This is a specific conversation about Bird cages — size matters more than anything — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A vet recommending a flight cage for weight management is genuinely good advice — Cockatoos are active birds that often become sedentary and overweight when kept in standard cages where they can't move freely. Cage size is the single most important factor here: most commercially sold parrot cages are far too small for a bird to even fully extend its wings, which is a real welfare issue. Bar spacing matters too — Cockatoos need spacing around 20–25mm to prevent head entrapment. To point you toward the right flight cage, how big is your Cockatoo — standard Sulphur-crested size, or a smaller species like a Bare-eyed — and how much floor space do you have available for the cage?
It's a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, she's about 50cm. The vet said she's quite overweight and barely moves in her current cage. I have a decent-sized living room, probably could give it a corner space of around 150cm wide by 80cm deep.
inparticular.ai
That space works well for a proper flight cage. A Sulphur-crested at 50cm needs a cage long enough that she can actually flap and hop between perches — the goal is horizontal flight distance, not just height. With 150cm of width available, you're in good territory. What cage is she in currently, and roughly what size is it? That'll help me confirm how big an upgrade you're actually making.
She's in a standard parrot cage, maybe 80cm wide by 60cm deep. She just sits on one perch all day. The vet said she needs to be moving between perches to burn calories.
inparticular.ai
Right, so she's in something she can barely turn around in — that's the problem. For a Sulphur-crested needing exercise, I'd recommend the Rainforest Cages Amazonia Flight Cage. It's 150cm wide, 60cm deep, and 180cm tall, with 25mm bar spacing that's correct for a Cockatoo her size. The horizontal length is what makes the difference — she can actually fly short distances between perches rather than just shuffling. It's powder-coated steel, straightforward to assemble, and the door placement makes daily interaction easy. It's a significant upgrade from an 80cm cage and directly addresses what your vet is asking for. Pair it with perches positioned at opposite ends to encourage her to travel the full length, and you'll see movement increase quickly.
That sounds exactly right. Is it easy enough to clean? She makes a lot of mess.
inparticular.ai
Yes — the Amazonia has a slide-out metal tray at the base, so daily cleaning is just pulling the tray, wiping it down, and sliding it back. The grate above the tray keeps her off the debris. For a Cockatoo who's going to be more active and eating more to fuel that activity, you'll want to clean it every one to two days anyway. The powder coating holds up well to scrubbing and to the inevitable beak testing she'll do on the bars.
Perfect, I think that's the one. Thank you.
inparticular.ai
Good luck with her recovery — Cockatoos respond really well once they have room to behave like Cockatoos. Give her a few weeks in the larger space and you should see her naturally becoming more active before you even need to do much else. If the vet wants to track progress, a kitchen scale weigh-in every couple of weeks will show you quickly whether the movement is making a difference.
