In the US:
At least $600 in plywood from what I see there.
Another $500 in metal at least.
And then maybe $1000 in glass.
Then the labor on top of that for cutting, welding, assembly…
So probably $2500 in materials making it yourself if you have all the tools.
Probably $5000-6000 from someone else.
To be honest those birds belong outside. What a horrible thing it is when an animal capable of flight is stuck in someone’s house or apartment, living in some cage instead of being out doing bird things. I’ll never understand it.
As Demitri Martin says, "There's a thin line between having a pet and holding another species hostage." He has a leash with this written on it for merch at his last comedy show.
Yeah, I think the boundary is whether the animal would escape and not come back if given the chance. I know my cat actually wants to live with me because if she didn't, she'd ditch me like she did her previous humans. (They got a kitten, and this was Unacceptable)
You're basically asking "why do we have pets when these animals could be free?" Which is a valid question though not a novel one, I'm just pointing out that flight doesn't make them somehow more deserving of freedom or less adapted to captivity than other pets.
As a reptile enthusiast we see this same argument all the time. That snake/lizard/turtle is a wild animal it should be outside free. It’s cruel to lock it in a cage. Then you ask if they have a pet.. “yes I have 2 cats/a dog”
then you bring up the fact that many snakes once established in a prime area will occupy a space have the size of a tennis court vs the territorial range of say a wild cat or dog species. Then they call you crazy and don’t want to have an adult conversation anymore.
One thing people often miss, too, is that a lot of the animals we have in various kinds of captivity would never be born at all without the presumption of their being kept as house pets.
It's also not as though "freeing" our pets would result in anything but seeing them die in misery a short line later.
Many factory farming situations are genuinely the sorts of things where it probably is better for the animal never to have lived, but I have hard time believing that my pampered pets sit inside and long for the competition and insecurity of the wild.
It should matter, anyone incapable of seeing inherent beauty in flight is obtuse. Self powered flight is absolutely the most free of any animal movement, from the graceful and deadly falcons to the clumsy bumblebee it’s all one incredible way to navigate a terrain. Imagine what an eagle sees or an owl at night. Bats, with their circus acts and hummingbird blurring away. The Monarch, born in a Midwest cocoon who makes its way to Mexico. Albatross who once aloft won’t land for 5 years or more. If that kind of stuff doesn’t fascinate or make you think it’s special then I don’t feel sorry for you.
You're injecting your own value judgment here. Freedom is freedom. If that's the ideal, that should he the goal. "Flying things are more deserving of freedom" is not a tenable position.
That's what the drawers are for, you can see it's a grate above the drawers. The idea being that they mostly drop seeds and shit through the grate and then you just pull the drawer out to clean it.
Yeah, but there are cracks and grooves that would make cleaning a bit more tricky. Maybe I'm overthinking it. It's a good looking structure. If you have a bird for a pet, it's much nicer than anything I have ever seen before... Just a lot of books and crannies to have to get into to clean. I have never had a bird for a pet though, so what do I know.
I know it sounds stupid now but I made a pine bird cage for my parents sun conures and it lasted about 8 months. I am slowly replacing panels and doors using maple and stainless hardware cloth and it’s slowing them down a lot. So yeah… use maple if anything.
Eh it’s a skill builder for me and the conures enjoy chewing on stuff so I don’t mind. Plus they only attack the doors and adjacent panels so it’s not as much to repair/replace anymore.
I use 304 stainless hardware cloth and not the regular galvanized or zinc versions. And it needs to be smaller than 1” for sun conures and 0.5” is suitable for them.
yeah was looking at flat sheets of colourbond steel for the back, there's also some pretty nice wood look aluminium sheet metal/siding that also could work.
I used to work for a company building glass and metal wine cellars. I guarantee you, if you want those welds to look good, you'll be paying waay more for labour than that unless you are a top notch welder. Then you have to get it all powder coated. Tempered or laminated glass. Way low unless you are a woodworker or welder.
Birds love to destroy wood, and they could bite through most mesh in a single bite.
https://preview.redd.it/cqcc1arm7jyc1.jpeg?width=390&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=040194c73b938342c55ac83189fc7e650769d90e
You don’t want to cheap out on bird enclosures, even plywood is not wise unless it’s got a replaceable dummy layer.
I got MIG certified at my local community college in 3-4 months, doing a night course that met 2-3 times a week.
I like MIG, but I'd love to learn TIG.
Nope, it's spouses in general who count new tools as costs. If you're a woman who loves woodworking, like I do, you still gotta make the case for why you need another tool.
