Wooden cage out of a hutch.

[mkmango]

Hello! I am new to this forum, and in all honesty, I am new to owning finches. My husband has had birds all of his life, and we were finally able to get two little green singing finches just a few weeks ago. Since my husband loves birds so much I wanted to get him a really nice birdcage for our anniversary. I saw a few examples online: http://puppiesareprozac.com/budgie-para ... rd-aviary/ and some pretty cool pics on pinterest and decided instead of buying him one, I wanted to make a really pretty one out of a china hutch. A couple of days ago I found one on craigslist and, after paying way too much for it, brought it home to try and make it liveable. I soon found that I was way over my head..

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this or any advice. I've spent too much money to back down now, so please don't just say get a cage off of ebay.

I know finches are very sensitive to smells, and my first question is about the interior of the cabinet. I just realized that it is painted on the inside. Will this affect the birds in any way?

Next, there are some old hutch lights near the top. I was going to try to replace the bulbs with full spectrum light ones, but looking online I keep seeing that people have the lights on the outside of the cage. Can I have lighting on the inside, or is there harm to the birds in this? Should I just remove lighting all together?

I am planning to keep the glass in most of the door except one, will this be enough ventillation? I am extra worried about this because of the painted interior, and I keep going back to the cabinet and sticking my head inside to see if I can smell any paint. So far, I don't detect any fumes. I am also going to try to install vents in the top of the cabinet.

Also, I will be replacing the glass on the door with either a small type of chicken wire or metal grate. Does the type of metal matter, and can I paint it to match the cabinet? I know I have to find child safe paint, I just want to make sure that finches are not chewing birds like parrots.

I have purchased some manzenita perches and hanging feeders for the interior. Do finches like toys? Would they like mirrors or swings like other birds? My husband grew up with Cockatiels and Parakeets so he is not sure on this point either. So far they seem to just like to sit there and chirp at each other. I think my small girl (mango) likes her mirror, but I'm not sure. Do finches like covered nests? We had one in there for a while, but they never used it. They never eat parsley like the seller said either though.

Lastly, The dimensions of the eventual cage will be 50" by 50" by 15" wide, and we have two finches. I'm assuming this will be large enough if we expanded our population, but I was wondering if there was such a thing as too large of a cage? I know there are certain rules (like no round tops), so I didn't know if there was one about cage size.

Thank you so much for your help! I've taken on a pretty big project I think...

[finchandlovebird]

Congrats & Welcome. You can do it.
Toys & mirrors - no
Swings - yes
Can you just have the bottom half of the doors glass & put wire, etc. on the tops of the doors.
Possibly use hardware cloth (wire with squares in it)
Openings should not be more than 1/2"
I assume those bottom doors open: Cut out the floor of the upper cabinet & install a shelf on the bottom; put a tray on that shelf to catch debris, etc. & you'll be able to open the doors to clean it out.
Rest of that space under the shelf can be used for storage.
You'll want doors for the birds of some sort; maybe cut holes in the side of the cupboard for doors; you'll want to reach your arm in for filling feed, water, etc. Good luck & keep us posted.

[DanteD716]

Welcome to the forum! Besides what Dolly said (who summed it up very nicely), I would suggest re-painting the inside. I prefer white or black because it really shows the birds colors. The light on the inside of the cage is fine as long as it is at the top, and I would suggest installing a nightlight. Stickers on the will the birds from crashing into them. Natural perches (like one cut from trees) can be drilled into the sides of the cages, and I would suggest buying silk plants and building some sort of canopy at the top of the cage under the lights. I also suggest stapling or nailing 1" mesh onto the back of the cage wall to hang food dished and nests. But the front of the cage should be 1/2" because they can squeeze out of anything larger. Also toys are not needed.

[EyesofFreedom]

Welcome to the forum...

The only question I didnt see answered is the nest question... and speaking from the experience of my two they greatly prefer a covered nest... the more they feel hidden inside they more they like it...

Finches are shy when it comes to nesting... and really like thier privacy

[Mae]

Oh what a lovely idea! I might have to try this out myself

[mkmango]

Thanks guys for answering my questions!

I don't think I can do half the doors as glass because they are one continuous pane of glass, but I could take more glass out to improve ventilation. I will also look for that kind of cloth!

About repainting, would you suggest trying to strip the paint first on the inside before repainting it white? I'm worried about the toxicity of both the original paint and of the paint thinner fumes. Are they permanently toxic, or would a good airing out get rid of those? Also, I've never paint stripped anything in my life...

I like the idea of the mesh in the back of the cage, as I am also worried about the birds coming into contact with or chewing on the painted wood. Do finches chew on things?

