If you’re buying a cockatiel, you’ll need the perfect cage for her or him.
Whether you’re looking for a large cage with plenty of play space, a cage with a detachable stand, a travel carrier, or you just want to get a good bang for your buck, we have some great recommendations for you.
All of the following information is based on real reviews from real users of these products.
The best budget-friendly pick is the Yaheetech 41-Inch Open Top cage. If you’re willing to spend more for a larger cage, check out the Yaheetech 61-Inch Playtop. If you want a cage with a detachable stand, take a look at the Zeny 53-Inch Cage or the SUPER DEAL 59-Inch Cage.
If you’re in need of a travel bag, we recommend the X-ZONE PET Travel Bag.
If you can’t decide which cage you want, check out this table below that compares all of our top picks:
In summary, here are our main recommendations for your cockatiel cage:
- Best Overall: Yaheetech 61-Inch Playtop
- Best Value: Yaheetech 41-Inch Open Top
- Best With Removable Stand: Zeny 53-Inch Cage
- Best Midsize Cage: SUPER DEAL 59-Inch Cage
- Best Travel Cage: X-ZONE PET Travel Bag
Keep reading for guidelines on how to choose a cage as well as a more detailed explanation of each cage we’ve recommended.
Cockatiel Cage Guidelines: What To Look For
A great cage for your cockatiel is the foundation for her or him living a long and happy life.
Cockatiels, while they like to be out of their cages and hanging out with you, may have to spend several hours each day in their cages so it’s important that they have ample space, feeding bowls, perches, and toys.
It’s also important that the cage is easy to clean since cockatiel cage cleanliness is very important to their health.
I recently spoke with Anna, who works with and cares for parrots daily at Sunset Beach Exotic Birds, about perches and the importance of cage cleaning.
This is what she had to say:
You want to give your cockatiel a variety of perches, preferably in different widths. They could be cloth, wood, or sand perches, but the larger the cage, the more you’ll want to have.
In addition to routinely cleaning the bottom tray, you also need to perform a thorough deep-cleaning once per week.
You can use a product made specifically for disinfecting bird cages, or you can use a vinegar/water mix with one part vinegar to three parts water.
So now that you know how important it is to provide a clean and comfortable cage, let’s go back to what to look for when selecting your cockatiel’s new home.
The following cages were chosen because they meet these criteria:
- Large enough to ensure the health of your cockatiel
- Easy to clean
- Has removable bottom tray to easily discard droppings and clean
- Has detachable food and water bowls that can be removed via a door
- Comes with perches
- Has large doors that lock securely
- Made of quality materials
- Has high customer satisfaction
Best Cockatiel Cage Overall: Yaheetech 61-Inch Playtop
This Yaheetech bird cage is our best overall pick. It is a large wrought iron cage on a rolling stand with four wheels.
It has a metal catch running along the edges so your bird doesn’t make a mess in the area surrounding the cage.
It’s easy to clean with a removable bottom tray and separate feeder doors and has some great special features–our favorite being a play top with a ladder, perch, and feeding bowls.
Now, we’ll get into the specifics of this cage so you can decide if it’s right for your cockatiel:
Size
- This is a large cage at 21” in length, 21” in width, and 61.5” in height.
Accessories
The Yaheetech Playtop cage comes with some great accessories:
- Easy-clean stainless steel food and water bowls
- A button lock
- Two perches
- Bungee rope
Doors and Locks
This cage has two feeding doors as well as one large bird door.
The two feeding doors are secured by hook locks, and the large door has a secure and easy-to-use button lock.
Cleaning Accessibility
The bottom slide-out tray with a handle makes this cage super easy to clean.
The mesh lining on top of the tray ensures that your bird has no direct contact with their droppings.
To clean the cage: pull out the drawer, clean and replace, open the latched food doors and clean out the feeding bowls.
Bonus Features
The best bonus feature is that this cage has a play area on top with a ladder and two feeding bowls so your bird can hang out on top of the cage.
Cockatiels need lots of play to stay happy, so this is our favorite feature of this cage.
It also has a metal trough that runs around the outside of the cage to catch anything that may have fallen out of the cage.
Drawbacks
While this is our best-rated cage, it is also the most expensive.
It is also very large and heavy and might be difficult to ship and set up in your home.
Best Value Cockatiel Cage: Yaheetech 41-Inch Open Top
This is the same brand as the 61-inch cage, but it is smaller and has fewer special features.
However, we chose this as our best budget-friendly cage because it is a great size, and it’s easy to transport and easy to clean.
Although this is a much cheaper cage, it still has an open-top play area with a perch, which is a great bonus feature, especially at this price point.
Here are some details on this cage:
Size
- This is our smallest recommended cage at 18″ long, 14″ wide, and 41″ tall.
Accessories
This budget-friendly cage comes with the following accessories:
- Four sanded wood perches
- Four feeding bowls
Doors and Locks
This cage has two large doors, as well as four feeding doors, all secured with latches.
Cleaning Accessibility
This cage has a removable bottom tray for easy cleaning.
