> After reading the bad reviews, I was a little apprehensive about ordering Pawhut bird cages. However, the two cages I purchased arrived complete, with all parts undamaged. Considering the price, the fit and finish are excellent. The price is a bargain.> Well packed -- I.e., the packaging is well designed.> Easy to assemble, if you have any experience with assemble-it-yourself furniture. Note that:- It is important to follow the instructions, particularly the order of assembly.- It is especially important to initially assemble very loosely (without tightening the screws tightly). When fully assembled, then tighten the screws.- Except for the door latch, the cage, per se is assembled with 20 identical screws, the "A" (i.e., shortest screws). The latch attaches with 4 small phillips screws. The stand is assembled with longer "B" and "C" screws. The required allen wrench is included, and the long end is even a phillips screw driver. You will need needle-nose pliers or an approx 3/8" box wrench to assemble the stand.- When you are done, check again that all the screws are tight --- as tight as you can make them with just the included allen wrench. Unfortunately, lock washers are not included, and would be a good addition --- especially for the stand, especially if you ever roll the cage and stand around.> DESIGN -- The design is an improvement over my two (different designs) Prevue cages that that these new cages are replacing.> HEIGHT -- The cages (per se, not including the stands) are shorter than the (rusted out) Prevue cages they are replacing. But including the stands, are taller. The height is more convenient -- the waste tray in the bottom of the cage can be cleaned from a standing position. My parrots are also more comfortable with the additional height --- they spend more time in the middle and lower portions that they did in their old Prevue cages.> TRANSPORTABILITY -- It takes two people to move a cage, and the cages are moderately heavy. With the stand, the height makes the cages top heavy and awkward to roll around. In short, it isn't easy to move the cages around, with or without the stands. I suggest securing the cage to the stand with heavy-duty cable ties.> MAIN DOOR LATCH -- The door latch is the best I've seen, on several birdcages I've owned. However, I placed a small button magnet on the triangular "stop" on the lower left edge of each door, which is strong enough to keep the doors securely closed, without interfering the latch operation. So, I rarely use the latch. But using just the magnets to hold the doors shut, a door pull (knob, ring, etc.) is convenient.> MAIN DOOR -- Nice big door.> COLOR -- The color is sorta speckled black on silver -- which hides bird crap, etc. well.> TOP -- The top panel of the cage is removable. If you leave it unbolted in place, it simply lifts out. Since the top panel is removable, you can easily place large objects in the cage -- such as a the top of a small tree with many branches.- Optionally the top panel could be replaced with plywood, with a hatch to a "playground" on top. In any case, all non-raptor birds fear attack from above, so if you keep the original top panel, I suggest covering it with a towel etc. to give your bird a sense of security.> FEEDING/WATER DOORS -- There are four feeding/watering doors, with included feeding/watering cups. Generally speaking, only the upper doors/cups are usable, because the lower feeding cups are quickly fouled by feces and food thrown-out of the upper feeding cups.- The feeding/water doors do not lock closed, and are potential escape routes for birds smaller than Amazon parrots, so I strongly suggest wiring the lower doors closed with wire ties (spring hooks would also work well). The upper doors can be held in place with 1 1/4" x 5/8" binder clips -- clothes pins would work if your bird doesn't destroy them. I've ordered metal clothes pins, which should work well, if they are narrow enough.- FEEDING/WATER CUPS -- The included feeding/water cups are a poor design. They are thin, smooth, and do not have a lip, and so do not provide a perch for small birds.- The doors do not actually hold the included feeding/water cups in place, so (even if the doors are secured with binder clips or clothespins) annoyed parrots (even my little Senegal) can dump the food/water trays without raising the doors. One solution is to use Prevue BPV1218 (or similar) cups, which have perches, and the door actually closes on a "tab" which holds the cup securely (undumpable) in place (if the cage door is secured with the binder clips or clothespins). Alternatively, my solution was to wire a 1/8" x 4" bar in the inside of of the door to hold the included feeding/water cup in place (used with a binder clip or clothespin to hold the door in place).> PERCHES -- The small softwood supplied perches may be okay for finches. They are too small for anything larger than a parakeet, and too soft for ANY parrot, other than as chew toys.- I use natural hardwood perches of various diameters, which I make from non-poisonous hardwood branches. Perhaps the best way to be sure that hardwood branches are non-poisonous is to use fruit tree branches. A variety of diameters (within the grip range of your bird) is healthier for bird feet.- I also used the old natural (not dowels) hardwood perches from my old cages. Since the old Prevue cages were about 2 inches deeper, the old dowels only fit at 20--30 degree angles in the new cages, which had the unexpected benefit of producing odd angles, more like a natural tree. I supplemented the old perches with new perches of various lengths to enhance the random angles. My parrots seem to be much happier with the random branches (in various diameters and angles). Climbing up and down is more of a challenge, and the different angles of the perches provide different views for the birds.> PLATFORMS -- The cage does not come with any platforms, but they are desirable.- I suggest Prevue corner platforms for baths. The platforms have edges, so parrots cannot simply drag baths to the edge to dump them.- I use terracotta flowerpot saucers (10" diameter x 2" deep) for baths. The edges are thick enough and rough enough to provide secure grips for bird feet. Filled with water, the terracotta flowerpot dishes are too heavy for even Amazons to lift and dump.- Prevue also sells rectangular hanging platforms, which I've found rather useless inside the cages. They have no edges and are not strong enough to hold baths for medium and large birds. The grid is too large for leaving food (chunks of apple, etc.). But the hanging platforms can be hung outside the cage as a working shelf for filling food and water dishes, etc.- I purchased a 12" x 18" baking (or "cooling") rack (from Amzn) which perfectly fits on the left side of the cage -- but it needs to be held in place by cable ties (or, better, can hang from small S-hooks or spring hooks). The baking rack has small tight grids (about 3/8" x 3/8") which are perfect for leaving fruit and veggies for your birds. The racks are best placed just below the included feeding cups -- so the racks provide convenient and secure places for larger birds to stand when feeding from the dishes. I also place 12"-wide cardboard boxes (wedged in place with a perch) behind the food area, which are my parrots favorite "chew toys", and (with a round hole cut in the side) can be warm nests or sanctuaries in cool or windy months. Unfortunately, you can't place such a rack on the right side of the cage, because that would prevent the door from opening (probably an 18" x 10" rack would work, but I haven't found any baking racks that size) -- but the right (rear) side of the cage is a good place for a Prevue corner platform with a terracotta flowerpot saucer bath.

