Help with homemade cages ideas.

I've been wanting to get a new cage for my dove. He's living on a small one right now (in cms: 44x25x20), and he doesn't exactly like it.
Can you show me any idea for a cheap indoors cage? I don't want it to be too hard to make either because I'm horrible at this kind of stuff. But if it's really cheap, show it to me anyways xD. I'll need a step-by-step guide though.
I loved the idea of the NIC cubes, but I don't have them where I live. I'm going to try to find something similar, though. But I need a backup idea if I can't find something like this.

Also, I'll move into an apartment soon, I guess. Which would be the smallest size in which he could spend a morning alone? Right now he spends it on this cage because there are no other options (unless leaving him all morning outside unsupervised counts) but I'm hoping to give him something he can put up with without totally hating it, although I know he'll never like being cage, naturally.

Pawbla did you see the photo I posted in the other cageing thread?

It was really easy to make out of an old dresser. Not only does our house dove raven live in it but I also have the top of it to use for whatever.

Yep, saw it, and it is a really good idea. Now I have even more places to visit so I can check for suitable materials! Second hand furniture stores. It'll be way better than making a wooden cage myself. I don't know about the price of this, but I hope it's not much more expensive.

Pawbla wrote:

Yep, saw it, and it is a really good idea. Now I have even more places to visit so I can check for suitable materials! Second hand furniture stores. It'll be way better than making a wooden cage myself. I don't know about the price of this, but I hope it's not much more expensive.

I did a 'easy do it yourself bird cage' search Pawbla but could find anything that wouldn't cost $$$$.

Maybe you could ask friends or relatives if they have an old dresser they no longer want or even check out flea markets.

Even if you found a tall dresser you could put it on its side and just attach four blocks of wood for legs.

Hope you find something.

Yeah, I'm not expecting it to be free, hahaha. But I can't afford AR$600. I mean, I literally don't have the money, if you open my wallet, you won't see even half of that amount.

We don't have a big flea market (they don't sell furniture, except for a few lamps) but I was thinking about visiting one of those "old second-hand furniture" shops.

Question, how much light does your bird get in there?

Pawbla wrote:

Yeah, I'm not expecting it to be free, hahaha. But I can't afford AR$600. I mean, I literally don't have the money, if you open my wallet, you won't see even half of that amount.

We don't have a big flea market (they don't sell furniture, except for a few lamps) but I was thinking about visiting one of those "old second-hand furniture" shops.

Question, how much light does your bird get in there?

My wallet looks the same way :eek:

Since the front is all wire she gets plenty of light. I also mounted a flourescent light to the inner top if I think she needs more light.
She usually gets fly time out of her cage... at least if she's not sitting her eggs.

Good luck with your efforts, Pawbla! I hope you manage to find something that can be easily transformed into cosy pigeon housing.
Good advice from experienced people is worth much more than money, in a situation like this. I jumped head first when I got my first unreleseable pigeon and got a really expensive cage, the biggest in the pet shop's catalogue, only to find that because it was meant for 2 parrots (pigeons over here are not entitled to nice cages, apparently) the layout, and especially the perches, were all wrong, and it took me ages to customise it... But I'm sure that with Robin's help, you will be able to avoid the pitfalls!

That's the great thing about these sites . I got some very nice ideas at pigeontalk too, so I'll visit some stores to see what I can get. I'm glad to see that not everybody is crafty, hahahaha, the easiest thing I found online (not counting NIC cages) was a chinchilla cage that was really complex, actually xD. Although I did get a good idea from it.

Thanks!
I'm concerned about the light mainly because my bedroom is very dark. I get sun in the morning and then forget about it. Although going back to the main idea, if I'm going to move, I hope I'll move to a place with plenty of sunlight, then it wouldn't matter if this room is dark or not. Dark rooms depress me and wouldn't be good for my pets.

Dark depresses me too and sunlight is good for humans and animals/birds alike.

One thing you might do, if you do have a window, is build a cage frame to the outside of the wondow, that your birds can go into to siak up some sun and get some fresh air. When the window is open, they can go outside. Might be a good solution.

I'm worried about the security of that setting, but I do think it's a good idea. It was my idea back then when I had two pigeon rescues which I didn't know if I'd be able to release. I'd have to see if it's possible, because I don't know where I'll be moving.

Once you get to where you are going to be...you should be able to make something for the window that is easy to take off when you move. The only suggestion I would make, would be that you put screen on the outside of the cage over the hardware cloth, to keep mosquitoes out.

Wouldn't that dim the lights too?

Some...but maybe you can get light colored screen down there.

Thanks :)

Where I live, mosquitoes only come out at night. I know that in other parts of the US, they are out all day during the summer months. What about in Argentina?

Depends on where you live. Argentina has a variety of landscapes and climates, just like the US. In my city they are out all day in summer. In the one I'll be moving in... I don't know. I think they are out all day too. In winter and autumn they never show up.
Maybe I can put the mosquito screen in summer, and take it off in winter. However I'm not sure if he will like to sunbathe with 30 Celcius degrees xDD.

I just copied this off of AvianWeb.com
http://www.avianweb.com/sickbirdcare.html


The Healing Power of Natural Sunlight: It is very common for birds to have a vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency that can lead to myriad health problems. Providing a sick bird with beneficial rays can lifts its mood and potentially remedy any deficiency that could have contributed to its health problems ...

The most common health problems associated with vitamin D deficiency are: weakened immune systems / susceptibility to diseases, soft bones, bent keels, splayed legs, abnormal beak development, reproductive problems (egg binding, soft-shell eggs, dying chicks) as well as seizures and, to a lesser extend, Stargazing (twisted back) ... In sick birds, the light exposure helps in remeding any immediate need for vitamin D, as well as boosting the mood of a sick bird -- another important healing factor.

Pawbla wrote:

Depends on where you live. Argentina has a variety of landscapes and climates, just like the US. In my city they are out all day in summer. In the one I'll be moving in... I don't know. I think they are out all day too. In winter and autumn they never show up.
Maybe I can put the mosquito screen in summer, and take it off in winter. However I'm not sure if he will like to sunbathe with 30 Celcius degrees xDD.

That's a good idea because with the mosquitoes comes the added risk of Pox.

I give him vitamins for that, but it's better for him to have fresh air and natural sunlight ^^.

On the mosquitoes issue, that's why I'm concerned about them as well.

Can you buy hardware cloth in Argentina?

I think so. I'd need some kind of translation. From the pictures I think I have seen it, so I'll get more information on it.

If you can...making a cage to fit outside a window would be quite easy. Make your frame and then staple the hardware cloth in sections. If you keep your staple line straight, then you could nail trim board over the staple line. The whole thing could screw onto the out side...even be hinged on one side so you could open it to clean the window.