Pictures Finished cage (UPDATE)

[HighFly]

Here is the concluded cage. Frankly, I like how it turned out in the end. I sincerly thank 'Shezbug' for all the elaborate feedback that she had given me on the post "W.I.P"!

Unfortunately, most of the perils were unable to be reversed at the phase the cage was at by the time of that reply. Kiwi appears to be relishing his new wide cage for now! About the pigment, I have reached a nearby veterinarian about the matter. I didn't expect that they knew much about paint but I wanted to get the most sentiments I can. The vet., as foreseen, said that paint isn't his area of expertise but as far as dangers go that he is aware of are the same as Shezbug mentioned. He urged that I sand paper all of the possible edges and surfaces of the cage to ensure the bird cannot bite off crumbs of it and that is as far as he could declare me from his standpoint.

I am kind of lamenting using it at all but I did follow the guidance and sand paper all of it (nearly), there existed areas under the wire that I couldn't reach (yet). For now, I'll let Kiwi enjoy it!

 

[Lady Jane]

Is it glass?

 

[HighFly]

Is it glass?

Front panel is glass, top and half sides are wire for airflow.

 

[fashionfobie]

What kind of paint did you use? Kiwi can and will eventually chew the wood, and the white paint gives me some anxiety.

 

[Zara]

I won´t lie, I don´t like the cage. I´m very sorry. It would be a fantastic reptile cage or something like that but that front glass looks like an accident waiting to happen. I also question how much fresh air will be able to get in through the side panels.

What is the base of the cage? Looks like wood? with a handful of some sort of pellet scattered on it? If the base isn´t plastic or metal, you will end up with poops seeping into the base, and then bacteria will grow. It will be difficult to clean and you won´t be able to clean it 100%. You also can´t monitor bird poops well with a setup like that.

I´m sorry if my response seems a little negative, I know you have worked hard building it, but I just want to be honest and tell you my thoughts.

 

[HighFly]

I won´t lie, I don´t like the cage. I´m very sorry. It would be a fantastic reptile cage or something like that but that front glass looks like an accident waiting to happen. I also question how much fresh air will be able to get in through the side panels.

What is the base of the cage? Looks like wood? with a handful of some sort of pellet scattered on it? If the base isn´t plastic or metal, you will end up with poops seeping into the base, and then bacteria will grow. It will be difficult to clean and you won´t be able to clean it 100%. You also can´t monitor bird poops well with a setup like that.

I´m sorry if my response seems a little negative, I know you have worked hard building it, but I just want to be honest and tell you my thoughts.

Perfectly fine! Everyone has their own opinion, I respect that. Just wanted to share the build, I appreciate the response. Pellet, yes, you are correct. There is cover over the wood at the bottom to not allow the poop to seep in and allows for easier cleaning but cannot be seen since its transparent. Cage prices are going up with all of the prices in our country so they are pretty much unaffordable at the moment as half the cage of mine would cost over 300 of our currency which is like a third of the monthly pay. I am using this as more of a temporary solution to a small cage rather than a permanent one.

Never be afraid to share your thoughts, no need to apologize!

 

[HighFly]

What kind of paint did you use? Kiwi can and will eventually chew the wood, and the white paint gives me some anxiety.

Acrylic white paint. No harmful chemicals in it but can only be a danger if they somehow choke so I took care of sand papering the whole cage and making sure that does not happen (that they cannot manage to find a paint part that they can choke on).

 

[Zara]

Pellet, yes, you are correct. There is cover over the wood at the bottom to not allow the poop to seep in and allows for easier cleaning but cannot be seen since its transparent.

Ah cool. So what is the purpose of the pellets then? Perhaps lining with paper could be a better option? Then you can at least monitor droppings. Unless your bird behaves like a PFLB more than a FLB (ie paper shredding).

I wonder if you could swap the front glass for some metal mesh like the sides have? It would pose less of a crash risk and allow for better air circulation, as well as add more options for perch placement.

And the paint, just be sure they don´t have any access to it at all. If the paint is on the exterior, watch out when your bird is flying in the room, maybe even cover with a sheet or something.

 

[HighFly]

Ah cool. So what is the purpose of the pellets then? Perhaps lining with paper could be a better option? Then you can at least monitor droppings. Unless your bird behaves like a PFLB more than a FLB (ie paper shredding).

I wonder if you could swap the front glass for some metal mesh like the sides have? It would pose less of a crash risk and allow for better air circulation, as well as add more options for perch placement.

And the paint, just be sure they don´t have any access to it at all. If the paint is on the exterior, watch out when your bird is flying in the room, maybe even cover with a sheet or something.

He had pellets in his old cage that he liked to play with so I thought taking those away from him would just cause more confusion by moving him from one cage to another. He still is adapting to it and realizing how to travel from place to place and getting used to where the dishes are. I went with a transparent cover that you can replace since it also allows for easier monitoring of the droppings incase anything ever goes wrong. There were grey, blue and green variants but they had a lot of patterns on them that would make it hard to identify droppings. When it comes to paper shredding, it behaves more like a PFLB so it would be hard to maintain the paper at the bottom. Perhaps I could replace the bottom cover with lino/linoleum? I would be able to just take it out, clean it and put it back in without any problems and he shouldn't be able to chip at it.