Buying cheap breeding cages for finches is never a good idea. I know this. Here’s what happened when I did it anyway.

Ok I admit it. I wanted some breeding cages and I broke my own rule. Several rules, in fact. I (1) bought non-name brand and (2) bought cages that were smaller than my own recommended size of 30x18x18. Here are the cages I bought.

Within less than 2 months, I was sorry.

Problem #1

The bars are flimsy. So flimsy, in fact, that a little baby zebra finch managed to stick his head between them. It was a nightmare; he was screaming, his mother was attacking my hand with her tiny chisel beak, and I was trying to pull bars apart to get the baby out. We all survived, barely.

Problem #2

The paint is already flaking. Not just a little, but around every joint. It’s not going to be long until it’s not usable anymore.

Problem #3

You can’t resell them. They’re not safe, so it isn’t fair to pass cages on to someone who doesn’t realize the hazard and might injure their finches.

All in all, the cost of a decent finch cage is well worth it. the initial price is offset by its longer life and safety value. When you think how much you’ve invested in your birds, it makes sense to spend money on their house/cage. Here is a list of cages we recommend.

This page tells a little more about how I measure to decide how many birds fit in a cage.