Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased the Cage Connection (by Blue Ribbon) Pagoda table top bird cage for my canary. I also purchased the matching stand. The cage is attractively styled and my bird is quite happy. I got the Antique White finish. In this case, Antique White = Light Gray. The cage has both positive and negative points, as follows:
Positives:
1. The cage looks great and is solid, for the most part (see negative items 2 and 3 below).
2. My canary loves being able to fly across the 22-inch width of the cage. I installed natural wood perches at the far left and right ends of the cage so he can exercise his wings. I would like the cage to be two or more inches wider still, but it's a good size--and it is very tall. I've set it up with three levels of perches above the floor. Flying is in the top level. In the middle is a 16-inch perch I bought separately and installed parallel to the side walls. And nearer the bottom and the food cups is a 22-inch perch that is parallel to the front and back walls. For a canary, this is a MANSION.
Negatives:
1. Assembly is tedious. Allow between one and two hours of frustration. A power screwdriver was helpful, but not mandatory. Two rigid channels must be attached to the bottom of the front and rear panels, but the holes that accept connecting bolts do not line up right with the holes on the panels. Exposed wires around the edges of every piece must be aligned with small holes on vertical and horizontal rods, and getting every sharp wire into its hole is a major challenge. The stand went together extremely easily. If only the cage were one-tenth as easy! Once put together, the cage turned out solid despite the misalignment of parts on the bottom of the panels. Eight bolts should be holding the bottom together, but only seven would fit. One extra fastener of each type is included, which was a plus because two different items were malformed at the factory but shipped anyway.
2. The two side panels each allow a form of access to the interior. On the left side is a door that can be opened to insert a nesting box. On the right side is a WIDE-OPEN HOLE in the cage, with a sort of wire-snap device without cage bars. The idea is to insert one of the massive feeding dishes (included) here that would block the escape of the bird. But, I didn't want to put a feeding dish on the side of the cage, where the bird is undoubtedly going to poop in the dish from above. I found a bird bath at a pet store that would attach to the outside of the cage and cover the wide open hole in the side of the cage. If I want to remove the bird bath (or a feeding dish, if used) in order to fill it with water or food, then SOMETHING must be temporarily placed over the open hole to prevent the bird from escaping out of the cage. No problem, I suppose with a conure or other small parrot that has flying privileges--but a big problem for canary or finch owners.
3. The bottom of the cage has only two parts: a grill and a plastic tray. Both slide in and out, but they slide like they are coated with Pam. If you move the cage and accidentally tilt it just a little bit towards the front, both the tray and the grill slide out and hit the floor in two quick seconds. There is nothing else there to keep the bird from exiting the cage through the open floor. Also, when the tray is removed to change papers, there is nothing there to keep new droppings from soiling the carpet or tile under the cage. I now put another section of newspaper below the cage in order to change the other section of newspaper. It's necessary for me to tuck in a couple of cardboard wedges under the grill and under the tray to prevent them from accidentally sliding out.
4. Before I assembled the cage, I filled a bathtub with warm water and nontoxic cleaner. Wow--I am so glad that I decided to wash the cage parts. After a gentle scrubbing and rinsing, the floor of the bathtub was coated with dark dust and several larger black chunks of something. Most of it came from inside the tubes that are part of the cage panels--but what IS that dark dust? This cage was made in China, and you know the news about dog food and toys coming from China. I didn't run any tests, but whatever contaminated the bird cage is now contaminating the pipes and sewers out there somewhere in America. Ah, it probably wasn't "contamination." Wash your new bird cage before he or she moves in, please!
Overall, the cage is quite nice, looks excellent, and provides a good home for a bird after some adjustments were made. I would buy it again, but I sure wouldn't want to assemble it again. The cage seems reasonably priced, but the stand is so simple that it seems significantly over-priced. Without the stand, the cage requires an empty table top.
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Cage Connection Pagoda Style Bird Cage with Platform Door, 22 x 16 x 34, Alabaster White
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