Dover
New member
My name is Cara. I live in a small town near DC, (like 2 hrs Near). Where I live, I rent the lot and have a personal Travel Trailer parked there. It's cheap, allows me to travel, and I live by myself with no one telling me when to do my dishes. 
Mind you, I am 27. I just have never not had a roommate, or lived with parents.
Here's the good bit you are waiting for:
I have three cats, 1 yr old NYC Street Cat Meeko and 4-Month-Old Kits, Taj & Hex. My two dogs are 11-year-old pit mix, Simba and 2-year-old Chiweenie, Lettie.
The birds: 2 Parakeets and 4 Ring-Neck doves.
Sounds Crowded in a 29 ft RV? It is and It isn't. I hike with the dogs to keep them active. And the birds have a recently finished custom aviary cage that I had to really prep-plan-and-arrange to fit in my place. The cats are my only issue, as all cats are, and I am currently debating on rehoming the 2 kittens.
Not that the cats bother the birds! I just am unsure how stimulating my place is for three indoor cats. They have toys, etc all over the place that I change up constantly. I just feel like it is not enough. But either way, that is not why I am here!
My birds.
The cage is inspired by a cage I had made years ago for a pair of ferrets and Pinterest. Lots and Lots of Pinterest. Since I did not have a lot of money to work with, I attempted to do things as cheaply as possible while still being bird-safe.
The cage was an old gun cabinet that I bought for $20 at goodwill. It ended up being perfect because of its height vs width vs length in regards to usable floor space for both sets of birds.
Yes, all the birds are in the cage. I will get to that in a moment.
Now, the previous cages were okay, but unsightly and small. The parakeets don't get free roam because they are not hand-tamed. I have had them for nearly three years with little to no luck on getting them to accept me, so I knew they had to have a big enough cage to allow each group their own space.
The paint: I used a baby safe chalkboard paint. I basically sanded, painted, sanded, and painted again to make sure the paint adhered as best as it can. Which it did not in places, but...-shrugs-...
The Wire: I used some wire, that I already had, for the side and back panels. However, upon reading about metal poisoning, I did soak in a vinegar solution, Scrub with Wire Scrubbers until my fingers bled, soak some more, scrub until the entire box was used up of scrubbers, and on top of that sandblast the damn wire on both sides. I wanted to make sure It was safe and had access to a sandblaster.
Wood Branches: I just googled bird safe wood and proceeded to go from there. The top has grapevine branches for the parakeets. The bottom branch is heavier duty mimosa branch for the doves since they like easier to grasp perches.
The two next Boxs: While I am not attempting to breed my doves, I do have a male named tony in there, I have to have nesting platforms for the doves. If I do not, they will try to nest in the damn food bowl, water bowl, rip up paper, etc.
So for the nest platforms, it is just two oval baskets screwed on to a wooden block that is then nailed to the back wall. Now, they only nest in the baskets and are not nearly as destructive as they are without a place to nest.
The community: I know I am going to get yelled at for having everyone in the same cage. I know the dangers. However, the way the cage is set up. The birds naturally have their own places to hang. Both species are very docile, and I know my birds' personalities. Parakeets enjoy the top level with the grape vines. I place their specialty food and a separate water dish in "their" level despite them having access to the entire cage.
The bottom and big pole is where the doves stay. They can fly up to the top if they wish, but prefer to stay about midway. This creates the perfect natural barrier between them.
I have watched over the cage since I built it like a hawk because I was not sure how everyone will act. The parakeets will fly down and steal some of the seeds the doves do not eat. (They eat their own zupreme food! I do not feed the parrots seeds unless it's a treat or they scavenge around the doves. Actually, everyone eats it since I usually mix a little in for the doves)
So far, no one has chased. Attacked. etc. I am lucky my doves are tame even when in their nesting moods.
Even so, If I see any bad behavior, I will put a barrier up between the birds. I am prepared to modify the cage at any moment!
