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Post by Budgies Retreat on Mar 17, 2015 22:06:31 GMT
In the decision to expand my flock, I have decided to have another 4 breeding cages in the birdhouse. I looked at buying them, but at around £140 inc. P+P I decided to draw up a set of 4 and price it. It works out at just under £100 all in. I have made them from white faced melamine board bought from the big DIY shop, and have ordered 4 off 24" x 12" white cage fronts and 4 hang on nest boxes. The cages are 381mm deep, so there is plenty of room inside. The best bit about making my own is that I can have a removable divider between each pair (2 up - 2 down style) so effectively I get two 48" cages when they are removed.
The downside to buying them already made (well the ones I saw anyway) is that they remain 4 single cages, but with the removable divider my options have increased.
I'll try and remember to take some photographs during the build and get them posted.
Daz |
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Mar 19, 2015 22:32:32 GMT
Building has stopped due to waiting on my cage fronts. I received the 4 nest boxes from Supapets, and @ £3.50 they are cheap, but the quality is self evident. I was horrified to see coarse chipboard concaves which had really sharp splinters from the machining process in the actual concave part, and knowledge tells me that the glue they use in the process of making chipboard and MDF contains formaldehyde. So they have been thrown out. They do sell solid wood ones, and I wished that they had stated what the concaves were made from in their advert, as I would've ordered the solid wood ones at the start. I have left a review, and although truthful and definitely not rude/abusive, I don't think it will be made public. The pre-drilled hole for the outside perch is 2mm smaller than the actual perch, and although the quality of the plywood used is generally good, some panels were of really inferior quality ply with many splinters. Now I have a fully equipped woodwork shop in my garden, and could easily make these boxes with my eyes closed, but at £3.50 each, I couldn't make them for that. Also, for me it wasn't such a hardship to sit there and take some sandpaper to the boxes to knock off the splinters, and re-drill the perch holes, but for someone that doesn't have the means they may just use the chipboard concaves and somehow "bodge" the perch. However, I have now made a jig to make my own concaves from solid wood on the table saw, and test results so far are excellent, very pleased to say the least, and I still have all of my fingers!  Daz |
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Post by Hezz on Mar 20, 2015 0:51:09 GMT
Good news re the fingers. I find they do come in handy, rather.  This really is a case of you get what you pay for, unfortunately.  Good luck for more concaves to come. |
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Mar 23, 2015 22:30:36 GMT
Here is where I am at the moment. Nearly finished, just got to cut out some bars to fit the nest box doors. This first photo is showing the dividers removed and the trays pulled out.  The second shows the dividers fitted and trays in place.  |
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Post by Hezz on Mar 24, 2015 1:19:31 GMT
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Post by jellybean on Mar 24, 2015 8:05:52 GMT
Well done. They look fantastic.
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Post by suesbird on Mar 24, 2015 8:16:37 GMT
really good, impressed  |
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Post by OP on Mar 24, 2015 8:25:19 GMT
Very well made. It looks like you enjoyed making them. From what I can see your workshop looks nearly as tidy as mine. |
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Mar 24, 2015 19:35:27 GMT
Thanks guys, Hezz if you'll pay for my air ticket I'll be happy to build you a chook home I do enjoy woodworking, and IMO there is nothing out there that I cannot make, and having the machines and tools means that I can build to my own specifications and not be limited to what others offer. Those cheap nest boxes I bought the other day are so easy to make, but the price reflects the quality. If I had made them they would have had a much better ply used but the cost would have been dearer. OP, I have only just got to have a clean workshop as it was filled with boxes from the house move, and I have only just got them all unboxed thankfully. My bench (to the left of the breeding cages) is currently a mess and does need a good sort out. I cut the bars on the cage fronts to add my nest box doors, and I just need to get another length of dowel and some large cup hooks to hang the nest boxes securely. Then they can go in the bird house, ready for the first occupants. Oh, and two more buds joined my gang today, young green cinnamons, one definitely a girl as the cere is creamy coloured with white nostril rings, the other I believed was a girl but in the light of my bird house the cere seems a very very light blue, however I've read that young cinnamon hens can have a very light blue hue to their cere, but it also has white nostril rings, so I do hope they are both girls. |
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Post by Hezz on Mar 25, 2015 0:53:54 GMT
Quite a number of young hens have pale blue ceres, with white rings around the nostrils, so you should be okay saying these are two girls.
