Tall and narrow cages?

[PrinceSandwich]

I found a bird cage at the thrift store today for $10, so I bought it. The cage is tall ( probably 3') and rather narrow ( around 17" on each side). Everything I'm reading on the internet says that the birds I'm interested in ( Canarys, Finches, Parakeets) need wide and short cages

Is there any kind of bird that I can put in this cage?

 

[silkiechicken]

You could put those small birds in the cage if you wanted, just note that they will spend most of their time at the top and outside time would be appreciated. Anything larger than a parakeet and 17x17 is going to be too small. My pair of parakeets live in a 28 inch tall cage that is only 22 x 18, which isn't too much bigger than yours. Mine get to free fly a room when we are at the apt though. Careful if the cage is 2nd hand and has rust, since if that is the case, anything that chews like a parakeet can get metal toxicity from chewing on it.

 

[Kansaseq]

Could you put the cage on it's side? Unfortunately, a lot of cages out there are not always appropriate for the birds that have to live in them.

 

[PrinceSandwich]

Quote:
Would the cage work for a Canary? And would the rust be a problem for a Canary, I don't think they really chew that much.

 

[markbirds]

Hi, just remember that finches need to beable to fly and fly side to side not much up and down. 1 or 2 parakeets can live in there because they like to climb and most of the time they have their wings clipped. A canary likes to fly side to side as well and like a finch do not function well with their wings clipped.

 

[RiverOtter]

A cage like that is probably only good for decoration. It sounds like it's old enough I'd worry about lead paint. What those are very good for is growing plants. Some kind of vine or climber like pothos, or even annuals like sweet peas or nasturtiums.

A nice flight cage isn't too expensive - especially if you go to a bird show and get one for just a little over wholesale. Or you can always just make one out of 1/4 inch mesh hardware cloth. It stays very silvery and shiny when you keep it inside. I made a big 3' long by 1 1/2 foot wide and 2 ' high for 5 budgies out of it and we were all surprised how pretty it turned out.