# Re-painting cage?



## ILoveSolly (Nov 12, 2011)

Hi everyone. I'm new here, so sorry if this question was already posted somewhere. Well right now, my Cockatiel (Solly) lives in a normal bird cage that's a medium size and there are no problems. But my mom went to a thrift store the other day and found this big cage that I think is meant for parrots or something. She thought Solly would enjoy having a bigger cage to maybe fly in a little (since I don't have time to take him out every single day). The thing is is that it's kind of rusty. So we washed it with water and clorox to get it clean (and hosed it down with water afterwards), then we sanded it down by hand and used wire brushes to take off any loose rust (along with this liquid stuff that is supposed to help stop and loosen rust). Then we hosed it down again. Now that it's dry, my mom looked all over for a good kind of paint and we ended up ordering it online. It's non-toxic and doesn't have zinc. We were planning on painting the cage with it and letting it dry a few days, then it would be ok for Solly.

But right as we were about to paint it, I was doing some last minute research and just got a bad gut feeling, I guess, about the safety of the whole thing. I read that even if the paint is non-toxic, the bird will eventually swallow some flakes just from using the bars to climb and everything, and that it's not safe for them to ingest anything that's not food. So we haven't painted it and I'm just really really confused and stuck on what to do. I love the cage and want him to be in it, but if it poses any danger at all then I don't want to take the chance. Please help. There's so much contrasting information about this.

PS: The paint is http://www.ecospaints.com/ brand.

PPS: The bars are exactly an inch a part (maybe 2 millimeters less actually). Is that too big for a tiel?

Here's a picture of the new cage:


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## ILoveSolly (Nov 12, 2011)

I'm so worried about this. Someone please help. Thanks.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Welcome to the forum.... http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Public/Non-ToxicFinishes/index.cfm says non toxic eco paints are safe for babies and pets


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Hi! Welcome to the forums! I hope you like it here!


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## Eollica (Oct 6, 2011)

Usual iron cages we buy here are painted with a lacquer called Epoxi. It is left for dry for days so there's no residues of the toxic vapors it spreads.

Just painting will probably wear off, and they may be able to somehow rip the pain off while beaking. Epoxi is a special lacquer made to cover the metals and prevent rust. 

We never buy cages made of iron withotu lacquers, because it rusts and gets old and horrible, and it's extremely unhealthy for the birds.

Even tought the paint linked by lperry82 is safe, it's still paint, not a lacquer :/ so i'm nto totally sure about this. Just paint won't prevent rust. It needs a waterproof cover that doesn't peel off easily.

You should try calling a manufacturer, perhaps. In my town at least there's a local cage factory. Maybe if you live near one they'd be able to give you the lacquer name or maybe evne offer a service to lacquer it for you.

Here's a page about epoxi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy


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## Karolina.S (Jan 27, 2011)

I had the same question regarding my cage as well, I found this website that might help you. http://www.theparrotuniversity.com/repainting_bird_cages.php

Also if the spacing between the bars are an inch the this can pose as a safety hazard a rule of thumb is that the spacing on the cage bars should be no more than 3/4 inches or 1.9cm. this just helps prevent a bird from sticking its head through the bars and ending up breaking their neck.


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