You’ll spend a lot of time picking out the right pet bird, and you should take at least as long selecting its cage. Your bird’s cage will be its home for years to come, and there’s much to consider.

Size and shape are important because large birds need ample room to spread their wings, and small, active birds need space to fly.

For safety and durability, stainless steel is the ideal cage material, but it is also quite costly. Coated steel can be a good choice, but watch that curious canaries don’t chew off the paint and ingest toxic metals like zinc.

Bar spacing is important to prevent your bird from getting its head caught between the bars.

And don’t forget ease of cleaning; a clean cage is a requisite for a healthy bird.

Your vet can direct you to answers for all your cage questions. So plan ahead, and get the scoop on cages before you buy.