The idea of silk plants is wonderful! I hadn't thought of that! Originally I was going to try and find an actual tree branch to stick in there, but I read that a lot of them can actually be toxic to birds so I went with the manzanita ones instead. I will try to find some nice jungely leaves for the top to fit under the lights once I get those set up.

About the nests, the one pictured is a little different than the one we had tried earlier with our birds, but I do notice that you have Zebra (I think Finches in there. At the pet store we took a while deciding which birds we wanted and we finally settled on two Green Singing Finches. I watched the Zebras and the Cutthroats and they seemed to love their nests, but I never saw the Greens in them, and we never had success with the nests in the small cage they are in now. They always just sat on top of them. I wonder if maybe this species prefers a different type of nest? Or maybe its just the personality of the birds we purchased.

I am going to explore this message board a little further and see if you have a build-thread area where I can post my progress!

Thanks again!

[mkmango]

Mae

This is the image I stumbled upon that inspired the idea.

[finchandlovebird]

That's a beautiful illustration; I'm sure yours will turn out just as nice.

I don't think you have to strip it; just paint over what's there.

Finches don't chew.

Hardware cloth isn't "cloth"; it's in the fencing area at Menards or Fleet Farm; it's like a metal mesh.

Go to a "dollar store" to get the silk plants; won't cost much at all.

[EyesofFreedom]

I wouldnt even paint it...

I am digging the rustic way it looks in the pic

[Ria]

Hello and welcome to the forum! What a wonderful project you've taken on - that hutch is beautiful, and will make an amazing home for your birds.

A few points - green singing finches prefer nests that are open on top - canary nests, or bowl style. Also, they really don't sit in their nest unless they are breeding. they prefer to sleep on perches. You are actually better to skip the nest until they are fully settled and you decide you want to breed.

I think the color in the back is nice, you could leave it. Also, unless the previous owner just painted it, there shouldn't be any fumes to worry about.

My green singers love swings, definitely include one or two. They really don't play with anything else, but birds are individuals. I have some zebras that really enjoy the cheap plastic hanging rings, mirrors, and bells. Also plan on a bathtub, or large enough shallow drinking dish for bathing.

For the doors, I would suggest removing the glass on all three. Add in some thin strips of wood across, two to each door to divide it in thirds from top to bottom. Get the glass cut so you can make the lower third of the door glass to help contain the mess, and put hardware cloth in the other two sections for middle and top to have ventilation and hear that beautiful song.

[EyesofFreedom]

About the nests, the one pictured is a little different than the one we had tried earlier with our birds, but I do notice that you have Zebra (I think Finches in there. At the pet store we took a while deciding which birds we wanted and we finally settled on two Green Singing Finches.

yeah I missed the green singer in the original post... sorry

[carlamay]

My friend is also building me a flight out of a china hutch top! He is going to make the front 1 solid piece of glass and put in short glass panels on the sides with doors beneath for access to feed, etc. Mine was not as deep as yours so he is adding a foot in depth and it will end up being 50 long, 51 tall 30" deep. I would strongly suggest that you Not strip as the stripper makes horrible fumes itself. There will be hardware cloth on the top and the full spectrum lights - you should have no problem with the lights inside in a cage that big. We are putting pegboard, painted and with small strips of wood to hold away from back and Here is and idea for you: he is putting a small computer fan in the back about 6 inches from the bottom with hardware cloth covering the hole in the pegboard.
As far as your other questions - Finches do not chew, the idea about drilling holes in the back for perches is a great one,, Offer a variety of nests when the time comes - more nests that the number of pairs of birds. They love to explore and choose. No toys or mirrors, swings a must and hang your millet from the top as they love to swing on it as they munch. Also, lots of silk plants! They like to hide and they like privacy. I attach my plants with floral wire or by weaving the stems to dollar store drawer dividers so I can change them out if they get poopy...also, it is easier to hang and a nest can be inserted in the middle if wished.
You are gonna Love It!!

[Mae]

This has inspired me... Now I'm looking for a hutch to do this myself lol

[HiddenintheIvy]

Any updates? Or pictures? I would love to see a work in progress, or finished flight.

I just moved yesterday and found that the prior owners left me an old tv armoire cabinet. The cabinet no longer has doors, and was doomed to be tossed. I told my hubby I wanted to keep it, and he thought I was nuts. Long story short... My finches will get a custom cage, and I know they will love it.

[mayble]

HiddenintheIvy-
I was also hoping for pictures when I saw this thread back at the top!
I'm working on the same type of project, and almost finished. One thing I discovered that you may want to check out - depending on what you are working with and how you plan to set it up, it may be more cost effective to buy an inexpensive cage (or two) and cut them up for parts than to buy hardware cloth and other materials to build from. Another advantage I've found is that with the standard wire and sliding doors, common accessories like dishes, baths, nestboxes, etc. fit perfectly.