Safe cage repair?

[elysianblight]

((I knew I should have bought a whole new cage instead of just a stand for their existing flight cage.. sigh.))

Today my bf bumped pretty hard into one of the external perches on the cage and the perch hardware snapped one of the vertical cage bars (right where it connects to the horizontal bar above it).

Its a little bent but still fitting pretty snuggly, and not near a perch or where they like to climb(I removed the offending branch) so I think it's currently safe.. but obviously I want to do something to secure it before it gets worse. 

We don't have a welder..  what is safe to use? 
We do have this epoxy putty called "green stuff" or "kneadatite" that we use for a sculpting hobby. It doesn't seem to have an odor when curing. We could put it on when they come out in the morning and it should be hard before they go back in for bed. 
But, I cannot really find any ingredients online. 

Has anyone used anything like this, or does anyone have any suggestions? 

[Hezz]

This is not something I am at all familiar with but always interested in alternatives ... I've had a search through a few forums where this question has arisen, plus questions regarding the toxicity of epoxy resins in general and "the green stuff" in particular, and the general information seems to be that while the resin is curing there is a possibility (slight) that ingesting it may cause gut upset and some people may develop skin reactions using it over time. Once cured and fully hardened, the unwavering consensus is that it is totally safe. How long it takes to fully cure will depend on your mix and possibly climate on the day.

From one of these forums, a link was supplied from the company's safety data sheet which I have copy/pasted below, along with the link
...
POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS BY ROUTE OF ENTRY
EYE: Can cause irritation. Eye contact may result in corneal injury. Symptoms may include discomfort or pain,
excessive blinking and tear production, with marked redness and swelling of the conjunctiva.
SKIN: Can cause skin irritation. May cause sensitization.
INHALATION: Can cause minor respiratory irritation. Inhalation of dusts produced during cutting, grinding or
sanding of this product may cause irritation of the respiratory tract.
INGESTION: Ingestion is not an anticipated route of exposure. Harmful if swallowed. Irritating to mouth, throat,
and stomach.
www.aplusbputty.com/PDF/MSDS%209900A.pdf

Someone else made this comment: What I'm finding from a quick review is that inhalation of green stuff dust is the worse case scenario.
As this was sourced from another forum I cannot supply you with a link.

Do you have another cage you can use until the resin is fully cured?

[elysianblight]

I do, I will be home all day so if we apply it in the morning they can eat and drink on their play stand, and I can put them to bed in their travel cage. That's a good 24 hours and we could do the same on Sunday if necessary - but I don't think it should take that long for such a small amount.

Thank you for your help looking!

It seems like it should be safe enough if we take all those precautions? If they seem like they want to chew on the hardened patch, I can always put another perch there so the hardware blocks it.

[Hezz]

All the info says that once cured it is perfectly safe. I have no idea what that time-frame is, but I'm sure you have info available to you. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[Marianne Marlow]

I have had a couple of instances where we bumped into the outside perch of a hagen vision cage. The horizontal bars broke and I applied a temporary fix of a couple of large stainless steel washers, a bolt and a wingnut.

See below.

Not sure if this is of help or not but may help someone else

[elysianblight]

Thanks Marianne!
I was thinking of doing that too, but didn't have a spare bolt laying around.
Something to add to the emergency kit list

The epoxy putty seems to be a good fix so far. There was absolutely no discernible odor while it was curing so even though I kept them away from the cage, just to be safe, I don't think think there was any fume risk.

Even though it was a small piece it did take a good 24 hours for it be completely hard.. I'm a little worried about whether their beaks will be strong/sharp enough to scrape pieces off, but so far they have not shown any inclination to chew on the patched area.

[Hezz]

Once fully cured, the budgies shouldn't be able to shift it, as long as it hasn't been compromised by age or contamination or whatever. Glad it seems to be working, and long may it last.