The Idea, The Design, and the Application - A guide through the creation process.

In this little article, I will touch on the basics for a happy pet, how to make your own cage with ease, and the process which I made make my homes for the birds.

Back Story

5 Years ago, if you asked us about Birds and there living conditions, I would have said to you that a 40cm Square cage was plenty of space to keep 2 cockateils happy, or an indian Ring neck, or even finches and canaries. Last year though, I visited a few Pet Shops or "Pet Prisons" and without realising it, I felt great empathy and sympathy for the little bubbies in these tiny cages, with so many friends they cannot open there wings. At the back of my mind I started thinking "Something is wrong with this..." I would go to friends houses and see a bird, barely singing, not climbing, just sitting "Something is definetly wrong...". I started reading, not just one book, but 8-10 books, I would read as many articles as I could and just watch videos of "Happy" captive birds on youtube. Thats when I noticed a pattern to happy birds, a very simple pattern, but when viewed closely, it holds amazing complexities.
Happy, Loving PETS need the following:
A) A safe Environment they can call there own territory, a healthy, clean enviroment that meets there mental requirements (toys) and there curiosity.

B) An environement which is big enough for them to stretch there wings and get full mobility even in doors (remember, there wings are out legs, and there beak is our hands)

C)A diet that is not just seeds, canned food, or dry biscuits. They actually need less of that stuff, and more of natures goodness.

D) Patience, absolute Patience. Even if the bird/animal, annoys you, takes your mentality and boils it with sound, you have to understand, they are not calling for you because they are bored. Its because something is wrong, it could be food, it could be they are sick, or the most common problem, its because they miss there best friend "YOU".

Finally, I realised, my birds will live for 20 years each, and when I can if I can spend $1000 on a Cage for 2 birds to have a nice happy long lives, thats only 50c a week, per bird for a big, awesome cage, so the goal was set!

When we were able to spend money on cages, after years of financial strain, we started to look around, only to not find cages that suited what we wanted. My partner wanted cages large enough she could climb into, and play inside with the birds (our family now was at 5 birdies), I wanted the cages to be on wheels so they could be moved around the house from room to room, and to make moving easier. I also wanted the cages to be repairable, not welded, not powder coated, I wanted my partner to be able to repair the cages herself just incase something ever happened to me.

Turns out, this task was impossible for our budget.

Making your own large Cage within a budget ($120 and 8 Hours work)

Or available premade from the us for $240

Equipement/Tools:
Hard Wire cutters (linesmans pliers are great if you can afford them)
Garden Gloves (for handling the wire)
Phillips head screwdriver
50 Pack of BLACK 4mm Zip ties (Birds love to chew the coloured ones, I found that most birds cant eat through the 4mm Zip tie)
Galvanised Shelving (at the moment its $30 from Bunnings)
Bird Wire (depending on the frame you could need anywhere between 600cmx71cm or 100cmx180cm Wire) Cost starts at $40 MINIMUM
 

The frame:
Years ago I used a square clothes horse, that stood about 1.5m heigh which I had in the house, but since then I have found $30 shelves from Bunnings are much better, look nice, and are easy to assemble. They take about 1-2 hours to assemble and only require a screw driver, a shifter and your time. The shelves need to be steel or a tuff plastic so your little birdy wont eat through it or get poisoned.

Most frames use the shelves to determine the width of the cage, sometimes you can actually lay 2 shelves next to each other and fasten them together to give you a double width Cage. Try and follow the instructions given with your frame, its important that they are firm and stable, just keep note that the shelving between the top shelf and bottom shelf will not be required.

The Wire:
They have a wire range of wires, I suggest that you buy the avary wire, but if you are worried about Rats/Snacks and things, go for the snack wire but be warned it will make your birdies feel more confined and less likely to want to be inside. To attach the wire to the frame, there are many different techniques, but I found the safest and easiest way for long term life of the cage (including repairs and modifications) is 4mm (or bigger) Zip/Cable ties. They are replaceable down the track, if you ever want to add a door or make some modifications, or even connect 2 cages together, Cable Ties make this process easy. You can cut them if you make a mistake, and they are cheap.

To get a firm fitting for your wire on the frame I find letter gravity assist you is the best option, open the sleeve of wire and loosely zip tie the roll to the top of the frame (counter balancing the weight may be required) from there, open the roll so it runs down the frame rolling outwards. Cable tie the wire to the frame in the top left hand corner, using the rows of mesh as a way to line up the wire down the side of the frame to stop it going astray. After you have aligned it, firmly cable tie the top left hand side, and the top panel, then firmly cable tie just the top right hand side.
This is where you need to assess the tension of the mesh as you zip tie all the way down, I find that when fastening the best way to get a firm hold is to go Left Tie, Right Tie, Left Tie, Right Tie, and on every second tie you use an extra square to compress the wire onto itself.
When you have finished the full side, put on your gloves (atleast one for holding the wire) and start cutting the leftovers off, you will find that you may use it again, so save the left overs. Repeat this on the rest of the sides.

The Door:
You need a way to change the paper quickly and easily. I found cutting a whole down low as a crawl space for me to reach is the best way to change the news paper and also put larger thigs in the cage, note, you cannot stand in this cage as its max weight is 50kg so please be careful when changing the paper.
With this door, cut a panel that is so 50cm wide, using your cutters, snip of the sharp nasty edges so you dont scratch yourself. Then carefully, reattach the same panel with 3 semi loose zip ties at the top! Then using a parrot safe clasp, lock the base down. You have now made youself a little bird safe trap door, no doubt they will inspect it, so make sure you test they cannot slip out from one of the sides, this can happen if the wire is not flat and may have a curve, prevent this by using multiple clasps.

General maintainance door:
Finally you need the normal door, so you can quickly change food, water, toys, sticks, without struggling with the lower door. I have found using a similar door to the big one does work, but over time it gets damaged lots, this is because when you are saying reeching in to change the water, you may rest your weight on it, and it will bend the entire frame. So if money is tight, then make your own door. Or you can purchase a Powder coated standard bird door from the DIY section ($30), cut a 35cm gap, and cable tie it to the cage.

So with about 8 hours of your time, about $120 in materials, you have made your very own large bird home! Well done!

Hello,

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