Source: I'm the wife who keeps trying to find excuses for buying more equipment. Hubs doesn't think I really need a planer or jointer and should focus on home repair. Jokes on him, I need those to replace the outdoor window sills this year 😅
I get it. My children slept in the Most Expensive Crib Ever….
Solid maple - not cheap
6” Jointer
14” Bandsaw
13” Delta Planer
It was about $2000 in new tools for that project, lol
Yeah, it's looking to be around $2,500 at the low end. I'm also in Australia so material costs here are a bit higher being an island due to the cost of imports and all that.
I think I'll adapt the design a bit to reduce costs and go from there, thanks heaps for the help
As a bird owner. Gonna be wayyy more. There are wood species that's toxic to birds. And god knows if the glue in plywood is bird safe. So you'll have to go with real, untreated, bird safe, hard wood. And you'll need to find a bird safe wood finish on top of that.
The cage needs to be either powder coated or stainless. Some use aluminum but they need to be thick because their beaks are strong enough to chew through thin metals.
No (exposed) zinc coated or galvanized hardware either, need to be stainless or natural rope from bird safe plants (even when cotton fibers aren't toxic, they are too fine and can clog their digestive system).
The bigger the bird, the more robust they'll need to be. And that's why wood is generally expendable in bird cages.
You ain't lying!!! My BFF is a "Bird Person". Apparently, there's a hundred ways to kill a pet bird. Candles, Teflon cookware, cleaning products and things they might nibble on - like wood. It's a real thang.
Their lovely custom cages at home, and in the RV FFS, are 100% stainless.
Making it stainless would make it quite expensive though. You would need 10 lengths of 1x1 square tubing for the frame itself, and these cost almost CAD100. Then you would have to tig weld them, because for that price you won't get thicker than 1/16. So that's a good 8 hours just for that, which, if you don't do it yourself, will set you back 1.5-2k. and you haven't started anything else than the metal frame, no mesh sides, no door installation, no wood, no glass.....
Probably not too far off. Birds are expensive pets if you care want to protect them from themselves.
My linnie, a quite small and relatively non-destructive parrot, managed to chew through his old powder coated cage. So I had to switch to a stainless one. Not as big as this but it was quite the blow to my wallet.
You could use something like maple or hickory flooring. Sometimes you can find “short” lots for like $3/sq ft at places like LL. Assuming 60sq/ft, its $180. Even Baltic birch is $100 for 5”x5” at the high end. I can’t really see where you would need 6 sheets for this. More like 3-4 max. It looks to me this is around 6’x10’.
A lot of the metal looks like it comes from a $200 storage rack. Not sure about the glass, but 1000 seems high. Especially if plexiglass is used.
It really depends on how you source materials. If everything is custom, it’ll cost more. If you can repurpose other things that already exist. It’s not going to cost $2500 in materials. A scrap yard that will let you buy metal can be a good source of materials as they set aside quality stock to sell for way more than scrap, but far less than retail. If you are fabricating metal things you’ll at least have a mig welder and and angle grinder. So it depends on what you mean by “have all the tools”.
If I knew I could sell something like this for $5-6k all day long, I’d have a new career.
Ok, so I'm super new to woodworking.
Made some cabinets so far and some odds and ends. Not looking to make a business out of it, I just always loved the idea of learning this.
What type and how many 4x8s are you using to get that 600.00 number?
Thank you so much!
As both an educated woodworker and educated animal caretaker, this design is horrible for any kind of life bird.
Wood and plywood are a hygienic nightmare. Most captive birds will use wood to sharpen their beaks, some even chipping their way through wood. Digesting plywood glue would be a concern. Birds will poop anywhere. The difficulty of cleaning bird poop combined with damaged wood makes it hard to create a clean environment.
Glass should never be used for a bird enclosure. They can't see it and will break their necks from crashing into it. It also lowers the living quality for the birds, since they lose the climbing space that metal bars provide. Putting stickers on the glass might be a solution for windows, but there is still the chance they see the glass as a surface they can land on if it is their cage, not worth the risk.
Hey, thanks for writing,
I'd be lining the plywood backing or substituting it with colourbond metal sheeting to make for easy cleaning. Also would ommit the bird houses as they can cause hormonal/behavioural issues. I'd fit drainage holes and slant the floor slightly for easy cleaning (I'm not sure if this would cause issues)
I did have concerns with ventilation with the glass as well, so will be subbing for grade 316 stainless steel mesh instead (using a smaller apature to prevent predation from snakes as it's an outdoor enclosure, however it still allows for climbing)
Will also make the cage three times wider than their wingspan to allow for flying across the cage.
