New Finch Mansion!

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:35 pm

I found out some prices......the 1/2 x 1/2 mesh is 205.40 and the 1/2 x 1 mesh is 353.01. It will cost more than the price of the mesh to ship it.

O-well.....I think I might just go with green if I can't find anything around here. I'll keep looking.....

Sally H · Post by **Sally H** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:12 pm

From a previous thread:

WA Davidson in Jacksonville. The smallest roll was 50' so we'll have about 1/2 leftover if we don't mess up a panel or two

Heres a link:
http://www.wadavidson.com/index2.php?grp=13

I called them and placed the order over the phone on Thursday and it was on my doorstep Monday.

This is where I got my wire from. 16g 1 x 1/2" black vinyl coated wire. I dont remember if it was $180 for 50' with shipping but I'm thinking shipping was cheap..like $30 so I either paid $180 or $210 for the 50'.

"Be careful what you ask for". This stuff is way thick and hard to handle. I actually made a sturdy breeding cage by bending 2 pieces and tie-strapping them together.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:13 pm

Cool! Thanks, I'll check it out!

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:40 pm

Thanks so much for the wire resource! I ordered a roll of wire today. I also wanted to share with everyone a place to get acrylic glass. I think its a little cheaper than the hardware store. http://www.rplastics.com/ I called them today and got prices for the bottom panels of the screen doors. It came out to roughly $35 per panel including shipping and cutting fees. Hope that is useful to someone.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 1:27 pm

Progress!
Side panels, there wasn't quite enough room for another regular screen door panel, so I made these half sized panels for the birds to have just a little more room.

This is the entrance door into the anti-escapee room:

Not bad for someone who's never built anything!

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 4:38 pm

looks good! I can't wait to see the finished product! I'm sure the birds would be excited too if they knew what was coming

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:38 pm

They are going to be so happy! The roll of wire just arrived. Wow! Its going to take two of us to carry it to the garage.

But it's very nice with the black coating. I am going to be extra careful about sharp things and things little feet can get caught in. My poor little Lynx just got hurt. I came home to find him hanging, his poor little toe caught inbetween where two cage walls come together. He had flapped his little wings so hard that the end of his wing is a featherless stump.

He has a smashed back toe, which i thought was going to fall off, but he seems to be using it. But its badly bruised. He is in the hospital cage recovering. I wish there were something more I could do for him, he seems to be in pain at times. He sits with his beak open and pants. But he is eating, and chatting across the room to his mate. *sigh*

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:37 pm

aw poor little guy

maybe you should attach the wire from the outside of the cage so there won't be staples to catch tiny toes. Caulking the seam where the wire meets the wood might keep them from getting caught there too. I might do that with mine to keep toes and debris out of the cracks.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:26 pm

I am going to use screws and washers to attach the wire. It's so stiff and heavy duty, I think it would just laugh at the staples

Maybe I can line the edges of the panels on the inside with some fake ivy vines or something to keep away little delicate toes.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:32 pm

I've never had a problem with staples as long as you hammer them down once they are in place. They can be pushed into the wood that way and don't allow for toes to get caught in them. If you want to cover the edge of the wire where it attaches to the wood, you can also consider placing thin strips of molding like a "frame" around the wire. Then the wire is sandwiched between the two pieces of wood (the actual frame and the molding 'frame'). It creates a much cleaner look than caulk would and can be considered potentially safer since caulk can contain lead which is toxic if ingested. Thankfully finches are not as bad at chewing on things as parrots, but I always like to play things safe. The screen door 'panels' come with the molding (it covers the screen), so if you save the molding (you have to remove it to pull the screen out), you can just replace it over the wire once you have the wire secured on the frames.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:20 pm

My brother decided we needed to use screws and washers to hold the mesh in place. He didn't like how the staples looked and the moulding that was on the doors was too flimsy to reuse.

I like that the screws make it easier to remove the mesh if needed.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:58 pm

This mesh I ordered is super heave duty. (that's all I could find) Its about as thick as the flight cage bars. My screen doors are a little different, they do not have the molding that coveres the screen. I can probably find some strips of wood to cover the edges with. Thanks for the advice.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:07 pm

hi finchlet
icover any edges of wire with 1/2 inch strips of wood so there is no way that they can get thier feet caught......when you are making stuff for birds to live in you must run your fingers round the edges inside and out and if you can catch your fingers on it the birds may eventually get caught all it needs is a bit of time to think where they may possibly get hung up

ken

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:30 pm

More Piccies!!!
Here I am getting ready to begin cutting the wire mesh. Boy it it hard! My hands are sore!! The nice thing about this stuff is that you don't need to worry about stretching it tight so it doesn't sag in the middle. Its so rigid that it just stays how it is.

Last but not least, these are my new gouldian hens that just arrived special delivery. (My sister picked them up for me in LA on her way up)

By the way, if anyone is interested in that wire mesh and would like a sample before you order a billion feet of the stuff, I'd be happy to send you a small piece.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:37 pm

Your mesh looks similar to what I used. Except for the color and the holes in mine are square. I attached it with the screws and washers exactly the same.