****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have owned this flight cage for one month, and I have to agree with those who have given it positive reviews. I currently house five finches in it, including a tiny bronze winged-mannikin, and there is no way for them to escape, provided you assemble the cage correctly and it is not damaged. Now, as for bent wires, there will probably be a few when you unpack the pieces. The directions even warn of this. But I was easily able to put them back in place with a pair of pliers. And I am NOT a handy, tool-oriented sort of person. Nor am I particularly adept at assembling things, but I was able to put this together largely by myself. I did, however, need a second person to hold pieces in place for me at a couple of steps in the process (the instructions are correct in indicating where you will need assistance). Assembly itself took about an hour, maybe, and I ran into almost no problems. The trickiest part to assemble is the roof, but with a second person holding pieces in place, it came together. And it left no spaces wide enough for finches to escape. The only part I had a bit of trouble with was getting the wheels into the casters, as you need to hammer them into place, but my 60+-year-old mom was able to do it no problem, so maybe I am just weak :).I LOVE all of the large and small doors that allow me access to various parts of the cage. The two large doors on the front unhinge and swing out to the side, and I am able to fit the entire upper portion of my body into the cage. They both latch easily, once you get the hang of it. In addition, the large doors have small access doors on them that slide upwards (typical of the kind you would find on many bird cages). The cage also has two of these small doors on each side, one upper and one lower. No doors on the back. I have had no problem using the standard water/food feeder in these openings.The cage comes with its own food/water feeders, which attach to the horizontal wires within the cage, and can go almost anywhere you want to put them. I love to use these for food.The tray at the bottom slides out easily, and I have found that it just fits inside a large black trash bag, so that I can slide it into the bag to dump out the substrate without much mess. Above the tray, there is also a removable grate (just don't remove both at once--then there is absolutely room for finches to escape!). I have found that I can clean the grate without needing to remove it, since the bottom cage door is so large.Now for dimensions. It is true that finches prefer horizontality to verticality, so length is important. There is ample length and width for several finches (NOT 20+, though--this would mean serious overcrowding). My societies make use of the entire cage, top to bottom. My gouldians prefer to stay at the very top. I am sure it just depends on the finch. I originally housed zebras in this cage, and they also only used the top.For such a large cage, it is extremely mobile! Provided you have the space to maneuver, it is quite easy to push it around the room (if vacuuming, for example), thanks to the wheels on the bottom.Finally, this cage is STURDY. It is made of much stronger, more durable material than my previous 18 x 18 x 30 Petco flight cages.I was hesitant to buy this model because it is a bit pricey (there is, I think, another Prevue flight cage that is generally cheaper and periodically on sale), but I really like the decorative aspect of the sloping roof. And I think the finches appreciate being able to get to the very apex of their environment, which they are able to access via the manzanita perches I placed up there.Very happy with my purchase.
