build a custom cage?

[jimpierce7]

Has anybody here built there own cage? Due to space restrictions and the fact that I want my birds to have as large a cage as possible, building my own would be the thing to do. what would be the materials to use? The spacing seems a bit large on what I can find at the hardware store. What materials may be toxic?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim

[Samm]

Originally Posted by jimpierce7

Has anybody here built there own cage? Due to space restrictions and the fact that I want my birds to have as large a cage as possible, building my own would be the thing to do. what would be the materials to use? The spacing seems a bit large on what I can find at the hardware store. What materials may be toxic?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim

Jim:

I built several of my own cages, using 2x2 pine for the frame and the 1/2" galvanized wire netting. I've had a pair of Indian Ringnecks in the one cage for almost 2 years with no ill effects, so I don't think the galvanized is harmful for them.

I covered the front and sides with the wire, and the back and top with 1/4" plywood. The size is 24 wide, 36 high, and 24 deep. If you would like to see it, PM me your e-mail address and send you some pictures. I have 3 in my birdroom that I built....please note..I'm not a carpenter by any means, but the finished product turned out pretty good.

[JMan]

If you are a decent welder or have a friend that can weld stainless steel, then I would go that route. Stainless steel will last decades and will not harm your bird in any way (as long as you grind all the sharp edges off.) If you do decide to build a cage out of stainless steel, make sure you use medical –grade #304 stainless steel. Grade #400 will work also, but for some reason people usually use grade #304 (it probably has to do with the fact that a magnet will not stick to #304 but it will stick to #400.) Also, when you cut stainless steel, make sure you use a cut off disk made for stainless steel. If you don’t, you will get a fine dust of metal that will rust and make the stainless steel look real bad and rusted. This rust is also toxic to birds. A stainless steel cage will be the best and strongest material to use, but mild steel will work also. However, you must get a mild steel cage powder coated with a powder coat that does not contain zinc or lead. If you don’t get the cage powder coated, the rust will kill your bird. Of course, you can also make it out of wood like Samm said. However if it were me, I would try to stay away from any kind of zinc coating. It is more important for a bird that will chew a lot, but to me it isn’t worth putting a bird in danger. A wood cage would also not really hold up to a bird that chews a lot. I know that Macaws would chew through a wooden cage in days. The cost of making a mild steel cage would probably be about the same as buying one because of the powder coating job. It is hard to find someone that will do a private job and not use zinc in their powder coatings. If you have most of the welding tools and cutting tools, a stainless steel cage would be surprisingly cheap to make. Stainless steel is more expensive than mild steel, but you wont have to get it powder coated. Because of this, it would be cheaper to make a stainless steel cage. All you would have to do is grind all of the weld smooth (using a grinding disk made for stainless steel.) Of course, the wood cage would be the cheapest to make and would require tools that are more readably available in the average household. But once again, a bird that chews a lot would chew right through the cage. It all depends on your skills and how much money you are willing to spend. By the way, I think that a stainless steel cage would cost less than $250 dollars to make if you already have the welding tools.

[Willow]

This is a terrific resource:
http://www.naturalbird.com There is a yahoogroup associated with it that you may find very helpful, as well.

[Alyce Johnson]

If you go to the natural bird site listed in the above post, they have a FAQ re building bird enclosures. Although they are oriented towards building larger aviaries, you could use the same info & suppliers to build a cage. They give a detailed, clear explanation of what guage wire you need for your type of bird, as well as what types of wire are on the market, and the safety issues with each type.

I checked out that site & some of it's links and was very impressed! Thanks for the naturalbird.com link!

[Kevin]

I have built a couple huge outdoor aviaries already.. a good 5' deep x 8'long x 8' high using 2" x 4", 2" x 2" with wire mesh.... nest boxes the whole nine yards It lasted probably 10 years before it really started to show the effects of the birds wear and tear on the wood.

[Samm]

The Indian Ringnecks I have in one of the wood cages haven't even chewed on the 2x2s, I have plenty of chew toys n stuff in there they don't even bother eating the cage.


The galvanized wire doesn't seem to be a problem either.

[jimpierce7]

Forgive me for being so slow. :) Sam. You used regular galvinized mesh? As that is quite readily available and fairly cheap I can build quite a nice cage.