Top 14 BEST Cages For Cockatiels In 2023 (+ Travel Cages)

Published by Joseph Calabrese on

best cages for cockatiels

Sure, you could get a flimsy, small, and cheap cage for about 50$, but if you want to provide a comfortable living space for your cockatiel, a decent cage will cost you at least $100 – 150$ and an amazing cage will be even more expensive.

Besides vet bills, buying a high-quality cage is one of the most expensive aspects of cockatiel care.

But unlike vet bills, you only need to buy a cage once and likely never again.

This article has made cage selection easier for you by compiling, reviewing, and comparing 14 of the best available cages for cockatiels.

First, let’s take a look at the top 4 picks on this list:

Top 4 Picks

Cage Image

Dimensions

Key Features

Check It Out!

#1 BEST Cage Overall


36" L x 28" W x 37" H

1. Highly Durable


2. Includes Playtop


3. Suitable For Two Cockatiels

#2 Best Sized Cage

40" L x 30" W x 72" H

1. Huge Size


2. Can Fit 3 Cockatiels


3. Easy To Clean  

#3 Best Budget Cage

31" L x 18.5" W x 54" H

1. Good Price



2. Easy To Assemble


3. Easy To Clean

#4 Best Travel Cage

19" L x 15" W x 18" H

1. Rooftop Handle/ Perch


2. Bowl Holders Attached to Cage


3. Strong & Durable

Couldn’t find a cage for your tiel?

Let’s go through some more great bird cages in further detail…

Affiliate links are present throughout this article, meaning I’ll earn a small commission through any purchases you make on this page, read the disclosure to learn more

Top 15 Best Cages For Cockatiels

1) Bird Cage Parrot Aviary MELODY

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 33″ L x 21″ W x 54″ H (84cm L x 54cm W x 137cm H)

Bar Spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Brand: Paw Mate

Pros:

  • Durable – Made from wrought iron metal and coated with a powder that prevents rust, this cockatiel cage is quite durable.
  • 4 Mini doors – Having 4 mini doors on the front cage panel makes it easier to install toys, collect food and water dishes, and generally maintain the cage without opening the larger door.
  • Good bar spacing – Proper bar spacing is super important for your cockatiel’s safety. This cage has a cockatiels safe bar spacing length of 0.5″, which is ideal.

Cons:

  • Not enough horizontal bars – Cockatiels prefer to have more horizontal bars than verticle bars on their cages as it makes climbing easier. On each cage panel, there are only 4 horizontal bars, which is adequate, but not ideal.

2) PREVUE Pet Products Stand & Playtop Flight Cage

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 37″ L x 23″ W x 63″ H (94cm L x 58cm W x 160cm H)

Bar Spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Brand: Prevue Pet Products

Pros:

  • 2 Large front doors – The two large doors on the front cage panel are quite spacious, which allows your cockatiel to fly through them when they want to go out or in the cage.
  • Slide-out tray and grate – This cage features both a slide-out tray and grate at the bottom to make cleaning easier. You can easily slide the tray out, replace the liner, and then slide it back in with no hassle. The storage shelf also slides out, which is nice.
  • Includes play top – An openable perch top is pretty unique for cockatiel cages. It’s certainly a good feature, despite the playstand being a little bare.

Cons:

  • Bit pricey – For many cockatiel owners, the 300$ price tag for this cage is a bit expensive.
  • Not enough horizontal bars – Just like the previously reviewed cage, this one doesn’t have many horizontal bars on each cage panel. Not ideal for climbing, but still sufficient.

3) Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Small & Medium Birds Flight Cage

Best cage for cockatiels

Facts About This Cage:

Brand: Prevue Pet Products

Dimensions: Large size = 31″ L x 20.5″ W x 53″ H (79cm L x 52cm W x 135cm H) | X-Large size = 37″ L x 23″ W x 60″ H

Bar Spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Pros:

  • Ideal bar spacing – With a bar spacing length of 0.5″ (on both sizes), this cage is safe and suitable for cockatiels.
  • Extra large size is very spacious – This cage is available in 2 sizes, large and extra large. Both sizes are quite spacious, but the extra large option allows you to house 2 – 3 cockatiels more comfortably.
  • Useful storage shelf – Beneath the slide-out trays is a storage shelf that can be used to hold bird food, toys, bowls, and whatever else, right under your cockatiel’s cage for convenient access.