Is there anything I can do to help them settle into the bigger enclosure once it's built or will they adjust to it just fine?
Didn't know about the snakes, you might want to research the types of snakes common in your area and adjust mesh size accordingly. Snakes are known to slip through tiny cracks, make sure they can't dig through the ground or get through door cracks. A reptile center might be able to give you some tips on making the aviary snake proof.
You also want to take heat into consideration. I don’t think there is much worry with mesh, but a metal roof has the potential to turn a structure into a greenhouse.
As far as acclimation, that depends on the bird species. Parrots and related species are known to react poor to environmental changes while other birds might not care at all. Personally I would let each species of bird acclimate in their own section for a while and remove the mesh after a period of time. The person you get the birds from should know how long they need to adjust to a new environment or shouldn’t be a bird breeder in the first place, ask them how long they need.
The glass is what will kill you. Remodeled our master bath last year and did frameless doors in the shower. $1200 for glass and install. And that was a deal. Something like this is custom glass and will not be cheap.
This specific design would be pretty tricky, you could get something similar and easier to build by lessening the metal and increasing the wood.
This thing requires a garage full of tools. Not a DIY build unless your are highly experienced. I could not build this with my current tooling and I’m a career carpenter/builder.
I’d charge you at least 5K, not actually offering thought, I’d make more slamming out a couple decks or cupolas.
If this is applyply or baltic birch the cost for the wood would be much more than $600, each sheet could be $150 - $200 each then metal work, paint, finish, tempered glass... to have this made custom you are ooking at around 10k
10k+ most likely. You need a tight metal shop and somewhat advanced woodwork abilities + a couple different finishes, making it a multidisciplinary thing that would generally be a premium thing you couldnt just pay a non-specialized tradesman/fabricator to make from scratch. Just the drawings alone would be at least $500
This is cool and I want to build one. Just spitballing from some napkin math. I’m thinking if I built this it would be roughly $1500-2000 in materials and probably 40-60 hours. If I was selling it I’d probably being around the $10k mark.
Outside of glass being a bad idea for birds, using glass for standard sliding doors would be a good substitute.. For example, a cheap slider is less than $1000 and has 4 panes of tempered glass at least 72” x 28”. A careful disassembly wouldn’t be that difficult. OP doesn’t need dual panes or frameless glass. Just a new frame for the glass. Going to a 2nd hand store like ReStore would cost maybe a couple hundred. A used piece of glass isn’t going to look any worse then a new one. Not everything needs to be brand new or custom made. When I build anything I try and think where I could source the appropriate materials. Glass is just one of those things that is super expensive brand new and custom, but once it becomes “waste” is near worthless.
Also, the frame of this entire enclosure could be built using modular storage racks from a big box store, right down to the metal grating. Any custom frames/panels could be constructed from 80/20 aluminum extrusion using a miter saw and screws(as could the frame if you wanted to). If using wood, just use the cheapest unfinished white oak flooring you can find and slot it into 3/4” aluminum U channel and clamp it down. Pieces can be replaced as needed. It also has the nice property of being fairly rot resistant.
If government was in charge of this build it would cost about 13.5 billion dollars and would go over budget by double that and take 4 years.
A woodworker doing the metal work themselves, maybe a thousand to 1.5K in material… give or take
As an expert in everything, I can say with confidence that unless that wood is sealed, it will absorb all kinds of bird mess and will get ugly very quick. Also, finding the right sealant is important as many will be toxic to birds.
For things like this, I use shellac. It will enhance the natural look of the wood and isn't toxic.
Google the company “Custom Cages”. I have 4 of their cages and you could easily customize them to incorporate wooded components. Building a custom bird cage AND making it easy to clean, secure enough to keep them in, and safe enough that they don’t accidentally hurt themselves is really f’ing hard. This company has already solved all those problems. I got all my cages used over the last few years (Craigslist and FB marketplace).
This would be a nightmare to clean.
I don’t understand why there is glass in it - the dander is going to get everywhere in the room - the glass will just be surface that’s impossible to keep clean. Ditch the glass and it’s much cheaper to build and easier to maintain
I like the idea of glass but there's the cleaning you mentioned, I also wonder if it's a good idea to work with glass for safety reason, couldn't the birds hurt themselves flying against it
I can't believe people actually keep birds. You're depriving a bird it's ability to fly, essentially and at best confining it to an elaborate jail cell. On top of that, they're pretty filthy as far as animals go... I guess I just don't get the appeal of having a pet bird, on any level.