The product arrived quickly and was easy to assemble, although the instructions aren't particularly detailed. You can mostly figure it out using the pictures and a little common sense. The frame itself is quite sturdy, but the wire "bars" are just that - wire. They're quite flimsy and won't take a lot of rough handling, so I wouldn't recommend this for birds larger than a budgie. During assembly, be careful to handle the parts by the frame and not pick them up by the thin bars. I also wouldn't hang anything too heavy, like larger wooden perches. The dowel perches it comes with are bad for birds' feet, so use them for crafting projects and get natural wood perches. If you are going to put anything on top of the cage, I would first place something that spans the width of the cage so the weight is on the frame and not in the middle. One of the doors was bent so badly it only opened in, but I was able to fix it with pliers. The tray in the bottom is plastic, which was unexpected but not really a problem. The latch on the main door seems sturdy, but I secured the others with twist ties. The bottom shelf is made from thicker gauge wire, which is good since I want to put something heavier on it to prevent it tipping over. The cage doesn't attach to the stand, which seems really dangerous, so I attached it with zip ties. And the wheels don't lock, so the whole thing moves at just the slighted nudge. Overall, with a few minor modifications, it's a functional, budget-friendly enclosure with plenty of space for budgies. With gentle usage, I imagine it will last for some time.

Good for budgies to Cockateils size. I think larger/stronger beak birds might be able to damage bars. One bar was bent & i was able to straighten with my hand. 4 feeding doors + 2 nesting doors. Feeding doors are the slide up/ down kind & I secure with a little clothes pen. I had a budgie once able to open those kind. Easy to put together even though there wasn't directions. I zip tied the cage to the stand because I have to lift up a little when going from wood floor to area rug. One leg on stand was slightly bent but I was able to hammer it back. Overall, for a smaller bird(s) I think it's a great price for decent cage.UPDATE...I bought a YAHEETECH cage because I couldn't find this PAWHUT cage. After I ordered the YAHEETECH cage I found the PawHut. I'd buy another PawHut over the YAHEETECH. Here's my review on the YAHEETECH....I am comparing this to the same size PawHut cage. I was hoping for the little extra $ it would be as good or better & would be close to matching. I am very disappointed in the YAHEETECH. If I didn't have it all assembled I'd return it & buy another PawHut. Big time buyers remorse!*Positive-YAHEETEC has a small access door in the main large door. Kind of cool. It has nesting doors on both sides which my birds like to go thru to get out & to the top. All doors are slightly smaller than the PawHut cage. Not a big deal for me.NEGATIVES.....*Size-YAHEETECH is slightly smaller. Not much...maybe 1/4-1/2 inch*Several bars & frames bent. I had to bend & straighten sections.*The feeder doors don't open/close easily. I think they are bent too. This can be a positive if your birds open these on their own but with the feeding containers you have to force things. The PawHut doors open easily to where I can do it with one hand.*The feeder container themselves are bent/warped in the back too. Thin white cups vs thick clear cups on PawHut.*The main door latch is hard/ stiff. PawHuts latch is very smooth.*This cage was more difficult to assemble on my own. The overall construction is of less quality. This cage's front & back panels have frames around them. Then the sides have little tabs along with a couple screws that fit into the front & back panel. The PawHut has each side framed & you screw each side to each other. Because some panels were warped it was a pain to get them together.*The tracks for the trays were bent so I had to try to straighten them to get the tray in. It's very tight & I'm sure I'll have a hard time cleaning. The little tab that keeps the bottom gate from moving is very loose so it falls down making it so you have to hold it to put the grate in. I'll have to see if I can tighten it. Not a big deal but kind of a pain to have to get the grate on tracks with one hand & hold tab with the other.*Wheels don't glide smoothly compared to the PawHut. I probably won't move it a lot but if you want to, the PawHut is much smoother.*Bottom shelf is flimsy.Both units I zip tied the cage to the bottom. The PawHut I felt less secured to the base & I was moving it a lot so I wanted it secure. The YAHEETECH felt more secure how it set but I wouldn't trust it.