Building a cage tips

[Mattpenna]

I want to make an aviary approximately the size that these 2 cages take up. In the big white one I only have one orange cheek waxbill. In the small one I have 3 parakeets, but as you can see they fly free. You probably noticed the 5 five week old button quails on the ground. They're living in a Guinea pig cage so I let them out everyday.
Can all of these birds live together in an aviary? If I make one how should I go about doing that? Like what types of wood/paint/mesh/wire ect would I need? Thank you.

 

[nchls school]

I used 1/2 inch mesh wire screen and pine two by twos. Budgies/parakeets do not make safe aviary specimens and can be quite destructive. Most finches and button quail can be housed together safely. Should you decide to try the budgies be very observant. Many do well in a mixed aviary depending on size of aviary, but I recommend against it.

 

[GodofPecking]

I keep thinking that I should enclose part of the yard, like a LOT of the yard, and then have firstly bird wire and then mosquito wire and then bird wire again to stop the chewing, and have it 3 or 5 meters tall inside, with furniture and trees and a garden and fountain inside. Yep, I likes to dream and put it on my list of things to do in actual real fact sometime. It would be cool.

For a cage that size, personally, I would find a thrown out wardrobe and rip holes in the doors until the doors are just frames, then if I think it is bright enough I'd stop, if it was dark, I'd cut more holes in the sides and roof. When I finished, I'd probably get non toxic spray paint and coat it inside and out to make it look great and then tack on the wire.

Big, looks good, cheep, fast, not much work to do, yes it gets all the ticks and then down the track:

Quote:
Yes they can. Good thing that you can afford one day every few years to make another one like this. I'd say the second or third time you could probably just devote a few hours to it while you're asleep it would be that easy by then.

List of materials.

Wardrobe
can of spray paint
box of cheap thumbtacks to hold wire on,
window gauze.

Instead of thumbtacks you could just use a tube of some kind of glue, something that sticks well to wood, with the wire pressed into it during the drying, it would hold, or cut strips of wood to press on the outside over the glue as a sandwich for the gauze.

Would be easy to open the doors and get to the birds and clean the cage. It already has all the hinges and catches and so on. People sell wardrobes for nothing really but a wanted add or just asking about might do the trick. Post pics of it too !!! I so wanna see it !!!

Tools.
knife
ruler


this kind or something like it, it lets you put a reasonable pressure onto the blade, but not too much !

You might want to skip the circular saw if you haven't used them much before. A solid handymans knife and a piece of steel to use as a ruler would be the go because wardrobe wood is often very very thin in places like the sides. You might unscrew the front doors because they are more substantial and you can take them to a handyman who has a circular saw so they can cut two or more holes for you. The thin wood on the sides you score it lightly with the knife first so that you have it right where you want it. don't be afraid to stick the ruler onto the wood with cloth tape to hold it steady and you score it again and again and again in the same place with the knife getting more forceful each time and it'll give eventually. If it is MDF then it's a jigsaw or lots of drill holes in a row and then the handsaw.

Thumb tacks go in by hand, I wouldn't bother with nails if the wood is thin and glue is often cheap and works well.

 

[GodofPecking]

Oh, I liked one I saw because it has internal lighting. Cool look, but can't see it now.

here is a perfect page for inspiration http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/diy/beautiful-upcycled-aviary


Oh forgot to mention that people often give away the wardrobes when they want something new to look at and then realize that they cannot fit the old onto into the garbage bin. So they try to sell it or give it away if they can.

You won't get stuck with one if you mess up and ruin it though, because I put the idea in your head to just destroy it. I find you can fold it up mostly, just slowly breaking them up by hand. After a few you start to look like a calm version of the incredible hulk because it becomes easy and is actually like folding something up and putting it into the bin.

Oh, and interesting to see Hail the jewel in the lotus.

 

[Crafty chick]

Hi! I converted this China hutch inot an aviary for our 2 parakeets. There are screened sides, it's just hard to tell in the pic. The hutch was free, someone was getting rid of it b/c the shelves broke. There's not a scratch on it. Cost about $40 for the peat moss, chicken wire, screen, plants and screws. Already had the long rope light for the inside.