Just edited this post as my website was moved and the photos weren't showing. 12/28/9
Someone in another thread asked how I built my cage, so here are some instructions which I hope will help. Wish I'd taken pictures while work was in progress! It's a long post, so please give it time for pictures to all load.
Here's a photo of the completed cage, with birds in it.
Here's the rough plan I used to calculate how much wood, etc. to buy:
First step was to build the frame out of 1 X 1 molding.
Basic butt joint construction on front and back frame- Note that front frame has the bottom piece of 1 X 1 at about 3 inches up from bottom to allow room for slide out tray.
Used corner brackets to attach the two frames together with 20" side pieces.
Then framed in doors on sides (put them horizontally so as not to block view when I stood next to cage), and on the back (framed it in vertically to give more stability and avoid problem of no place to put screws without bumping in to the screws from the frames screwed in for the side doors).
Then attached the 1 X 1 3" wooden skirt, and the half round molding at the top of it, to direct seed into the tray.
Then I did a dumb thing
and put the bottom on the cage. If I were doing it again, I might dry fit it, then take it off, to make it easier to work on the rest, and put the bottom on last!!!I stapled the wire on the cage, and cut out the openings for 3 door openings. At this point I put the doors on, as I wanted to hide as much of the hinges as possible with trim over top. However this makes it a bit hard to lift the doors, so next time I'd wait and put the hinges on the outside of the trim.
Next I used screws to attach all the outside trim (corner molding, flat 1 inch trim for door framing and two light supports on top of cage, and 3inch X 1/4 inch trim for the outside of the skirt, and 2 1/4" X 1/4 inch trim for the tray door. For the 3 small doors, because of the thickness of the trim, I used very thin balsa wood. But if you put the hinges on the "outside" of the trim, the doors will likely swing more freely.
This is the point where you use wood filler to fill the space between the wire and the trim if you are going to. I did because I didn't like the idea of seed husks and dust, and maybe even mites collecting in there. It's the hardest part, trying to be neat, and squish it in-between the wires when the openings are only 3/8 inch! But it does keep the cage easier to clean. It will need a day to dry, and if there are wide gaps, it may shrink and you'll need to fill again. Then several coats of varnish over all wood and wood filler
Varnish the bottom of the cage and then attach it last. Then when dry you can insert the wooden tray (at least 6 coats of varnish on this!).
Perches, some are natural, some dowels. The top perches are 3/8" dowel inserted through some scrap 1 X1 sanded a bit round on the corners. I used a saw blade to scratch these up a bit on the sides and underside to give the birds better grip.
Feeders are held in place with picture wire.
And lastly, here are Dick and Jane in their new home!
Heidi
