Equation to calculate how many budgies fit in a cage
One of the most common questions that people ask a lot is about the cage's size!
And I can see why, although I have made a dedicated video for what cage is best for your budgies, it's still confusing for a lot of people what cage size should they get!
Because no one really gave you an equation to calculate by your self and get the exact right cage for you.
No matter how many birds you have 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, or a hundred. you can always get the right cage's size using the equation in this article.
Important note, here we tackle only the question about what cage size is needed for a specific number of budgies.
We will we go into deep details, on how to calculate the size of the cage you need depending on how many budgies you have.
But there are 6 different important features you need to look for in a cage.
Click here to see what are all the 6 features when you are deciding on what cage you want to buy
Mainly, there are 4 different types of cages
Travel cage
It is a temporary cage that you use when you are transporting your budgies from one place to another.
For example when you take them to the vet, and back home.
All you need is a secured cage.
Actually the smaller the cage is, the easier it would be for you to transport your budgie. (usually you will be transporting only 1 or 2 birds at a time)
Here are some cages you can find on amazon that I find them easy and comfortable for transport.
Small bag like Cage and Small stainless steel cage , They both are small light weight and easy to handle.
And whatever one you choose between the two, you can always cover them with a towel or something, if you bird freaks out on the way.
Remember: it's not a pleasant experience for your bird, specially if you're going to the vet.
CageBreeding Cage
It is the type of cage that hosts the breeding budgie pair, to give them their space and let them breed.
For such cage, I recommend a normal cage size for two budgies which is 18x18x32-36 inches or 45x45x75-90 cm.
And it is good that the height is only 18 inches or 45 cm, so when the chicks are out of the nest, it makes it easier for them to climb from or to their nest.
You can try the calculator yourself:
Normal Cage
It is the cage that your budgies will spend most of their time in.
It is the type of cage your budgies will call home, and they feel secured when they are inside.
However if you have this type of cage, you need to let your birds out of the cage, so they can practice some flying and get their physical training.
There are many different cages that could fit in this category, depending on how many budgies you have.
You can go to the Calculator to see how many budgies fit in a specific cage, or you can check the Equation to calculate by yourself.
Cage for 1 bird , 2 birds , or even more birds.
However if you have more than 6 birds, I would highly encourage you to have an aviary, so you don't worry about out of cage time with too many birds flying around the house.
For demonstration purposes:
A cage for 1 bird should be at least 45x45x45 cm or 18x18x18 inch.
2 birds cage is like the breeding cage since they both house two birds in them.
and a cage for more than 4 birds you will keep going bigger and bigger to make sure all birds fit without any fights or problems.
One bird cage
Flight cage / Aviary
In his type of cage, your budgies can live all their lives in it with no problem.
This cage has it all, from what your budgies need food, water, toys and perches, to a very big space where they can fly as well with no need to let them out.
It should be big enough for even you to fit in it!
Usually people with more than 10 or 12 budgies like to buy or build their own aviary.
Advantages of building your own aviary:
- You get to make it exactly as you envisioned it.
- You can customize it to fit in a specific planned place for it.
- It is much cheaper
Advantages of buying the aviary:
- Usually it lasts longer than self made aviaries.
- It doesn't take all your time (building it).
- It is safer to use for your parakeet if you are a newbie.
Here's a video of building the most beautiful aviary!
The Equation
The equation is the cage's volume divided by a constant. (V / C = N)
Which is 90000 if you calculated it in cm, or divided by 5500 inches if you calculated it in inches.
And it equals how many birds the cage fits.
How did we get to those constants?
Let's take the metric system first.
We know a cage for a single budgie has a minimum dimensions of 45 x 45 x 45 cm.
This gives us V = 91,125, which is approximately 90,000, and that's how we got to the constant C = 90,000.
If we need the cage to fit two birds, we need to multiply the volume by 2, so 90 x 45 x 45 cm = 182,250.
When we divide 182,250 / 90,000 = 2.025 which is ~ 2 .
Now the imperial system, with the same principal.
We know a cage for a single budgie has a minimum dimensions of 18 x 18 x 18 inch.
This gives us V = 5,832, but we still can calculate using the constant 5,500.
If you get 2,3 you round the number to 2. And if you get 2,7 you round the number to 3.
Symbols meanings
- V = Volume = W * L * H
- W = Width
- L = Length
- H = Height
- C = Constant
- N = Number of budgies