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Leaving flight cage (w/out birds) on covered screened porch permanently?

m1313

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I was thinking of putting a double wide flight cage (regular cage, not built for outdoors) on my screened in porch/lanai (has roof, located in FL) and bringing the birds out to that cage for supervised play time. My question is: if I roll the cage in towards the house wall/slider door when not in use and put a pull down water-proof shade on one screen to the side so that the cage is sheltered from rain etc., would it hold up staying out there 24/7 (would bring in for major rain/wind) or would the humidity alone make it wear out quickly? It's not too practical to move in and out frequently because of the size and need to use a small ramp to get it over the door edge with one person.

Thank you!
 

Destiny

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Destiny
Depends on your climate. Where I live, everything takes some damage from the cold, wet air during winter, even if it is kept out of direct rain/wind. But in a drier climate, it might be okay.

I would expect the cage to rust faster than if it was kept inside, but slower than if it was left outside completely exposed to the elements.

If you are worried about it, consider bringing it indoors in winter months, since you probably won't use it that much when it is cold anyways. During warmer months, it will probably be fine outdoors in a sheltered area.
 

m1313

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Thanks-I'm in Florida so cold is never an issue, but high humidity year-round.
 

Destiny

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Yeah, that will probably be a problem. But if it is a good quality cage made from stainless steel or if the wire is powder-coated, it should be able to resist for a while.

You could try it and monitor for rust development. Watch the corners and weld-points. Those are usually where things start to fail first.
 

m1313

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I don't expect it to be super high quality, though reviews say it's powder coated. It seems likely that I'd have the same issue even with the A&E/higher budget ones given the climate.

Got it elsewhere for less/free returns in case it turns out to not be sturdy enough, but this is the same cage:

As far as I know, there's not really anything I can do to "weather proof"/coat the actual cage, so I'll have to come up with an alternative to leaving it out-was originally looking at DIY-ing something or enclosing half the existing porch with wire mesh, but needed to go with a less expensive/more versatile option for now while fostering different birds, etc.
 
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