Cons:

  • Many reports of broken, missing, or unsafe parts – Many reviews complained about broken or missing parts that made the cage unsafe for their birds. However, these issues were usually solved quickly by the company’s helpful customer service.

4) A&E Extra Large Flight Cage – #1 BEST SIZED COCKATIEL CAGE

Facts About This Cage:

Brand: A&E Cage Company

Dimensions: 40″ L x 30″ W x 72″ H (101cm L x 76cm W x 183cm H)

Bar Spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Pros:

  • Very spacious – The A&E Extra Large Flight Cage is easily the largest cage on this list. You can comfortably house 4 – 5 cockatiels in this very spacious flight cage. Great home for small flocks!
  • Slide-out trays – Since this cage was designed to house a small flock of birds, there’s going to be a lot of mess inside at the end of each day. Luckily, slide-out trays are featured at the bottom of the cage to make cleanups easier.
  • Strong & durable – A&E Cage Company has a great reputation in the avian community for making high-quality and sturdy cages. Although some cages of similar size can be flimsy, this one is built solid and will serve you for years.

Cons:

  • Very expensive – As you would expect, one of the most spacious and durable bird cages on the market is also one of the most expensive. With an 800$ price tag, this is the most expensive cockatiel cage on this list.

5) Parrot Escape Jumbo Corner Cockatiel Cage

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 30″ L x 30″ W x 64″ H (76cm L x 76cm W x 162cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.4″ (1.1cm)

Brand: Flyline

Pros:

  • Cool corner fitting design – The cool-looking corner design is what really captured my attention! It allows you to place the cage in the corner of a room without taking a cage panel away from your cockatiels.
  • Mess collection skirt – Bordering the cage bars is a skirt that can catch any thrown pellets, seeds, or debris and slide them back into the cage floor. Helps to keep the floor space around the cage clean.
  • Lots of horizontal bars for climbing – There are plenty of horizontal bars on all panels of the cage, making it easy for cockatiels to navigate.
  • Semi-circle above the door opens – Although the product description mentions a playstand, it’s actually referring to the semi-circle on the front panel, which opens up as a small platform for your birds.

Cons:

  • Instructions are difficult to understand – Many of the product reviews on the various selling sites complain about how difficult the instructions are to follow. Lots of buyers were frustratingly confused by the assembly guide.
  • Two slide-out trays – Although slide-out trays typically make cage cleaning easier, this cage featured a separate tray for the cage floor. This may seem helpful, but it actually means more work as you’ll need to clean an extra tray.

6) A&E Cage Company Elegant Style Flight Cage

cockatiel flight cage

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 32″ L x 21″ W x 61″ H (81cm L x 53cm W x 155cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.6″ (1.5cm)

Brand: A&E Cage Company

Pros:

  • Nice aesthetic – The Elegant Style Flight Cage is probably one of the best-looking bird cages available. Although it’s simply a rectangular cage with curved corners, it has a fancy appearance and will look quite luxurious in your home.
  • Easy to clean – Featuring a slide-out tray for the cage floor and 4 built-in bowl-holding mini doors, this cage is quite easy to keep clean and maintain.
  • Removable wheel stand – This cage includes a wheelable stand to keep the cage elevated and off the ground. You can also remove the cage from the stand if needed, which is a useful feature in certain situations.

Cons:

  • Confusing assembly instructions – Multiple reviews on Chewy and Amazon complain about the poor assembly instructions. Many people described the guide as useless but also said the cage wasn’t hard to assemble without the instructions.