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Post by darrenc271 on Apr 19, 2015 10:09:09 GMT
Looking good daz were did u order ur cage fronts from and how do u fit the nest boxes on thanks daz
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Apr 19, 2015 14:32:58 GMT
Looking good daz were did u order ur cage fronts from and how do u fit the nest boxes on thanks daz Hi Darren. Hope you are well?
I ordered the fronts from Wades Cages. They are 24" x 12" (not including the tangs that you use for securing the fronts). If you go on their website you'll see what I mean. That measurement is from the top and bottom horizontal bars, and furthest side vertical bars. My fronts took about 8 days to arrive, although they state up to 2 weeks if they are busy. I also ordered 4 nest box doors. The nest boxes were positioned in the top left hand corner of each cage, and with the nest box perch fitted, I worked out were I needed to cut the bars to fit the doors. The nest boxes I bought from Supapets but they are cheap, and the concaves are chipboard and very sharp, so I made my own from solid wood. Supapets do have solid wood ones, so order those as well if you cannot make them. In order to secure the nest boxes, I drilled 2 x 4mm holes in the top front part of the nest box, and offered the box back up to the cage, then I marked those holes on the cage carcass, and fitted 2 x brass cup hooks. The nest boxes locate onto the cup hooks at an upward angle, and then once located you just rotate the bottom downward, bringing the nest box into position. I'll take a few photos and post them up for you.
My only regret is that I made the cabinet too shallow in height. The lower cross bar where the bottom of the cage front locates has to be there to take the tangs from the cage front, however this didn't leave a lot of height for the pull out tray. I would've liked the pull out tray to have been another 15 - 20mm higher to allow for the mountainous poohs to clear the lower cross bar when the tray is removed.
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Post by darrenc271 on Apr 19, 2015 14:57:44 GMT
Hi daz am good thanks av missed my budgies lol yeah i no wat u mean i looked on that website i also looked at site were u got boxes from prob will order the hard wood ones better than mdf going to be building my flight soon then order my fronts .
So how many budgies u got now
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Apr 19, 2015 15:30:55 GMT
Hi daz am good thanks av missed my budgies lol yeah i no wat u mean i looked on that website i also looked at site were u got boxes from prob will order the hard wood ones better than mdf going to be building my flight soon then order my fronts . So how many budgies u got now I have 10 now including the new baby chick, desperately trying to get a couple more older hens for breeding, but no one has any local to me, they all seem to be breeding also.
Here are the photos I said I'll do for you. The first is the nest box doors and brass cup hangers. Just offer the door up to where you want the nest box to be, and then cut the required bars away. Be extra careful to totally remove any sharp ends left behind. I took a heavy file to the cut ends and filed them right down.
This is with the nest box door removed. In one of the following photos you will see the turned around ends of the nest box door hinges. I left them as they were as I would want to totally remove the door when the box is fitted.
Nest boxes with locating holes drilled.
Locate the nest box holes over the cup holders at this angle. Ensure that the holes are big enough to allow you to navigate the bend in the hook without using too much force otherwise the fragile brass could snap.
Box fitted in place. If you carefully drill the holes in the same place on every box, and fit the hooks to the cages in the same place, then every box will fit every cage. If this doesn't happen just number each cage and box so the right one fits the right cage.
View from inside the breeding cage.
Hope this helps Daz.
Darren
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Post by Budgies Retreat on Apr 19, 2015 15:37:27 GMT
Oops, I missed off the photo showing the door ends. Here it is.  Darren |
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This really is a case of you get what you pay for, unfortunately. 
Good luck for more concaves to come. 
