Building a Conure Bird Cage

[LexarkT11]

So me and the girlfriend are going to be getting a Sun Conure this Friday and bird cages are outrageously expensive.

We are interested in building our own, nothing fancy, but I can only assume that going this route will be much more cost effective.

Anyone have some ideas or good websites to help us out.

We want to take the easiest route, i know how to use some tools but im no Bob Vila.


Here is some info on the bird if you need it. Meet the Magnificent Sun Conure




Thanks.

[EmpireF4i]

I hit a hawk with my truck last week. He dropped a gopher.

[LexarkT11]

lol, thanks.

+internets 4 u

[Zeste]

Go to a pet store and buy a cage.

If you're dumb enough to spend excessive amounts of money on an animal, you can afford a cage.

[Galgor]

Chicken wire and duct tape!

[Kobalt]

If the fat ass bird complains about it being "too small" or "not a cage" just tell him to lose weight and suck it in.

Can make one in an hour !

[Mario Speedwagon]

My friend has one of these birds. I hate it with a fiery passion. All it does is make migraine inducing noise and randomly assaults people for no fucking reason when he takes it out. He didn't love it so much for some reason I cannot even begin to fathom, I'd poison the fucking thing.

[LexarkT11]

Originally Posted by Zeste

Go to a pet store and buy a cage.

If you're dumb enough to spend excessive amounts of money on an animal, you can afford a cage.

The bird is actually being given to us and the cage they are giving it to us with is small and all jacked up, hence why we only need the cage.

[Tea on tuesday]

Originally Posted by Mario Speedwagon

My friend has one of these birds. I hate it with a fiery passion. All it does is make migraine inducing noise and randomly assaults people for no fucking reason when he takes it out. He didn't love it so much for some reason I cannot even begin to fathom, I'd poison the fucking thing.

My sister got a senegal parrot when I was in high school. Holy jesus, I hated that thing. It would squawk loudly at me non stop, while brushing the back of it's head up against the cage, which to everyone else was a sign that it would like to be scratched. Eventually I would get annoyed enough to go over and try to scratch it's stupid head at which point it would snap it's head around and bite down on my finger.

Then it would laugh at me for 5 minutes. No, that's not right. It would cackle at me like some cartoonish arch-villian. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. Then it would say "hello" for another 5 minutes. Then the whole process started again.

HOLY FUCK MY RAGE TOWARDS THAT BIRD KNOWS NO BOUNDS. GAHHHH.

[Mahes]

Some simple rules about birds.

1: If cost is a concern do not take this bird. Initial cost is nothing compared to the cost of properly taking care of this bird. Realize that this bird lives a long time, and deserves to be seen by a vet.

2: You want the largest cage you can afford. If you have an entire room to devote to this bird, you are on the right track. Absolute minimum size is large enough for the bird to stretch out its wings and not touch anything.

3: If you make a cage, do not use any kind of paint, lead or zinc. That also includes enrichment items.

4: Do not feed this bird only a seed diet. Look up what the species needs for a proper diet. This is an exotic animal, not a puppy dog.

5: Before taking this bird I would honestly consult with a Veterinarian that specializes or at the very least has descent experience in exotic animals/birds. You will need to find one anyways and he/she will be able to answer many of your questions and properly educate you as to what all is involved with bird care.

There is a lot more than you probably realize involved with the care and well being of a bird. They are not just a piece of furniture that makes noise occasionally(And with a conjure frequently). They require a lot of attention and understanding.

[Etoille]

Originally Posted by Mahes

Some simple rules about birds.

1: If cost is a concern do not take this bird. Initial cost is nothing compared to the cost of properly taking care of this bird. Realize that this bird lives a long time, and deserves to be seen by a vet.

2: You want the largest cage you can afford. If you have an entire room to devote to this bird, you are on the right track. Absolute minimum size is large enough for the bird to stretch out its wings and not touch anything.

3: If you make a cage, do not use any kind of paint, lead or zinc. That also includes enrichment items.

4: Do not feed this bird only a seed diet. Look up what the species needs for a proper diet. This is an exotic animal, not a puppy dog.

5: Before taking this bird I would honestly consult with a Veterinarian that specializes or at the very least has descent experience in exotic animals/birds. You will need to find one anyways and he/she will be able to answer many of your questions and properly educate you as to what all is involved with bird care.

There is a lot more than you probably realize involved with the care and well being of a bird. They are not just a piece of furniture that makes noise occasionally(And with a conjure frequently). They require a lot of attention and understanding.

Also, if you're being GIVEN the bird as you state (op) one might want to ask why. These are birds which retail for several hundreds of dollars; if its by a family friend why can the family friend no longer keep it? Cost? Because if cost is an issue for them it sounds like it already is for you and your girlfriend. Behavior? Yikes.


Birds, especially large parrots (which a conure is a small one but often exhibts large bird like behavior) really need a lot more attention and care than people think. If you skimp on the cage size/quality, the toys, the attention, it can really lead to very bad behavior whether its aggression, shrieking or (sad) plucking which is the beginning stages of self mutilation.


I'm with the other posters - I like birds but if you dont have the time for one; because you've definitely not done the research on costs because as the post I quoted said if you cant afford a nice cage you're going to kill yourself at the vet bills - you need to rethink this.

[Zeste]

My friend had these 2 horrible Cockatoos, I hated them.

I one day asked "man, so when are these birds gonna die?"

He looked at me and was like "Dude, they live human lifespans. They're about 8 years old right now, so another 50-60 years?"

Jesus christ.

[Taloo]

Yeah its nice to look at, but seriously they are noisy pieces of shit. Unless you feel like building a sound proof cage tell whoever is trying to give you their annoying ass bird to go fuck themselves. I'm sitting next to two conures right now. I have a god damn migraine. Get a budgie, a parakeet, or something small if you want a bird. Fuck conures.

[LexarkT11]

i feel like this thread should just be shawed, lol.

I didnt ask for advice on birds, I have owned them in the past and have known many people who have had them as well.

Money is not an issue really but I though building our own cage would save money and allow us to have the things we want in a cage.

I just wanted some instructions/building plans lol.

[Zeste]

I knew someone who built bird cages. They just had the raw materials and welded them together.

If you don't weld, I am not sure exactly how you could build one without using chicken wire or chainlink fence material.

I just don't see how you could make a good cage without using metal.