging for shipping.

Thanks!

I have HQ double and single flights, in various colors--dark green, black, white, platinum. I will say that the dark colors show up poop a lot more than the lighter colors, so they look dirtier. I'm sure there is just as much poop gets flung around, it just shows up more on the darker flights.

As far as the best price, that just takes a lot of shopping around. As you said, some don't include shipping, so you have to find out the shipping costs in order to compare websites. For used cages, you can always do frequent checks on craigslist, but the best deals go fast.

inchofstar

I tend to prefer white cages and flights. It just seems lighter and more appealing in my opinion. I also think that you can see your birds better.

Regarding prices..... The larger flights do tend to be fairly pricey, unless you're lucky and hit on a sale, or find a good deal second hand in your area.

~Elana~

I prefer light colored cages too. Most of mine are white and I have 2 that are sandstone. I Google like crazy to comparison shop on line. You can also check out eBay, for previously owned cages. Just be sure to clean anything previously owned really well.

Petco has some good deals on their cages. Often times they have random ones at sale prices that are valid for a few days (usually online only) and shipping is usually free. Plus if you sign up to receive their emails, that will get you an additional 20% off your first order. The best part is they will let you combine all three of those discounts on one item!

I suppose I'll disagree...lol

Go into your local pet store and grab two colorful bird books. Place one in a black cage and one in a white cage. Step back and tell me which cage is easier to view the book in?

Most people find it is easier to view their birds when they are in a black cage versus a white one. Our eyes tend to get hung up on the white bars, while we are able to look past the black ones. That's why most zoos use black wire to showcase their animals.

The downside to black is that it shows messes much easier and can appear "too dark" for a room as the black bars plus their dark shadows can create a sort of black hole.

That being said I have cages in white, black, cranberry, and sage,

I tend to prefer black. It shows the feces. That way I tend to clean more to prevent disease. I guess I'm just paranoid....always wiping down the cages and perches....

I'm very surprised that so many are preferring light colours.

Hands down, no question, I would recommend black or very dark green. The reason is that from a slight distance the eye sees straight through these, as if they are invisible, so the birds are easy to see. (eg. Here: http://youtu.be/amktKfqcolg)

Light colours reflect light and make it look like there a big white thing in your house/garden. You have to get up close to see the birds clearly.

I guess it also depends on where it will be. If it's indoors then white may be OK as you'll be close to it anyway, and the poo won't show as much. If the viewing will be from a slight distance, then a dark colour wins IMHO.

If you have walls behind, those should definitely be a very light colour, to create a bright and cheerful look to the environment.

I love white cages myself. I think they're bright and pretty.

I prefer the sandstone color, mostly because it matches my decor better. Black will show the poop, and also make the room look darker, in my opinion. I find it harder to view the birds in a white cage.

I thought I replied to this earlier this week! Sorry guys, I don't know what happened there.

So you all bring up some interesting thoughts.

@Sally, could you describe the color of the HQ green? I have nearly kelly green walls in the room it would be in, so I wonder about that.

@Colt, your point about zoos is a good one, thanks for that.

I feel like aesthetically my preference is towards a darker cage, but that's a large cage and I do need to think about about having such a big dark thing around, even if it's lit.

Thanks for your input everyone!

This was a good thread. I'm hoping to get my upstairs painted this spring/early summer and once that is done I think I'm going to buy this cage... http://www.birdscomfort.com/doubleflight_bird_cage.html or something very similar and get at least some of my guys into larger accommodations. It will go in front of the bay window in my living room. Thus, I appreciate the thoughts on cage color. I'll be painting things like a blue grey color.

Angela&Shalamar, that is a very popular cage. I am thinking about getting one as well.

inchofstar My HQ cages are older, so they may have changed the green. The website says kelly green, but mine are more like forest green, pretty dark. As others have said, a big consideration is what you like, as if you pick a color only because poop might or might not show, but you have this big chunk of color in your room that you really don't like, you won't be happy. I also agree with the others that pure white might not be a great choice, sandstone would be better IMO if you want a lighter color.

Thanks, Sally!

Still noodling this. I missed a sale in the meantime, so the waiting might be even longer. I saw it for $319 shipping included. Has anyone seen better than that new?