Help with flight cage?

Gizmo92 · Post by **Gizmo92** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:49 pm

I am building a large flight cage modeled after the California Flight Cage on the Finchinfo website. I was wondering what kind of lighting, plants, etc. to get. I have read plenty of information on what is bird safe, but I was wondering what you guys are or have been using? I plan on housing 2 canaries and 2 zebras but i am planning on adding some societies later. Any help would be appreciated. Please help.
Thanks
-Sean B.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:01 am

Sorry I haven't written up the full article on building the California Flight Cage! I want to get to it soon, but there are a million other updates pending that I need to get to as well. Anyway if you have questions about specific design elements, I'm happy to tell you what I did; just let me know.

I designed the cage for outdoor use (it has a screen floor so any spills and bits of droppings could fall through), so I let the sun do the lighting. If you are building the cage for indoor use, I highly recommend building a solid floor.

I tried a few different plants inside of my flight (and installed an automatic drip irrigation watering system so I wouldn't have to open the cage doors to water the plants each night)--keeping in mind that the flight was housed outdoors in partial shade. The plant that fared the best was the mini schefflera ("umbrella tree") which I like because it provides perching as well as plenty of leaves to hide amongst. My owls even started to construct a nest in its branches. Scheffleras can do well as indoor plants as well.

The birds' other favorite plant is the boston fern (the problem with this plant is that it is quickly destroyed and leaves quite a mess due to all those tiny leaves).

I used small areca palms between nest baskets to give each pair privacy, and these plants are very pretty looking and do well in the shade, but they do not provide any opportunity for perching.

I also tried fountain grass but apparently that plant requires full sun to survive.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:18 am

I use all fake plants!

lia-w · Post by **lia-w** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:46 am

Crystal, is the California Flight Cage hard to clean? It would seem so with all that gravel on the bottom.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:43 am

Lia-w, ironically the entire reason I built that cage was to allow for easy cleaning, but you are right that the gravel makes cleaning a bit of a pain. I was hoping that soaking and rinsing the gravel would make for easy cleaning (it seemed easy enough to keep clean in a fish tank), but I didn't take into account the fact that the gravel really likes to hold onto things like feathers, nesting material, and seed hulls.

lia-w · Post by **lia-w** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:32 pm

Ah, so that is where you got your inspiration. I was like hey, that looks kind of like my substrate in my tank

Gizmo92 · Post by **Gizmo92** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:01 pm

I do have one question about the doors. How big are they? I recently found the post when you first built it which is very helpful. The plants I plan to put in it are a rubber tree, asparagus fern, and a umbrella tree. (Maybe a Sago Palm or a mini rose) For the floor I plan to use peel and stick vinly floor tiles. Lighting is still being a pain.
Thanks
-Sean B.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 1:57 am

So the cage overall is 4 feet long, 3 feet high, and 2.5 feet wide...

Each 2.5' x 3' end (they are identical to each other) has 4 doors: 3 small doors on one half, and a large door on the other half; each slot seen in the photo below is for a door:

The dimensions of the doors will vary as needed depending on the cut of wood you are using to make the cage frame (e.g. 2x3s? 2x4s? 2x2s? etc.) and the overall size you want the cage to be.

With the way I made my frame and put it together, the actual dimensions of the "door slots" turned out to be:

Right door slot (for largest door): 14" wide x 28" tall
Top Left door slot: 10" wide x 10" tall
Middle Left door slot: 10" wide x 8" tall
Bottom Left door slot: 10" wide x 8" tall

I had to actually custom cut and make adjustment cuts as needed when making the doors (which I call "picture frame doors" because I put them together like picture frames) so that each one would fit and swing freely without catching on the sides of its slot or "door frame."

Anyway here are a few additional details and tips about how I made the "picture frame" doors in case you are interested:

Tips for making "picture frame" doors:

-Use a power miter saw to cut the 45 degree angles.

-Measure your wood before you cut it, and allow room for the blade when you make your measurements/cut the wood.

-REMEASURE your wood after it has been cut to make sure the cut was precise and that the piece was not cut too short or too long.

-Wear leather gloves and eye protection.

-Cut all doors 1/4" to 1/2" smaller in all dimensions (height and length) than the dimensions of the "door frame"--if you cut the "picture frame" door to be exactly the same size as the door frame it will fit within, the door will fit so snugly that it won't open or close. The 1/4" to 1/2" difference in size will provide room for the hinges and room for the door to swing open and be closed again without "chafing" the door frame.

-Connect the pieces of the "picture frame" to each other with very tiny nails. (2 in each corner).

-Create a snug fitting "inner frame" (that fits securely within the picture frame you just created) with the 3/4" x 1/2" molding. Pieces making the inner frame can be nailed together with a single nail at each end.

-Prime/paint the picture frame door and inner frame. When the frames are dry, place the picture frame face-down and lay screen across the back of it. Press the inner frame firmly into the back of the picture frame to "sandwich" the screen between the inner and outter frames. Score/cut off excess screen with an exacto knife.

-Cut a piece of hardware cloth in the same dimensions as the inner frame. Staple it to the back of the inner frame (back of the "picture frame door") with a staple gun. You have just completed 1 door, and you can now hang it with hinges and secure it closed with a hook-in-eye or comparable 'lock.' You can even paint the staples to match the frame so that they blend in better.

-Next cut pieces of the 3/4" x 1/2" molding to act as a "door stop" directly behind the picture frame door. Attach these strips of molding to the door frame with screws in such a way that they fit snugly against the picture frame door when it is in the closed and locked position. Open the picture frame door and line the door stop with foam tape ( weather stripping ) to ensure a bug-proof seal.

-Repeat x 8.

I hope that made sense!

Gizmo92 · Post by **Gizmo92** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:45 pm

Thanks this is very helpful.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:07 am

Wow Crystal... don't you ever get tired of writing such huge posts??

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:37 am

Haha, what are you trying to say?

That I'm too verbose?

I seriously wish I had the skills to write concisely. In the meantime, I hope my novels aren't too annoying to read!

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:05 pm

I just admire how much time you put into this...

Gizmo92 · Post by **Gizmo92** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:28 am

Thanks so much this will help allot.