7) A&E Cage Company Flight Bird Cage And Stand

good cage for cockatiels

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 32″ L x 21″ W x 74″ H (81cm L x 53cm W x 188cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Brand: A&E Cage Company

Pros:

  • Spacious – Being 31 inches in length and 21 inches in width, this cage is spacious enough to house 2 cockatiels while still allowing some flight space.
  • High-quality material – All A&E cages are built strong with durable bird-safe metal. This one is no different and will last you for years to come.
  • Simple design – Although there are plenty of cages with cool and unique appearances, there’s nothing wrong with the simple rectangular cages. Some would argue that these cages are easier to customise and design.

Cons:

  • Unhelpful assembly instructions – Despite A&E being one of my favourite companies for high-quality bird cages, they seem to have a common problem across all their products, which is the assembly instructions. Many users complained about the unhelpful or confusing assembly guide for this unit.

8) Yaheetech Stackable Wide Divided Breeder Bird Cage

double flight cage for cockatiels
best cage for cockatiel

Facts About This Cage:

Brand: Yaheetech

Dimensions: 37.6″ L x 18″ W x 20″ H (95cm L x 46cm W x 52cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.4″ (1cm)

Pros:

  • Stackable – Many of those who bought one of these cages also bought a second unit to utilise the stacking feature. This cage was designed for stacking multiple units steadily on the same stand, which is a space-efficient way of housing multiple cockatiels.
  • Optional cage divider – Without using the divider, this cage has a very spacious length of 37.6″. With the divider, the cage splits into two parts that measure 18.8″ in length each. Although it cuts overall flight space in half, this feature can be useful to separate your fighting or mating cockatiels when needed.
  • Good price – For this spacious cage plus all the unique features (divider, stackable), the asking price of $128 is pretty good value for money in my opinion.

Cons:

  • Small when the divider is used – As mentioned, both sections of the cage are quite small when the divider is used and does not meet the minimum size requirements for a single cockatiel. For this reason, you should only use the divider when necessary.

Note: The amazon button links to the Prevue Pet Products version of this Yaheetech cage, so it’s technically a different product. However, it has the exact same features, size, and bar spacing, and is almost the exact same cage, just a different company.


9) Flyline Grey Palace Bird Cage – #1 BEST COCKATIEL CAGE

large flight cage for cockatiels
best cage for cockatiel

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions (without cage skirt): 36″ L x 28″ W x 68″ H (92cm L x 71cm W x 172cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.9″ (2.4cm)

Brand: Flyline

Pros:

  • Very spacious – The Flyline Palace Bird Cage is certainly one of the most spacious cubed cages available. You can comfortably house 2 or 3 cockatiels inside this cage and it would be an absolute castle for a single cockatiel.
  • Playtop perches and feeding stations – A part of the cage is a fun double-story playstand for your cockatiels to hang out on. Two ladders are included to help your birds navigate between the two levels, as well as two feeding stations.
  • Mess collection skirt – Preventing the floor space around the cage from getting too dirty is the removable mess collection skirt. Anything that helps keep the house a little cleaner from all the regular cockatiel mess is a great feature in my book!
  • Built-in bowl holders – 6 bowl holders are featured on this cage, as well as the stainless steel bowls that fit the holders. 4 are inside the cage, and the other 2 sit on the highest perch of the playstand.

Cons:

  • Wide bar spacing – 0.9 Inch bar spacing length is a little wider than the recommended for cockatiels. The reason it’s so wide is because the cage was originally intended for African grey parrots, Eclectus parrots, and other similar-sized birds. However, the bar spacing won’t pose a threat to your cockatiels, it’s just a bit wider than suggested.
  • Expensive – Being sold for almost 400$, this is a pretty expensive cage for most cockatiel owners.

10) i.Pet Bird Cage 137cm Large – #1 BEST BUDGET COCKATIEL CAGE

best cages for cockatiels
best budget cage for cockatiel

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 31″ L x 18.5″ W x 54″ H (79cm L x 47cm W x 137cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.6″ (1.5cm)

Brand: i.Pet

Pros:

  • Great budget option – Although it has gone up in price since I bought it (only by 10 or $20), it’s still one of the best budget cages for cockatiels with a price tag of just $148.
  • Includes slide-out trays for easy cleaning – Both the plastic tray and metal grate slide out of this cage for easy access. Cages with this feature are simply easier to clean.
  • Easy to assemble – I currently use this cage to house my cockatiel and it was fairly simple to assemble. The instructions were easy to follow and all the pieces were intact and easily identified. It also came with a mini screw to help with construction!

