• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

New cage

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
I've had it with being worried about if my bird cages are safe or not. After realizing that my vision bird cages are loosing their paint, I want to build my own. I was thinking plexiglass cages. What wood is safe to use for cages?

Also can you use a reptile tank for birds?
 

Attachments

CrazyBirdChick

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
12/10/15
Messages
7,162
Location
Chicago , Illinois
Real Name
Diane
Plexiglass is not ideal because there is no where to climb, no air circulation, and I'm guessing there are other negatives.

There are some pretty nice cages on the market that are not that expensive. Is this for budgies? You can get an a&e or hq flight cage
 

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
Well I really had my heart set on a plexiglass/mesh cage. I read some good things about them. As for ventilation I would make sure there was some holes and mesh for climbing. And building one would probably be cheaper.

I just need to know what type of mesh and wood is safe for birds.

And I would build two, one for Triple B (Buddy the blue budgie) and the other for my new lovie.
 

TikiMyn

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/13/16
Messages
6,723
Location
The Netherlands
Real Name
Robin
I wouldn’t like to use plexiglas as it really limits where you can put toys and perches. If you really want plexiglas I would personally use it on one side of the cage, and if iT is to keep the mess in, I think I would try to design a sort of system where you could place the plexiglas over the mesh, and remove them when you want to clean.
However no matter what you decide, I think just regular plexiglas is safe? The transparant regular kind? I am not an expert though. As for the mesh, I would choose for Stainless steel, iT doesn’t rust and is completly safe. And the wood, well there are a lot of safe wood types, but I would make sure they can’t get to the wood, otherwise they may start eating away at their cage! I guess you could simply Solve that by screwing an extra piece of wood on the poles on the inside of the cage, so they Will chew that and not the actual frame of the cage, and when they have destroyed that piece of wood you can screw on a new piece.
 

fluffypoptarts

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/15/12
Messages
6,883
Location
Florida
Be careful about the wood - you don’t want anything treated. There was someone else on here that built his lovie’s cage, if I could just recall his user name...!
 

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
I wouldn’t like to use plexiglas as it really limits where you can put toys and perches. If you really want plexiglas I would personally use it on one side of the cage, and if iT is to keep the mess in, I think I would try to design a sort of system where you could place the plexiglas over the mesh, and remove them when you want to clean.
However no matter what you decide, I think just regular plexiglas is safe? The transparant regular kind? I am not an expert though. As for the mesh, I would choose for Stainless steel, iT doesn’t rust and is completly safe. And the wood, well there are a lot of safe wood types, but I would make sure they can’t get to the wood, otherwise they may start eating away at their cage! I guess you could simply Solve that by screwing an extra piece of wood on the poles on the inside of the cage, so they Will chew that and not the actual frame of the cage, and when they have destroyed that piece of wood you can screw on a new piece.

I like your ideas.
 

lotus15

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
3/23/10
Messages
11,517
Location
Bay Area
Real Name
Coco
You can find lists of safe wood for birds here: Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages. and Safe and Dangerous Woods
I think the idea to make sure that they can't get to the actual frame (because they can chew and destroy it) is wise. I would also opt for stainless steel mesh. Why not go just wood frame and SS sides/panels, though? Like others have said, plexiglass has a lot of cons, including that it limits air circulation and placement of toys and perches, as well as climbing ability. It also scratches easily and can get "cloudy" over time. It is generally disfavored for bird cages.
 

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
It's very hard finding the right stuff. I'm a little disappointed.

I just want my birds to have a safe enclosure that I can afford. I'm in BC so it's tricky finding good deals on bird cages. More so online because delivery makes it not a good deal. :meh:
 

CrazyBirdChick

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
12/10/15
Messages
7,162
Location
Chicago , Illinois
Real Name
Diane
How big do you plan on making the cage? That piece is only 14.5" x 20" for $10. It seems like that wouldn't be much cheaper than buying a cage.

It says stainless steel but who knows if it's medical grade, or whatever kind it is supposed to be, to be bird safe. I am sorry if I sound like a Debbie downer. I just want your bird to have a nice big and safe cage.
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
How much do you want to spend? This is for Birdy, correct?
I would pass on that YML.
 

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
How much do you want to spend? This is for Birdy, correct?
I would pass on that YML.

I'm only wanting to go to $130 including shipping. Actually I'm not sure if it'll be Triple B's (budgie) or for my other lovebird - Skittles - who may be sharing Birdy's cage later on. Why would you pass?
 

fluffypoptarts

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/15/12
Messages
6,883
Location
Florida
Is there any chance you can save up for a flight cage? They have better dimensions, more space, and better bar spacing (I would never do more than 1/2” for lovies and definitely not more for budgies).
 

Milestone

Sprinting down the street
Joined
9/12/16
Messages
584
I can but I'm not wanting something that big and heavy. I also need a cage pretty quick now.
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
I'm only wanting to go to $130 including shipping. Actually I'm not sure if it'll be Triple B's (budgie) or for my other lovebird - Skittles - who may be sharing Birdy's cage later on. Why would you pass?

Bar spacing probably too large, open top not always safe (I have two open top cages but never open the tops), sort of looks flimsy. Wider cage would be better.
 
Top