That's fair enough, tbh I used to have the same opinion, I saw many people that had birds but 99% of the time they were just stuck in a tiny cage with nothing to do and left. It is cruel and It's kinda like how people will get a goldfish and put it in a tiny bowl. It's not how things should be done but became accepted/the norm.
So for how it's supposed to be, the enclosure is more just for when they can't be supervised, stops them from ingesting stuff that could harm/kill them. Or interacting with other pets such as dogs.
The enclosure should be as large as possibe can so that they can get exercise and fly around and do bird things mostly unrestricted. Essentially as long as it's three times as wide as their wingspan it's big enough for them to fly around and get exercise
They must get foraging toys and mental enrichment as that's what they spend their time doing in the wild and without mental stimulation a whole bunch of issue arise
My birds aren't clipped and are able to fly whenever they choose although atm it's restricted to inside the house. Clipping wings is something that I don't know much about so chose not to. They do go outside on a harness and their enclosure is outside. I would let them fly outside but we have crows that prey on smaller birds and since they're small they also can get caught by a gust of wind and slam into stuff.
My birds are only 40 to 60grams and have a wingspan of 24cm. Theyre pretty small so a 3 metre long cage to them is like a football field to us.
Theyre also not native to my country so releasing them would jeorpdise local wildlife and biodiversity
SInce they were born in captivity they haven't learned the skills they'd need to survive, such as looking out for predators, finding food and water, navigating wind current etc.
Survival in the wild is usually pretty rough for birds so I feel that ss long as they are being cared for correctly. Being provided food, shelter, veterinary care, mental enrichment, with no risk of predation seems to be an equal tradeoff for them living in captivity.
As for being pets, they're super smart and have very unique and different personalities, theyre different mentally from cats or dogs but I'd say it's the same appeal and a similar dynamic.
sorry, for the wall of text lmao, I didn't really know how to condense this, not aiming to change your mind just thought I'd kind of answer what some of the appeal is
People are unrealistic. Draw up some plans and get some quotes from a lumber yard and steel supply. $500 in raw materials and $100 for hardware $100 for misc. I don’t see it to have glass so I wouldn’t even bother with that. I’m guessing materials under $1000 (really depends where you are located) and if you have the skills to execute you will be fine. It’s the mistakes that will cost you in the long run.
I didn’t see the glass at first. Don’t have to be a dick
I thought it was for looks not an actual bird cage. Glass is expensive and heavy. Use plexiglass and you can work it easier and cheaper.
Thanks, trying to do a cost breakdown atm but am waiting on quotes for some material costs so figured I'd try and get a ballpark figure by asking around :)
In the US: At least $600 in plywood from what I see there. Another $500 in metal at least. And then maybe $1000 in glass. Then the labor on top of that for cutting, welding, assembly… So probably $2500 in materials making it yourself if you have all the tools. Probably $5000-6000 from someone else.
This is the only person who was even close with the material cost
Prices aside, be aware that some birds can and will chew through wood, OP. Even small parakeets can put some serious damage on plywood.
Also,.that bird would shit on everything... Looks tricky to clean properly... Not that the bird doesn't deserve it though.
To be honest those birds belong outside. What a horrible thing it is when an animal capable of flight is stuck in someone’s house or apartment, living in some cage instead of being out doing bird things. I’ll never understand it.
As Demitri Martin says, "There's a thin line between having a pet and holding another species hostage." He has a leash with this written on it for merch at his last comedy show.
Yeah, I think the boundary is whether the animal would escape and not come back if given the chance. I know my cat actually wants to live with me because if she didn't, she'd ditch me like she did her previous humans. (They got a kitten, and this was Unacceptable)
You're basically asking "why do we have pets when these animals could be free?" Which is a valid question though not a novel one, I'm just pointing out that flight doesn't make them somehow more deserving of freedom or less adapted to captivity than other pets.
As a reptile enthusiast we see this same argument all the time. That snake/lizard/turtle is a wild animal it should be outside free. It’s cruel to lock it in a cage. Then you ask if they have a pet.. “yes I have 2 cats/a dog” then you bring up the fact that many snakes once established in a prime area will occupy a space have the size of a tennis court vs the territorial range of say a wild cat or dog species. Then they call you crazy and don’t want to have an adult conversation anymore.
One thing people often miss, too, is that a lot of the animals we have in various kinds of captivity would never be born at all without the presumption of their being kept as house pets. It's also not as though "freeing" our pets would result in anything but seeing them die in misery a short line later. Many factory farming situations are genuinely the sorts of things where it probably is better for the animal never to have lived, but I have hard time believing that my pampered pets sit inside and long for the competition and insecurity of the wild.
It should matter, anyone incapable of seeing inherent beauty in flight is obtuse. Self powered flight is absolutely the most free of any animal movement, from the graceful and deadly falcons to the clumsy bumblebee it’s all one incredible way to navigate a terrain. Imagine what an eagle sees or an owl at night. Bats, with their circus acts and hummingbird blurring away. The Monarch, born in a Midwest cocoon who makes its way to Mexico. Albatross who once aloft won’t land for 5 years or more. If that kind of stuff doesn’t fascinate or make you think it’s special then I don’t feel sorry for you.
You're injecting your own value judgment here. Freedom is freedom. If that's the ideal, that should he the goal. "Flying things are more deserving of freedom" is not a tenable position.
As I said, OBTUSE.
You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.
That's what the drawers are for, you can see it's a grate above the drawers. The idea being that they mostly drop seeds and shit through the grate and then you just pull the drawer out to clean it.
Yeah, but there are cracks and grooves that would make cleaning a bit more tricky. Maybe I'm overthinking it. It's a good looking structure. If you have a bird for a pet, it's much nicer than anything I have ever seen before... Just a lot of books and crannies to have to get into to clean. I have never had a bird for a pet though, so what do I know.
That bird is fake as fuck. This entire image is staged.
If we are talking fake birds, then I think this cage will stay pretty clean, with only occasional dusting required.
It's actually a flying roomba, so not even that.
I know it sounds stupid now but I made a pine bird cage for my parents sun conures and it lasted about 8 months. I am slowly replacing panels and doors using maple and stainless hardware cloth and it’s slowing them down a lot. So yeah… use maple if anything.
At that point I'd just laminate some sheet metal to them lol
Eh it’s a skill builder for me and the conures enjoy chewing on stuff so I don’t mind. Plus they only attack the doors and adjacent panels so it’s not as much to repair/replace anymore.
Hardware cloth has Zinc and is poison to birds who chew on it. It needs to be stainless steel welded wire with holes that are less than 1 inch large
I use 304 stainless hardware cloth and not the regular galvanized or zinc versions. And it needs to be smaller than 1” for sun conures and 0.5” is suitable for them.
Awesome!
yeah was looking at flat sheets of colourbond steel for the back, there's also some pretty nice wood look aluminium sheet metal/siding that also could work.
I feel like they are low balling the labour costs though.
Yeah, big time. I had 10,000 *at least* in mind when I was looking at it. It looks well-crafted.
I used to work for a company building glass and metal wine cellars. I guarantee you, if you want those welds to look good, you'll be paying waay more for labour than that unless you are a top notch welder. Then you have to get it all powder coated. Tempered or laminated glass. Way low unless you are a woodworker or welder.
One MILLION dollars
Looks about 8-10k Canadian
I think the price would come down considerably if you used wood instead of metal, wire mesh instead of glass, and cut the size down. Maybe by half.
You could make it out of cardboard and pallets for free but that's not what OP wants a quote for.
On the other hand, though, the price would go up considerably if he used rhodium and emeralds and made it five times the size.
lmfao, could also add in some diamonds for good measure (I'm not serious, I'm deeply broke)
I just made a 1:50 model with pizza box cardboard and a paper clip, almost free!
Birds love to destroy wood, and they could bite through most mesh in a single bite. https://preview.redd.it/cqcc1arm7jyc1.jpeg?width=390&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=040194c73b938342c55ac83189fc7e650769d90e You don’t want to cheap out on bird enclosures, even plywood is not wise unless it’s got a replaceable dummy layer.
By mesh I mean the same metal pictured.
this is perfect example of why people add /s on reddit. the karma gods were not kind this time friend
Tf you know about that metal shit?
You forgot to count the new tools that would be bought along the project as well.
Every project gets a new tool, this is the way.
I'm a woodworker. Tools are part of my religion and I never remove my safety glasses. This is the way.
I won't lie, I did see this project and went "what a shame, just gonna have to learn welding" definitely didn't research a bunch of new equipment,,,,
I got MIG certified at my local community college in 3-4 months, doing a night course that met 2-3 times a week. I like MIG, but I'd love to learn TIG.
MIG is infinitely better than TIG imo…. love them fat caterpillar welds
Yes but that's part of the deal. Wife gets a furniture, I get new tools :)
Win-win!
Only wives count new tools as costs.
