Best rectangular cage for budgies UK

Good on you for making this switch — round cages are genuinely stressful for budgies. Birds navigate space horizontally, not in circles, and round cages also tend to be too small for a budgie to fully extend its wings, which is a real welfare concern. Bar spacing matters too: for budgies it should be around 12–14mm — wide enough for grip, narrow enough that they can't get their head stuck. Before I point you toward something specific, a couple of quick questions: is this for one budgie or two, and roughly how much space do you have available for the new cage?

That's a helpful amount of space to work with. For two budgies, you really want at least 60cm wide — ideally more — so they can fly short distances between perches rather than just climbing. What's the round cage like for height? Budgies do like vertical space too, but width is the priority.

That frantic flapping is a recognised stress behaviour in budgies, and a too-small cage is a very common cause. Based on your space and the fact you have two birds, I'd recommend the Ferplast Giulietta 4. It's 78cm wide, 48cm deep, and 57cm tall — so it fits your shelf with a little room to spare. Bar spacing is 12mm, which is exactly right for budgies. It comes with two wooden perches and feeding stations, has a removable base tray for easy cleaning, and the wide front opening makes it easy to interact with them without stress. It's consistently well-reviewed by budgie owners specifically, and Ferplast is a reputable brand that designs for bird welfare rather than aesthetics. It'll be a significant upgrade from what you have.

Yes — put a couple of familiar items in the new cage before you transfer them. Move their existing perches over if you can, and add something from the old cage that smells familiar, like a favourite toy. Place the new cage in the same spot as the old one for the first week if possible. Budgies can be cautious about new spaces initially, but most settle within a few days, especially once they realise they have room to actually move. You'll likely notice a change in their behaviour fairly quickly — less frantic flapping, more confident movement between perches.