Cage Size and Bar Spacing: Get the Measurements Right

Parrot perched inside a spacious cage — Wider is better than taller: birds move horizontally, not vertically. Photo: Jaime A. Headden ( User:Qilong ) — CC BY 3.0

A cage five millimetres too wide in bar spacing or ten centimetres too shallow becomes a lifelong compromise. Here are the measurements, species by species, and traps to avoid.

Budgerigars on a perch — Small species need narrow bar spacing, or they can trap their heads. Photo: Benjamint444 — GFDL 1.2

Open the article in Zoo magazine →

Photography credits: Jaime A. Headden ( User:Qilong ) (CC BY 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons