# Homemade Cage Warning



## Tony Frudakis (Nov 7, 2011)

Hello - I am new here but wanted to post a warning based on a bad experience we had. I went out to Lowe's and purchased some 2x4s and chicken wire to make a large 2'X2'X4' cage for my cockatiel. My theory was that in providing a larger area I would make my bird happier. I spent 3 days on it, and we moved the bird to the new cage. I spend a couple hours with her each morning, as I work on my computer, but after 2 days I noticed there was something wrong with her - fluffed up appearance, lower activity, less chirping, and most seriously, I witnessed her vomit a clear fluid. I immediately took her to a vet where a stool and throat sample indicated nothing wrong with respect to gram negative bacteria or yeast. The avian vet thought she had been "poisoned" so to speak. I immediately suspected the new cage and we removed it, placing her back in the old (properly constructed) one. Its been 3 days now and she is totally back to normal.

In retrospect there were two problems with my cage - the first was that I used epoxy glue on some of the joints to hold them in place before naling. The second, and I think maybe the most serious, is that the chicken wire may have had a heavy lead component (probably the product originated in China, where maybe lead standards are more lax). The bird constantly had this wire in its beak as it climbed up and down. I think most likely, the sickness was caused by lead poisoning. The feces was green, but with a fluid component

Im very grateful she recovered, and I wanted to spread the warning among others of you thinking about building a "home-made" cage.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Hello and welcome the the forum... Thank you for the advice and im so glad she is much better now


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

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


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

the chicken wire would not be lead, it is made of galvanized zinc, which is toxic to birds and will cause heavy metal poisoning.

make sure she recovered... metal poisoning doesnt go away over night.

and if its a yeast infection it will go away much quicker than metal poisoning. sounds like yeast infection, though it was very smart to remove the cage as it is made of zinc. however you will learn that such cages can be treated properly to be safer. however its smarter to remove it


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## Tony Frudakis (Nov 7, 2011)

*zinc*

That makes more sense - the wire has that silvery zinc like appearance. I think we'll stick to store-bought cages from now on just to avoid future, similar problems (is the wood treated with toxic chemicals? What about the epoxy glue I used ...etc.)

Im sure she is better, and the turn-around was literally 24 hours after removing her from the offending cage. Before removal, she was fluffed up, had poor appetite, slumped over a bit, very much inactive - seemingly depressed almost - and silent (no chirping). Now she is back to where she was - hopping around like a chicken, very vocal, nibbling on anything she can get her beak on, and eating her wide range of foods frequently throughout the day. She also does this thing that lets us know she is happy - she raises her wings and "geeks out" for a second, stabbing at the air with her beak in a downward motion while making an unusual squawk (for her). Its almost like a pre-flight checkout or something ... though she usually does not follow it up with an actual lift-off.

I think the quick turn-around is a reflection of the fact that she was not severely dosed with the metal. A light poisoning, but we are very attentive to her and we saw the change immediately. I sense that if we had missed this by a day she would have died. I suppose that this is proof that the more a bird is loved, the longer it will live!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i doubt it was metal poisoning at all. it does not go away that fast as far as i am aware. the change again may have made her seem normal again, because in a new environment a bird doesnt want to be targeted, so they act normal though she may still be sick. 


best not to use treated wood (no pressure treated or anything). untreated bird safe wood is best. it could have been the glue, i dont know, but i'd still have her checked out.


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## Kikode (Aug 17, 2011)

Appreciate the post because I will be building a small Aviary for my deck and was probbaly going to use the chicken wire. If its toxic to birds why is it made for chicken? Or is it only the cheap stuff thats bad? Either way congrats on the recovery. Ill be more careful about selecting the materials when I do get around to it.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

its toxic to birds who chew it


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I have used hardware cloth, which is 1/2" x 1/2" wire mesh for 15 years with no ill effects. Like chicken wire it has a zinc residue on it. To neutralize this when I buy the mesh I half fill the bath tub and pour a gallon of vinegar in the water and then place the roll of wire in it and let it soak for several hours. Then I take it outside and roll it out, use a wire brush on any accumulated areas of the mesh to remove zinc buildup, rinse well and let lay out in the sun for a say. 

The same can be done to chicken wire. The drawback of using chicken wire is the holes are larger, and a bird can get it's head caught in it. The holes are also large enough that rats/mice can get in and cause problem. If the birds hanging on the side of the flight during the night it is easier for pedators like raccoons to attack and pull them thru the wire.


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## Tony Frudakis (Nov 7, 2011)

*mesh*

This sounds like what I was using, but I didnt treat the mesh before using it. I think the main use of this product is to keep animals out of gardens (bought it at Lowe's rather than a pet supply store).


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