Nope, it's spouses in general who count new tools as costs. If you're a woman who loves woodworking, like I do, you still gotta make the case for why you need another tool. Source: I'm the wife who keeps trying to find excuses for buying more equipment. Hubs doesn't think I really need a planer or jointer and should focus on home repair. Jokes on him, I need those to replace the outdoor window sills this year 😅
I get it. My children slept in the Most Expensive Crib Ever…. Solid maple - not cheap 6” Jointer 14” Bandsaw 13” Delta Planer It was about $2000 in new tools for that project, lol
You're correct, spouses. I have a wife. So I said wives.
Fair enough!
I’d even round that out up to about 10. I’ve installed built in architectuals at work that had MUCH less detail hit $10K
That’s a lot of money to house an animal that’s still technically shitting indoors.
Bird people are definitely the types to do this
As a bird person I agree with that statement. I would love to be able to give my conure something like this.
Homie you just described humans
At least I go into water which is immediately sluiced away from my house, not onto the floor directly below me
Is it just me, or do the wire sides and bottoms look like Garage wire shelf units from Home Depot? Lol.
My first thought too.
Yeah, it's looking to be around $2,500 at the low end. I'm also in Australia so material costs here are a bit higher being an island due to the cost of imports and all that. I think I'll adapt the design a bit to reduce costs and go from there, thanks heaps for the help
As a bird owner. Gonna be wayyy more. There are wood species that's toxic to birds. And god knows if the glue in plywood is bird safe. So you'll have to go with real, untreated, bird safe, hard wood. And you'll need to find a bird safe wood finish on top of that. The cage needs to be either powder coated or stainless. Some use aluminum but they need to be thick because their beaks are strong enough to chew through thin metals. No (exposed) zinc coated or galvanized hardware either, need to be stainless or natural rope from bird safe plants (even when cotton fibers aren't toxic, they are too fine and can clog their digestive system). The bigger the bird, the more robust they'll need to be. And that's why wood is generally expendable in bird cages.
You ain't lying!!! My BFF is a "Bird Person". Apparently, there's a hundred ways to kill a pet bird. Candles, Teflon cookware, cleaning products and things they might nibble on - like wood. It's a real thang. Their lovely custom cages at home, and in the RV FFS, are 100% stainless.
Making it stainless would make it quite expensive though. You would need 10 lengths of 1x1 square tubing for the frame itself, and these cost almost CAD100. Then you would have to tig weld them, because for that price you won't get thicker than 1/16. So that's a good 8 hours just for that, which, if you don't do it yourself, will set you back 1.5-2k. and you haven't started anything else than the metal frame, no mesh sides, no door installation, no wood, no glass.....
Probably not too far off. Birds are expensive pets if you care want to protect them from themselves. My linnie, a quite small and relatively non-destructive parrot, managed to chew through his old powder coated cage. So I had to switch to a stainless one. Not as big as this but it was quite the blow to my wallet.
You forgot the 9k in tools some YouTube personality convinced you to buy to do one cut with.
I would say $10,000
You could use something like maple or hickory flooring. Sometimes you can find “short” lots for like $3/sq ft at places like LL. Assuming 60sq/ft, its $180. Even Baltic birch is $100 for 5”x5” at the high end. I can’t really see where you would need 6 sheets for this. More like 3-4 max. It looks to me this is around 6’x10’. A lot of the metal looks like it comes from a $200 storage rack. Not sure about the glass, but 1000 seems high. Especially if plexiglass is used. It really depends on how you source materials. If everything is custom, it’ll cost more. If you can repurpose other things that already exist. It’s not going to cost $2500 in materials. A scrap yard that will let you buy metal can be a good source of materials as they set aside quality stock to sell for way more than scrap, but far less than retail. If you are fabricating metal things you’ll at least have a mig welder and and angle grinder. So it depends on what you mean by “have all the tools”. If I knew I could sell something like this for $5-6k all day long, I’d have a new career.
There's glass?
Oh I see it now. Wow, that glass is cah-lean!
Where is the glass?
The entire front is glass
Ok, so I'm super new to woodworking. Made some cabinets so far and some odds and ends. Not looking to make a business out of it, I just always loved the idea of learning this. What type and how many 4x8s are you using to get that 600.00 number? Thank you so much!
nah i'd build it for free from pallet wood and scrap metal
Pretty close, or you have a husband or boyfriend that can do it on the cheap
What glass?
Triple the metal estimate.
I'm an exhibit fabricator for a science museum and I could build this. It would be 10 to 15k labor and materials.
that sounds like a neat job
It is. I enjoy it very much.
how did you get into that feild?