In total, the cage costed me around $50 bucks. I am still modifying it to find a better dove feeder, and a parakeet bowl they can not knock down.
Mind you, I am 27. I just have never not had a roommate, or lived with parents.
Here's the good bit you are waiting for:
I have three cats, 1 yr old NYC Street Cat Meeko and 4-Month-Old Kits, Taj & Hex. My two dogs are 11-year-old pit mix, Simba and 2-year-old Chiweenie, Lettie.
The birds: 2 Parakeets and 4 Ring-Neck doves.
Sounds Crowded in a 29 ft RV? It is and It isn't. I hike with the dogs to keep them active. And the birds have a recently finished custom aviary cage that I had to really prep-plan-and-arrange to fit in my place. The cats are my only issue, as all cats are, and I am currently debating on rehoming the 2 kittens.
Not that the cats bother the birds! I just am unsure how stimulating my place is for three indoor cats. They have toys, etc all over the place that I change up constantly. I just feel like it is not enough. But either way, that is not why I am here!
My birds.
The cage is inspired by a cage I had made years ago for a pair of ferrets and Pinterest. Lots and Lots of Pinterest. Since I did not have a lot of money to work with, I attempted to do things as cheaply as possible while still being bird-safe.
The cage was an old gun cabinet that I bought for $20 at goodwill. It ended up being perfect because of its height vs width vs length in regards to usable floor space for both sets of birds.
Yes, all the birds are in the cage. I will get to that in a moment.
Now, the previous cages were okay, but unsightly and small. The parakeets don't get free roam because they are not hand-tamed. I have had them for nearly three years with little to no luck on getting them to accept me, so I knew they had to have a big enough cage to allow each group their own space.
The paint: I used a baby safe chalkboard paint. I basically sanded, painted, sanded, and painted again to make sure the paint adhered as best as it can. Which it did not in places, but...-shrugs-...
The Wire: I used some wire, that I already had, for the side and back panels. However, upon reading about metal poisoning, I did soak in a vinegar solution, Scrub with Wire Scrubbers until my fingers bled, soak some more, scrub until the entire box was used up of scrubbers, and on top of that sandblast the damn wire on both sides. I wanted to make sure It was safe and had access to a sandblaster.
Wood Branches: I just googled bird safe wood and proceeded to go from there. The top has grapevine branches for the parakeets. The bottom branch is heavier duty mimosa branch for the doves since they like easier to grasp perches.
The two next Boxs: While I am not attempting to breed my doves, I do have a male named tony in there, I have to have nesting platforms for the doves. If I do not, they will try to nest in the damn food bowl, water bowl, rip up paper, etc.
So for the nest platforms, it is just two oval baskets screwed on to a wooden block that is then nailed to the back wall. Now, they only nest in the baskets and are not nearly as destructive as they are without a place to nest.
The community: I know I am going to get yelled at for having everyone in the same cage. I know the dangers. However, the way the cage is set up. The birds naturally have their own places to hang. Both species are very docile, and I know my birds' personalities. Parakeets enjoy the top level with the grape vines. I place their specialty food and a separate water dish in "their" level despite them having access to the entire cage.
The bottom and big pole is where the doves stay. They can fly up to the top if they wish, but prefer to stay about midway. This creates the perfect natural barrier between them.
I have watched over the cage since I built it like a hawk because I was not sure how everyone will act. The parakeets will fly down and steal some of the seeds the doves do not eat. (They eat their own zupreme food! I do not feed the parrots seeds unless it's a treat or they scavenge around the doves. Actually, everyone eats it since I usually mix a little in for the doves)
So far, no one has chased. Attacked. etc. I am lucky my doves are tame even when in their nesting moods.
Even so, If I see any bad behavior, I will put a barrier up between the birds. I am prepared to modify the cage at any moment!
In total, the cage costed me around $50 bucks. I am still modifying it to find a better dove feeder, and a parakeet bowl they can not knock down.
