A&E Cages and dispelling rumors..

[xafsmom]

Family owned and operated, A&E Cage Company is a designer and manufacturer of bird cages and bird toys with over 30 years experience in the pet industry. The paint on our cages has been analyzed by a certified avian veterinarian. All our cages feature a welded bar design, industrial strength screw-in casters for easy moving, and are vet recommended and approved.

In an effort to protect your pets, A&E Cage Co. had the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, an AAVLD -accredited laboratory, test the paint on our cages for lead. Their results showed that our cages have a non-toxic amount of lead in their paint and are safe for you and your birds.

Test results for lead toxicity:
http://www.aecageco.com/themes/09-03...sults_lead.pdf

Test results for zinc toxicity:
http://www.aecageco.com/themes/09-03...sults_zinc.pdf

[Alan]

I love A&E cages. That's actually what I am getting for the babies that are coming home. I had all of mine tested and no problems. i am glad to see that they put it right out there for you to see.

[SisterBlue]

Yup yup I have several A&E cages and have always been most pleased with them!

Glad you posted this, Tina!

-SB

[NotEnoughTime]

Is this an advertisement? Does it belong here?

[kali]

People often post interesting articles etc. that they read. This is obviously some info off their website she thought it might be good to share. Personally, I think it's great of that cage company to put that stuff out there. Many of my suppliers don't know squat about what they're selling and pretty much all the cages available in pet shops here in Aust are made in China. They could be chock full of lead and we'd never know, bcoz they don't care.

Good on A&E for being pro-active.

[hsmoscout]

Originally Posted by NotEnoughTime

Is this an advertisement? Does it belong here?

I believe it is a response to an earlier post.

[Tom Lawless]

I have been very impressed with the A&E cages I've seen and they seem to hold up well over the years and come at a reasonable price. I don't own any but I know plenty of people who do and they seem happy. I'm not sure what post this was a response to but I am glad that any rumors have been put to rest. A board like this that has the ability to disseminate a great deal of information very quickly. Bad information could hurt an honest business. Thanks to Tina from keeping that from happening.

[xafsmom]

Originally Posted by NotEnoughTime

Is this an advertisement? Does it belong here?

Considering there have been several posts popping up about the toxicity fears of A&E cages which are causing worry amongst bird owners here?

Yes, this does belong here.

I have no affiliation with A&E cages at all.

[FoxersArtist]

I do not claim to be an expert on cage paint and toxicity, though I do have a close friend who has a deep knowledge on the subject and is involved in representing this whole toxic bird cage mess in court. I would consider him to be an expert with hundreds of hours of research into the situation. He tested his double macaw A&E cage with Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the lead results from his 2007 A&E cage came back at 3,200 parts per million. Acceptable (non-toxic) levels are regulated by the United States to be no greater than 600 parts per million. (Have regulations in china changed since this time? I have not heard yay or ney.) After receiving these results, 9 other members of a bird group I belong to decided to have independent testing done on paint samples from their own cages and the results came back with cages between 500 PPM - 19,300 PPM. Not all brands were tested, but among them were kings cages, HQ, & avian adventures, & A&E. All of the kings cages samples came back with non toxic results, which is partly what has made me a believer in them. After collecting these results, telephone calls were made to each company and/or major distributors to discuss the results. It was learned that most kings cages are made in Europe and those made in Asia are heavily controlled in an independent facility. Most other cage brands are built and coated at the same facility in china. Each company indicated that their cages were supposedly non-toxic but could not specify by which standard. Home testing kits have failed to detect accurate lead and zinc levels and drastically different numbers are presented when sent to independent laboratories within the united states.

*Personally* I am less concerned about heavy metal toxicity as I am with poor craftmanship of cages, unless I am working with a bird that frequently chews bars, though because a lot of our items are donated, we use all different brands. I insist that our chewy birds be housed in kings cages for their own safety and that birds with super strong beaks be housed in cages with a smaller gauge of wire and snug welds to ensure safety. I think there is higher risk for a bird to kill itself from a snapped weld, bent wire, or a cage that was poorly designed or put together than one who is likely to drop dead from licking the bars. Still I believe that many pet parrots do encounter toxicity from cages on levels low enough to make them feel ill, but may not be serious enough to be noticed or serious enough to cause death. I would rather err on the side of caution, providing cages that have been proven to be non toxic. Unfortunately in this day and age it is not always enough to simply take a companies word for it, and that is the hard part. I think that's why it is wonderful to have groups like this. Here we have a multitude of people who come together with different experiences. We know what works for us and we share it. None of us are trying to sell anything. We simply care for our beloved parrots, and that is the way it should always be.

Now this is what I want to know...all of you A&E lovers...have yo used other brands in the past? what were they? What do you love about A&E cages?

My experience with them has been that they are often very functional, but that they often have thicker gauge wire which leads to more frequent breaks and bends. I like small gauge wire that is nice and thick and heavy, except when I have to move those cages accross the property. Then they are not very mobile. A&E Powder coating in many of the colors is heavily textured which makes it hard to scrub off poop - except maybe in the eggshell white. Green has been my least favorite to clean. Powder coating in thin and scrubs off after about a year of use. Oddly, I have found there to be some rust underneath the powdercoating on some cages. Cages start to rust with frequent scrubbing. These are my favorite for moving around because they are lighter weight, though sometimes the plastic wheels break off. The only cages I have found to consistantly have super heavy duty wire are kings and california cages (who are now out of business, I believe?) A&E have had less incedence of shipping or manufacture damage on new cages than some other companies.



Now I want to hear yours...
-Anna

PS: I hope not to be stepping on any toes with this post. I am sharing the information that I have been given not to create a scare, but because I was involved enough to learn about a lot of details regarding the lead in cage paint scare, and I feel obligated to share what I know for the betterment of companion parrots. I do not look down on anyone for choosing a certain brand of cage as an owner will know what is best for his or her own flock.

[FoxersArtist]

For those who may want more information on this subject, please contact Larry Houston at larry@vikinghost.net as he has a great deal more knowledge about this subject than I do. Thanks!
-Anna