Cons:

  • Flimsy cage bars – One of the worst aspects of this cage is the flimsy bars. With enough force, you can easily bend the bars out of place or possibly snap them off. Luckily, cockatiels are not strong enough to apply that force.

11) Prevue Pet Products Corner Playtop Bird Cage

perfect cage for cockatiel

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 37″ L x 28″ W x 65″ H (94cm L x 71cm W x 165cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.6″ (1.6cm)

Brand: Prevue Pet Products

Pros:

  • Space-efficient corner design – Just like the 5th reviewed cage on this list, the Corner Playtop Bird Cage is space-efficient due to its corner design. Placing this cage in the room corner will still provide 3 cage panels for your cockatiels to explore.
  • Includes playtop – This cage features a very sleek playstand. There’s a ladder to help your cockatiels climb to the playstand, which is just a dowel perch with two bow holders on each side. A slide-out tray is also included below to playstand, making it easy to clean up any messes made by your birds up there.
  • Landing-style front door – The primary front door opens vertically and outwards from the cage, which makes for a nice little landing platform for your birds.

Cons:

  • Not very sturdy – This cage does not have many reviews, but a few customers were extremely disappointed by the apparent flimsiness of the cage.
  • Expensive – For the nearly 400$ price, you would expect more positive feedback from reviewers, but there are many negative reviews on cage sturdiness. Considering the expensive price and the apparent lack of quality, I would personally not recommend this cage.

12) Prevue Pet Products Bird Travel Carrier – #1 BEST TRAVEL CAGE

good travel cage for cockatiels
best travel cage for cockatiel

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 19″ L x 15″ W x 18″ H (48cm L x 38cm W x 46cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Brand: Prevue Pet Products

Pros:

  • Rooftop handle/perch – On top of this travel cage features a handle for lifting. A unique feature is that the handle actually doubles as a wooden perch for your cockatiel to sit on, perhaps while waiting for the vet.
  • Includes seatbelt brackets – So much thought has gone into safety and how this cage will be used that they even added seatbelt brackets. Now you can buckle your bird up while on road trips with them, keeping them extra safe!
  • Built-in bowl holders – One side of the cage features two bowl-holding mini doors that can be accessed from the outside. They’re very secure so the bowls won’t spill or knock over while driving.
  • Large front door – Some travel cages have extremely stupid door designs that make it hard to put birds inside. However, one whole panel opens up on this cage, making a very spacious door that you can easily put your cockatiel in or take out of the cage.

Cons:

  • Cannot be used as a housing cage – For travelling, this cage is absolutely amazing and has no problems that would impact its intended use. However, it’s way too small to use as a housing cage for a cockatiel.

13) Prevue Hendryx SP850B/B Clean Life Cockatiel Cage

Facts About This Cage:

Dimensions: 18″ L x 18″ W x 24″ H (46cm L x 46cm W x 61cm H)

Bar spacing: 0.5″ (1.3cm)

Brand: Prevue Hendryx

Pros:

  • Large front door – Just like the previously reviewed travel cage, this one has a very spacious front door that you can easily fit your cockatiel in and out without hassle. Perfect for when you need to quickly get a cockatiel inside for travelling.
  • Easy to carry – Nobody wants a travel cage they can’t lift. That defeats the whole purpose of a travel cage. This cage weighs just 9 pounds (4.08 Kg) and includes a thing handle on the top, which makes carrying it super easy for a single person.
  • Mess collection skirt – While you’re on a road trip, your cockatiels are going to be eating in the car. Helping to contain the inevitable mess and prevent it from spilling out all over the car is the mess collection skirt.

