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Head Case Inner circle 1138 Posts |
SO this is the dove cage I built. I think it should work for 4 doves.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3......&theater |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
I think you should have made a sub floor out of chicken coop wire. Birds should not walk in their poop. I would have used 1/2" chicken coop wire for the walls. It is stronger and you can place perches on them.
This does not look structurally sound. I will be interested in hearing what Dave's comments are. If I was a bird I would not want to live in a shaky thing like that, it would be to frightening. Why do you have a 'chick' in a dove cage? LOL |
Head Case Inner circle 1138 Posts |
That "chick" is my girlfriend. lol The cage is structurally sound and not shaky. The bottom of it does not sit on the floor, and it has a drop pan so the poop falls though the bottom of it. Its not pictured, but yeah I did take that into account when I built it.
Plus, having it built out of the plastic mesh makes its 100 times cleaner (and easier to clean) than wood / wire. I have another one of these cages built for some animals that actually run / jump on the walls of the cage, and it has very minimal movement when they do so. Posted: Nov 28, 2011 1:46pm Ps. the perches will be going across the corners instead of from side to side, that way the birds has the most open distance to fly from perch to perch. Also ill be able to attach them to the pvc and not the wire to reduce any movement of the cage, and they will also act as extra bracing to hold the cage from moving at all. |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Who cares about the cage. I'm more concerned with the good looking bird in the cage. In all my years of dove magic, I never had any that looked that good.
Seriously, I think your cage is probably sturdy enough. You have a lot of PVC piping. My thoughts about perches before reading you reply were the you should insert a PVC Tee in the right corner pole and another in the rear center pole. Run one perch (wood, not pvc) from tee to tee. Insert another Tee in the front center pole at a different angle and run it straight back to the center pole. For only 4 birds, and this cage is large enough for quite a few more, two perches will be fine, they won't be over each other so the feces won't drop on any birds sitting below and it will leave the left side of your cage open for flight. Make sure your food and water supply isn't directly under the perches. Normally I would agree with Wm about the wire sub floor, however in this case with only 4 birds and such a large cage, it shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure to clean the floor every day or at least every other day. An idea to think about is to put sand on the bottom of the cage. This will help keep the doves nails trimmed, and will absord feces and urine. You'd just have to replace the sand every once in awhile. I'm assuming this cage is going to be indoors on a cement floor. If you're going to have it outside, you may have a problem with predators. Snakes and other wildlife can dig under and into the cage. A good wire floor would resolve this but the sides are still very vulnerable.
Where the magic begins
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Head Case Inner circle 1138 Posts |
Thanks Dave, I like the perch Idea, and thanks for the comments on the bird inside the cage, yeah that dove is a rare breed to come by. You are also correct that this cage will be indoors on a cement floor. I don't think I'm going to use the sand idea, only because I plan on spraying the cage out every day / every other day. that's why I chose to go with pvc and plastic mesh, rather then wood so it doesn't absorb water, I can just pull it outside my garage and spray it off my power washer and call it done. Simple and effective.
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Okay, don't put the birds back in until it is dry. Doves cannot handle damp that well. If their feet get to wet, this could cause problems.
Dave also reminded me you have to cut their nails/claws every so often. If they get to long, they will not be able to grab correctly and their feet will suffer. Also, you have to make the perch they land on wood. Plastic is not good for them as they can slip and have to grab to tight to hold onto the tubes. So use put wood dowels no larger then 5/8" wood dowels. You will have to scrap the wood dowels every few days to clean them. Do not get them wet as this can spread disease. Scrap with a wire brush. If you refuse to take this advise, then you will have to cover some way the plastic tubing with those cage bottom papers they sell for parakeet cages. They have regular sand embedded into them. How you cna attach them is a good guess on your part. Do not use regular sand paper as that is not sand, but an oxide material. |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Simple solutions to perching and cleaning. If you use my suggestion about inserting Tee's in the poles, simply cut off the top portion of the tee so it's a shelf rather than a closed leg. Just do this on one of the tees. Now you can insert the perch in the regular tee and let it sit in the modified one. Simply remove the perch before you wash down the cage.
I would wrap one perch tightly with the parakeet cage bottom paper Bill suggested above. Wrap it as tight as you can and hold the paper in place by wrapping each end and several spots along the length of the perch with scotch tape. You don't have to enclose the entire perch. Leave the other perch bare wood. To clean it, you can wire brush it or sand it down to remove whatever feces may be adherring to it.
Where the magic begins
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tropicalillusions Special user Tulsa Okla 631 Posts |
Reminds me of my first cage project back in the days, congrats on your new build and I am sure you will be making changes as you get more into it. You will start watching your birds and the changes in Behavior etc. And then you will see any changes to be made. It is a growing process. Enjoy your new family.
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Autumn Morning Star Grammar Hostess Today, I corrected grammar in 1378 Posts |
I would not suggest that 'sandpaper cage bottom covers' be used on any perch. This was an old way of thinking regarding 'birds needing a sandy-gripping perch'. This was also supposed to keep their nails trimmed, but it does not work.
Sandpaper covered perches are sadly still for sale, but don't use them for any living thing. This takes the flesh off the dove's feet and makes them sore. Some poor birds live on sandy perches like this for years and grow thick skin on their feet, but in the beginning they suffer, for nothing gained. I would use wooden perches as Dave suggests. This gives them a grip, but does not scratch up their feet. But remember to use multiple sized perches, like 1/2" and 3/4" or they will become 'crippled' to a single perch size. Ah, so much to know about doves!
Wonder is very necessary in life. When we're little kids, we're filled with wonder for the world - it's fascinating and miraculous. A lot of people lose that. They become cynical and jaded, especially in modern day society. Magic renews that wonder.
Doug Henning |
Libis New user 39 Posts |
I have found that my doves do best with natural manzanita perches rather than dowels(some really really fat thick ones for them to sleep on--as doves like to be able to cover their feet with feathers while sleeping, and some very twiggy ones for foot exercise.) http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/public/......332Aq_Ag
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/......W7yAJLmk
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." J.R.R. Tolkien
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sashko New user Russian Federation. 14 Posts |
Hello all. I'm brand new here to see prices! Friends who know how to build their own or a detailed description and working principle! It is very necessary. I am a student and I want to build this cage in the minimum financial cost.
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