FINCHforum

I was at tractor supply today and I found this:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/h ... in-x-30-in

It is a plastic dropping pan. I was thinking of using it when we build our cages. Anyone else try this? Anyone else built any cages? If so, would you share photos?

What a great find! I see no reason why that wouldn't work perfectly for you

At Stockdales (a tractor supply type store) they sell the pans that go in the bottom of dog crates. They come in several sizes even a super large one. They are a similar price but rectangular.

That is a good idea. The only pans specifically for bird cages that are listed on eBay are 24x16 or 30x18. Using rabbit or dog pans gives more choices in sizes for those building their own cages.

Great Ideas! I have to find something for the new flight cage I am setting up, it is used and is missing some components. Thanks

I considered something like this when I built my cage. I decided against it for two reasons. First, all of the trays I've seen like this tend to twist or warp, if you will. As the bottom tray for a birdcage that makes them problematic. Second, if you're using it to slide in and out of the cage, you're locked into building a cage that fits the exact dimensions of the tray. That's not a bad thing if you find a tray that fits your vision for your cage, but for me it didn't work out.

When I was designing and building my cage, I spent a lot of time trying to resolve the tray issue. Even on commercially made cages, the trays don't entirely prevent seed, hull, feather build up on the true cage bottom. They certainly help alot but you end up cleaning out the back corners and sides no matter how tightly the tray seems to fit. And as a means of keeping debris from flying out of the cage, they are simply not deep enough. Again, they help, but are far from a perfect answer. They end up being a convenient carrier for whatever you line the bottom of your cage with and that's about it. That's certainly a nice convenience and not a bad thing at all, but for me that's all they really do.

I ended up not using a tray at all. I covered the bottom of my cage with a vinyl flooring remnant. A hinged opening along the front of the cage allows me to easily put newspaper in and take it back out. When I change out the paper, I take my hand (sometimes with a small brush) and sweep whatever mess is there right out the front and into a trash can. Any bird poop or whatever that the paper doesn't catch, easily cleans off the vinyl. As an aside, I can completely remove the entire bottom of the cage when needed for deep cleaning or any other issue that might arise. Also, the bottom 8" of the cage is solid to help contain the mess.

I don't want to suggest that my solution is perfect for all situations. But depending on your needs and cage design, a slide-out tray need not be a mandatory part of the design.

The wonderful part about building your own cage is that you get to be as creative as you want and build-to-suit as they say. There's a ton of ideas to be found on the internet that you can adapt to fit your particular needs. One of nicest and simplest homecrafted finch flight cages I found was actually in a Craigslist ad posted by a hobbiest selling some birds. If you're anything like me it can sometimes feel like there are almost too many ideas out there, LOL. Also, if your barn looks anything like mine, you may well find that you already have practically everything you need to build a great home for your birds.

p.s. I'm no master carpenter and I found the project really satisfying. Enjoy!

Dog crates pans! I had forgotten about those. They are huge!

Shelly, what size were you looking for?
lou

You can improvise , Home depot sells two different sizes of mortar mix pans ( black plastics ) which are about 5-8 inches high and pretty strong. Also if you need something bigger you can try Washer plastic bin . It is a tray that is used under a washing machine , white plastic. Also a water heater pans comes in different sizes some round some square. Here are some pics with dimensions. Good think about mortar mix tubs is one can cutt down the hight if necessary .

Great ideas! We were even looking at underbed plastic storage containers. All kinds of ideas.

I have 5, made of metal 16 x 30 x 1 1/8 new that I made, never used. $10 each
pm me if interested.
lou