Cons:

  • Too small to use as a house cage – Being only 18″ in length and width, this cage is unsuitable to be used as a cockatiel’s main home.
  • Bit expensive – Generally, this is a lower-quality travel cage than the previous one, but it’s a bit more expensive. If I were to buy a travel cage, I’d personally choose the more practical, better, and cheaper cage that was previously reviewed over this option.

14) X-ZONE PET Bird Travel Bag

Facts About This Cage:

Brand: X-ZONE PET

Dimensions: 17″ L x 10″ W x 12″ H (43cm L x 25cm W x 30cm H)

Bar spacing: No bars

Pros:

  • Available as either a carrier or backpack – This travel bag/carrier is available as either a duffle bag style or a backpack style, both of which are suitable for travelling with 2 cockatiels. Both styles come fit with a dowel perch, air holes, and a slide-out tray.
  • Great for transportation – Both styles are quite easy to transport and carry around. The backpack version may be slightly better as you can wear it on your back without it becoming unstable for your bird. The duffle bag style must be carried like a suitcase as you can’t hold it like a purse otherwise it’ll be tilted while your birds are inside.
  • Includes slide-out tray for easy cleaning – The duffle bag and backpack both come equipped with a slide-out tray that will contain any mess caused by your birds while travelling. When you get back home, you can easily slide out the tray and clean up the mess ready for the next trip!

Cons:

  • Some birds hate the clear plastic film – A few Amazon reviews said that their birds were a little nervous around the see-through film on both carrier styles. If your cockatiel is skittish around new things, you may need to desensitise them to this carrier before use.
  • False advertising images – The Amazon images falsely imply that this carrier is much bigger than it is. In fact, the first product image is of a resized cockatoo perching in the bag, but a cockatoo would barely fit in this carrier. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s bigger than it is, the true dimensions are listed above.

The Minimum-Sized Cage For Cockatiels

To determine the minimum size cage for a cockatiel, we must first understand the size of this bird.

Specifically, we must know their wingspan and height.

The average cockatiels wingspan is 19.5″

The average cockatiels height is between 11 – 13″

Credit goes to naturalinspirationsparrotcages.com for measuring the wingspans of almost all parrot species.

Most vets and parrot behavioural experts recommend that the length of the cage should be around 1.5x the length of the bird’s wingspan.

They also recommend that the height of the cage should be roughly double the bird’s height.

best cage for cockatiel

Considering their size, a cockatiel cage should be around 29″ (74cm) in length and 26″ (66cm) in height.

The main idea is to ensure that your cockatiel has enough room to perform basic moveability within the cage.

This is the main guideline you should follow when choosing a cage for any bird.

How To Setup A Cockatiel Cage

After looking through all 14 cages, I hope you’ve made a choice that suits you.

When you get your cage, you’ll have some set-up work to do.

Below is a very quick overview of what you’ll need to have inside and around the cage for your cockatiel.

  • Perches – Natural wooden perches are best, dowel perches are uncomfortable for birds to sit on for long periods. Perches should be placed strategically near food bowls and toys for easy access. Cockatiels also enjoy sitting up in high places, so ensure you have some perches near the top of the cage.
  • Food & water bowlsStainless steel bowls are much cleaner than plastic bowls. Each bird you have in one cage will need their own food and water bowls. Bowls are best placed either outside the cage or near the highest perch inside the cage. Having bowls up higher will help prevent them from getting pooped in.
  • Liner – Most cages on this list will simply have a barred grate as the floor liner. These bars aren’t comfortable for cockatiels to walk around on, which is why you’ll need to add your own liner. By far the best cage liner is paper. You could also use newspaper or butcher paper.
  • Toys – Toys will keep your cockatiel busy and happy. Toys are an essential part of proper avian enrichment as they keep birds mentally stimulated. A cage with no toys will cause behavioural problems in cockatiels as they become bored and restless with nothing to do. The best toys will support shredding and foraging behaviours.

Read the full guide to the best cockatiel cage setup…

Sources

Categories: Housing/Cage

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