The four feed bowls are also easily removed through the feeding doors so they can be cleaned, and the two large cage doors allow you to clean thoroughly inside the cage.
Bonus Features
Our favorite feature of this cage is the open play top – the top of the cage can be opened and locked upwards so the bird can fly in and out and perch at the top of the cage.
Drawbacks
This is a small cage so it may not be suitable for more than one bird. It also does not come with a stand so you may need to buy one or put the cage on top of a piece of furniture.
Some users of the product claim that the cage is made of cheap material and the door latches are easily broken.
Best Cockatiel Cage With Removable Stand: Zeny 53-Inch Cage
Cages with removable stands are a great option if you’d like to transport your bird in its cage rather than in a carrier.
Since the cage can be removed, simply take it off the stand and place it in your vehicle to transport your cockatiel.
This is our top pick if you’d like a cage with a removable stand because it is made of sturdy, quality wrought iron that will last your bird’s lifetime, it is a great large size, and comes with two perches that span the length of the cage.
It has a removable tray for easy cleaning and four separate food doors. This is a great pick if you want a great quality cage with a removable stand at a very reasonable price.
Size
- This cage is 25.2″ long, 16.5″ wide, and 27.4” tall (without stand), or 53″ tall (with stand).
Accessories
The cage comes with these accessories:
- Two large wooden perches
- Four plastic feeding cups
- Four 360 degree swivel wheels
- A shelf on the stand for storage
Doors and Locks
This cage has one large bird door secured with an iron slide lock, as well as four small feeding doors with hook locks.
Cleaning Accessibility
This cage is very easy to clean as it comes with a removable grate at the bottom that can be slid out, cleaned, and replaced.
The latched feeding doors at each feeding bowl make it super easy to remove the feed bowls in order to clean them.
Bonus Features
The best feature of this cage is that it has a detachable rolling stand with storage underneath the cage.
This cage can be rolled around within your house, and if you ever need to transport your bird, the cage can be removed from its stand for easy travel.
Drawbacks
The cage is a great value for its size, but it may be difficult to assemble as it comes in many different pieces that must be put together.
Best Midsize Cockatiel Cage: SUPER DEAL 59-Inch Cage
If you’re looking for a cage that isn’t too big or too small, check out this Super Deal cage with a removable stand.
This is a plastic and wrought iron cage with two large perches, and one hanging perch, two large doors, and four feeding bowls.
It comes on a stand with wheels and an area for storage.
This cage has great stats all around and is very highly reviewed, but some users say that the material is low-quality, which is a drawback likely because of the low price-point of the item.
However, if you take care of the cage properly, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Size
- This is a nice large cage at 18” long, 14” wide, and 36.2” tall (without a stand), or 59” tall (with a stand).
Accessories
This midsize cage comes with:
- Four large perches
- Once small winging perch
- Four plastic food bowls
- A stand with a built-in shelf
Doors and Locks
The cage has two large doors secured with latches, and four smaller feed doors also secured with latches.
Cleaning Accessibility
The cage is very easy to clean as it has a slide-out bottom panel to remove droppings.
The two large doors make it very easy to reach inside and wipe down the cage, and the food bowls are easily removed through the small doors without the risk of your bird escaping.
Bonus Features
The cage has a removable stand so it can be easily taken off the stand for travel.
The stand comes with a built-in storage shelf for your cockatiel supplies.
Drawbacks
This cage does not come with an outdoor play area, so you’ll have to set up some other areas in your home for your cockatiel to play in.
This is also a very inexpensive cage, and some reviews claim the pieces do not fit together well.
Best Cockatiel Travel Cage: X-ZONE PET Travel Bag
Going to the vet is usually not a fun experience for any pet, and you should aim to keep your cockatiel as safe and comfortable as possible.
If you’re looking for a travel carrier for taking your bird to the veterinarian, we recommend the X-Zone Pet Travel bag.
A travel bag is something you’d want to get in addition to a cage, so once you’ve made your choice from the above, consider also buying a carrying bag for travel.
We chose this travel bag because it’s great quality, easy to carry, easy to clean, and comes with a perch, transparent sides, and lots of air ventilation.
Check out the details here for more information:
Size
- This bird carrier is 17″ long, 10″ wide, and 12″ tall.
Accessories
This X-Zone bird carrier comes with:
- One large perch
- An adjustable shoulder strap
- A handle on top
- Mesh construction
- Air vents
Doors and Locks
Both sides of the bag have zipper doors so your cockatiel can easily get in and out of the bag.
Cleaning Accessibility
The bottom of the bag has a removable tray. When cleaning, you can open both doors, remove the perch, and easily clean the tray.
Bonus Features
The best feature of this bag is its transparent sides and air ventilation to ensure the health of your bird during travel.
Drawbacks
The only drawback is that this carrier is relatively small and your bird may become unhappy in the bag; however, it is a great carrier for short trips.
Conclusion
Choosing a cockatiel cage is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a cockatiel owner.
Whether you’ve chosen a cage from the list above or decided to do your own research make sure you choose a cage that has room for perches and food bowls, is easy to clean, locks securely, and most importantly, is large enough for your cockatiel.