Cabinet Cage

[dramanea]

Hi!
I'm planning on building my GCC a bigger cage out of a large cabinet (With bird safe wood, paint, etc.) and I thought it'd look really cute with chicken wire. I've read that if I scrub the wire with vinegar and/or soak it in baking soda, the zinc won't be a problem. Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks.

 

[getwozzy]

I personally would not use chicken wire- even if you rinse it, if your bird is a chewer it may present problems. For safety reasons I would go with a stainless steel mesh- I know Home Depot sells stuff like that.

And be careful with paint- you don't want your bird chewing on it or ingesting it...

 

[dramanea]

What's the difference between stainless steel and galvanized steel?

 

[getwozzy]

Galvanized steel has been bathed in zinc- which is toxic to birds, stainless steel is not bathed in zinc, rather chromium is added to the molten metal to give it's rust-resistant properties. Galvanized over time and if exposed to water can start to rust..

Stainless steel is the way to go if you want any sort of metal around your birds- that's why a lot of toy components are strictly SS.

 

[dramanea]

This chicken wire is stainless steel:1/2" Stainless Hexagonal Hex mesh Chicken Wire in Stainless are presented with pictures. These unusual stainless hex meshes are used in decorative mesh applications
Would that work?

 

[getwozzy]

Yep! Looks good!

 

[dramanea]

Yay! Thanks for all the help.

 

[getwozzy]

You're welcome! Make sure any nails or screws or any other metal components you use are stainless steel as well.

Good luck! Post pics when you're done!

 

[Kiwibird]

Don't now much about building a cage, but I'll be following your project. I'm very interested to see once it's all done

 

[getwozzy]

Also- if you're going to build the cabinet yourself, I'd recommend going with a fairly hard wood that's also bird safe- that way your GCCs won't get much if they try to knaw on it...

I'll be using Ash when we build the budgie mansion. Ash is bird safe, very hard, and beautiful.