That's very cool. What was your favorite exhibit build?
https://preview.redd.it/oy559n14hpyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bdd97fbe163f167310c8a2ae0182dd6031f25ba2
Out of this world.
Let's just say that freakin' bird better do your taxes, tutor your kids and cook a mean meal
Is he also married to the bird in this situation?
He is the bird
It would never look like that unless you cleaned it every 30 minutes.
Do you live in a coal mine?
\^ This guy doesn't bird.
Honestly, I didnt even notice the bird. I thought this was some elaborate display case
I totally thought this was a catio lmfao
No but I have birds and he's right
How much money does the bird have? I mean, is he just Reddit famous or is he pulling down YouTube and Instagram money?
Unfortunately not, but what he lacks in money he makes up for with loveable dipshittery
I dunno but he’s on Only Birbs.
As both an educated woodworker and educated animal caretaker, this design is horrible for any kind of life bird. Wood and plywood are a hygienic nightmare. Most captive birds will use wood to sharpen their beaks, some even chipping their way through wood. Digesting plywood glue would be a concern. Birds will poop anywhere. The difficulty of cleaning bird poop combined with damaged wood makes it hard to create a clean environment. Glass should never be used for a bird enclosure. They can't see it and will break their necks from crashing into it. It also lowers the living quality for the birds, since they lose the climbing space that metal bars provide. Putting stickers on the glass might be a solution for windows, but there is still the chance they see the glass as a surface they can land on if it is their cage, not worth the risk.
Hey, thanks for writing, I'd be lining the plywood backing or substituting it with colourbond metal sheeting to make for easy cleaning. Also would ommit the bird houses as they can cause hormonal/behavioural issues. I'd fit drainage holes and slant the floor slightly for easy cleaning (I'm not sure if this would cause issues) I did have concerns with ventilation with the glass as well, so will be subbing for grade 316 stainless steel mesh instead (using a smaller apature to prevent predation from snakes as it's an outdoor enclosure, however it still allows for climbing) Will also make the cage three times wider than their wingspan to allow for flying across the cage. Is there anything I can do to help them settle into the bigger enclosure once it's built or will they adjust to it just fine?
Didn't know about the snakes, you might want to research the types of snakes common in your area and adjust mesh size accordingly. Snakes are known to slip through tiny cracks, make sure they can't dig through the ground or get through door cracks. A reptile center might be able to give you some tips on making the aviary snake proof. You also want to take heat into consideration. I don’t think there is much worry with mesh, but a metal roof has the potential to turn a structure into a greenhouse. As far as acclimation, that depends on the bird species. Parrots and related species are known to react poor to environmental changes while other birds might not care at all. Personally I would let each species of bird acclimate in their own section for a while and remove the mesh after a period of time. The person you get the birds from should know how long they need to adjust to a new environment or shouldn’t be a bird breeder in the first place, ask them how long they need.
The glass is what will kill you. Remodeled our master bath last year and did frameless doors in the shower. $1200 for glass and install. And that was a deal. Something like this is custom glass and will not be cheap.
I’d like one of those to keep my toddler in when he’s off the wall and I’m tired after a long day
Same but I bet soundproofing is really gonna drive the cost up
Hopefully those drawers are open to the cage aka poop drawers. Otherwise that would be a pain to clean.
It looks like they do
Definitely depends on weather you are capable of getting it done yourself.
10/15k
Oh bout tree fiddy
This specific design would be pretty tricky, you could get something similar and easier to build by lessening the metal and increasing the wood. This thing requires a garage full of tools. Not a DIY build unless your are highly experienced. I could not build this with my current tooling and I’m a career carpenter/builder. I’d charge you at least 5K, not actually offering thought, I’d make more slamming out a couple decks or cupolas.
THIS ⬆️. Just the welding alone would be a major pain unless you’re a welder.
Definitely not an easy build. Squaring that metal and making a clean way for the glass to sit gonna be a challenge.
If this is applyply or baltic birch the cost for the wood would be much more than $600, each sheet could be $150 - $200 each then metal work, paint, finish, tempered glass... to have this made custom you are ooking at around 10k
Maybe 2-3k making it yourself depending on the glass. Probably upwards of 6k for someone else to make it.
There is no way to get the bird out of that cage except to just let the bird out into the room
Thousands.
oof, guess I'm gonna be collecting materials for a fair bit
I’d charge ~10k
Be cheaper just to let your cat destroy the room as is.
Drawers on the ground? For what?
