Knotty pine ok for cage back?

[LadyG]

I'm designing my own flight cage and would like to use knotty pine wood. From the inside of the cage the birds would be exposed to the wood at the back. I plan to treat the wood with something like ECO Wood Treatment (see here: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/eco-woo ... ent/917456 ). I have read here not to use pine for branches or pine needles in the cage bottom. I'm just wondering if anyone thinks there could be anything unsafe about using pine wood for the construction?

[debbie276]

We use pine lumber for all our cages without treating them with anything and have never had a problem. Cant get your link to open so I'm not sure what kind of product that is but like I said I never treated the wood with anything before without issue.

[LadyG]

That's good to hear, thanks Debbie! Do you find the untreated wood hard to clean? Do birds tend to get poo on the back wall of their cage? I plan to have silk or plastic plants there and have the perches closer to the middle of the cage (front to back). I'm assuming that the birds will go to the plants now and then?

[debbie276]

I use white board for the back and sides and pine for the framing of the aviary. White board is a slick easy to clean panel found in the panel area of home depot and/or lowes.
I haven't had any problem cleaning the wood pieces.
My birds love to sit inside and on any plants so they get pretty poopy and need a good cleaning now and then.

[LadyG]

Ok, gotcha. I need an interior that I can wipe down easily.

[lou]

Ladyg, use pine it's ok. be careful with the knots having sap oozing out of it if so, apply some varnish to seal the sap then you can paint all the pine with high gloss enamel paint, everything will wipe right off with a damp cloth.
lou

[nelloyello11]

I also used pine for my cages. I used Minwax Polycrylic to seal it and make it a little easier to clean. It is also lower VOC so I was able to paint in doors with just the windows open.

[LadyG]

Thanks guys, I really want to keep the look of the knotty pine in the back. I'll use the minwax to seal it since someone has already tested it

[nelloyello11]

Thanks guys, I really want to keep the look of the knotty pine in the back. I'll use the minwax to seal it since someone has already tested it

Yeah the polycrylic is great! Keeps the natural look of the wood, but still protects the wood. And as I said, very light fumes- only slightly heavier than Elmer's glue. Let me find the link from my construction post so you can see how it looks.

[nelloyello11]

Here it is:
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14766

[LadyG]

Nelissa - wow! That is just gorgeous! Nice job! I don't have the room for something like that but I sure wish I did after seeing yours! I really love the natural wood look.

[cindy]

We just finished building an aviary....one thing I discussed with my husband before building it was the issues of poop and screens on the inside or outside of framing. I wanted the screening on the inside of the frame, running iff possible from the outer inside edge to outer inside edge of each panel (taking the screening width into consideration). When the frames were put together the edges of mesh would be between the wood pieces. By putting the mesh on the inside it takes away the spots were they can sit and poop on the framing.

[LadyG]

That's good advice, thanks Cindy! I'm considering going with plexiglass but still, I can put it on the inside and take away the ability to poop on the framing.