FINCHforum

It would be nice to make my own cage for the finches i plan to get.

But, since galvanized wire seems to equal 'death' to all caged birds, that leaves the equally uneconomical choices of:

1. finding somehow 'stainless steel mesh',
2. making my own out of wood and plexiglass--without any deadly galvanized wire over air vents..
or,
3. buying my own

In other words, if you wanna make your own cage, it seems almost impossible...........

Yet some people who keep finches have used galvanized wire without incident.

??? drag

I've made my own cages for my finches over 12 years now and have always used the hardware cloth from Home Depot and/or Lowes. I've never had a bird drop dead yet from the wire.

My flight is made of galvanized wire, have used it for about 10 years for both canaries and finches. Everyone has lived long healthy lives so I assume the wire did not cause any deaths.

I made my own outdoor aviary and I insisted on black wire for visability. Granted, my aviary is large and I had to buy it by the roll, but it's been great. This company is in Oakland CA

http://www.twpinc.com/wire-mesh/TWPCAT_ ... 410W48TBLK

48" X 100' $260+ SH

I bought the black pvc mesh at Home Depot in rolls and attached that to pvc posts. I put the wire mesh on the outside and the pvc mesh in the inside. So there is two layers.

thank you, dear people for your encouraging replies!

well, i wanted to add this to my previous post.

my plan right now, as a prospective newbie (i am not even THAT yet!!) is to make a 24"hi x 24"deep x 36" wide cage. i hope to have 3 same sex zebras in it to get my feet wet and see how i do.

i guess i will try galvanized material.

some people talk about how much cheaper it is to make your own cage, versus buying a 'store' cage. Well, it seems to me that the only way one can make a cage cheaper is in fact to purchase the 'deadly' galvanized material, cuz it is so much more affordable. Unless you luck out and get a gift of stainless steel mesh............

any further thoughts?
thank you all!

It sounds like some of you have had good luck with the galvanized wire. I've always read that you can remove the zinc by scrubbing it down with vinegar, and then it will be safe. On my budgie forum, they tallk about birds getting sick from "new wire syndrome", if they don't do this. Maybe finches just don't chew on their cages the way budgies do, so they don't ingest the zinc.

For my cages, I found some black PVC coated wire from
http://www.elawngarden.com/florida-hard ... -4628.html

http://www.elawngarden.com/florida-hard ... -4629.html

That's a good site, Nelly. I've used 1/4" mesh because it was all I could find, but 1/2" would probably be easier to see through.

What I really liked on that site, was this door frame material, which can really cut down on scratched arms! http://www.elawngarden.com/little-giant ... -5600.html

Their shipping was pretty reasonable too!

Finnie

And if you don't like the metal ones, I've ordered plastic ones from here:
http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg17.pdf
I used them for the edges of my dividers for my flight cage.

Cool. I also have this site bookmarked for next time I need it. It's a little cheaper than the TWP website, and it has several choices of wire and size rolls. http://www.academyfence.com/welded-wire ... uge-black/

Do the people that have the 1/2" have a problem with mice? I specifically chose the 1/4" for that purpose.

Perhaps galvanized wire is not safe for hookbills, I don't know, but Quality Cage Company out of Portland makes their cages out of galvanized wire, KW Cages out of CA sells galvanized wire specifically made for cages/aviaries. Corners Limited, which makes the cadillac of cages, uses galvanized wire in their cages. If you can afford it, the PVC-coated wire is the best, but it is not cheap. If you are the least bit worried about it, wash the wire down with vinegar, then rinse--this is supposed to remove the zinc that is the problem. Again, I think it is because hookbills grasp the wire with their beak and chew, while finches don't--their beaks aren't designed for grasping.