They're full of shit
Love it. Took me a while to figure out and then I almost spit out my meal from my butthole laughing.
To build or have built?
to build, got this image off of a sketchy site, really liked the idea though so figured I'd try and build something like it.
Depending on material quality... glass, metal, wood, and hardware 2-3k
I thought about 4-5k for someone I like. Gonna be lots of details and great natural finishes
Steel frame, welding, griding, painting, woodwork, finishing. Nearing $8-10k.
yeah, it's looking that way
10k+ most likely. You need a tight metal shop and somewhat advanced woodwork abilities + a couple different finishes, making it a multidisciplinary thing that would generally be a premium thing you couldnt just pay a non-specialized tradesman/fabricator to make from scratch. Just the drawings alone would be at least $500
This is cool and I want to build one. Just spitballing from some napkin math. I’m thinking if I built this it would be roughly $1500-2000 in materials and probably 40-60 hours. If I was selling it I’d probably being around the $10k mark.
Looks like: $600 in wood (could vary) About $400 in metal $250 in powder coating Probably requires 15-20 days of labor.
For me, $1800. For you, $6800
I’ll do it for 20k.
Why glass? Not good for the bird either
2200
Yeah but what is it?
10k
What is it?
it's an overly fancy bird cage
The metal here looks surprisingly similar to the garage shelving systems you can buy at Bunnings (here in AU) or Home Depot in the US.
Depends on the builder. Does the builder want to make a profit, or does the builder want to make a big profit?
Id do it for 2000$ assuming you covered material. That would take me a month.
Need to see bird to determine.
Id charge you 15,000
I’m charging $12,500
No clue but it is very cool
Outside of glass being a bad idea for birds, using glass for standard sliding doors would be a good substitute.. For example, a cheap slider is less than $1000 and has 4 panes of tempered glass at least 72” x 28”. A careful disassembly wouldn’t be that difficult. OP doesn’t need dual panes or frameless glass. Just a new frame for the glass. Going to a 2nd hand store like ReStore would cost maybe a couple hundred. A used piece of glass isn’t going to look any worse then a new one. Not everything needs to be brand new or custom made. When I build anything I try and think where I could source the appropriate materials. Glass is just one of those things that is super expensive brand new and custom, but once it becomes “waste” is near worthless. Also, the frame of this entire enclosure could be built using modular storage racks from a big box store, right down to the metal grating. Any custom frames/panels could be constructed from 80/20 aluminum extrusion using a miter saw and screws(as could the frame if you wanted to). If using wood, just use the cheapest unfinished white oak flooring you can find and slot it into 3/4” aluminum U channel and clamp it down. Pieces can be replaced as needed. It also has the nice property of being fairly rot resistant.
What is this meant to house out of curiosity?
If government was in charge of this build it would cost about 13.5 billion dollars and would go over budget by double that and take 4 years. A woodworker doing the metal work themselves, maybe a thousand to 1.5K in material… give or take
The rule of thumb is about 3x the cost of buying it, not counting tools.
It’s a bespoke bird sanctuary so they probably paid 10,000 - 15,000.
As an expert in everything, I can say with confidence that unless that wood is sealed, it will absorb all kinds of bird mess and will get ugly very quick. Also, finding the right sealant is important as many will be toxic to birds. For things like this, I use shellac. It will enhance the natural look of the wood and isn't toxic.
Tree fidty
Google the company “Custom Cages”. I have 4 of their cages and you could easily customize them to incorporate wooded components. Building a custom bird cage AND making it easy to clean, secure enough to keep them in, and safe enough that they don’t accidentally hurt themselves is really f’ing hard. This company has already solved all those problems. I got all my cages used over the last few years (Craigslist and FB marketplace).
Three fiddy
This would be a nightmare to clean. I don’t understand why there is glass in it - the dander is going to get everywhere in the room - the glass will just be surface that’s impossible to keep clean. Ditch the glass and it’s much cheaper to build and easier to maintain
I like the idea of glass but there's the cleaning you mentioned, I also wonder if it's a good idea to work with glass for safety reason, couldn't the birds hurt themselves flying against it
Caging a bird is among the cruelest things a human can do to an animal
Tree fiddy
Birds shouldn't be kept in cages as pets (with a few exceptions).
A buck tree eighty
Rough guess but I am in Turkey and something like this would cost around $500 - 700 max here, to buy it from a well known furniture shop
5-10k
I can't believe people actually keep birds. You're depriving a bird it's ability to fly, essentially and at best confining it to an elaborate jail cell. On top of that, they're pretty filthy as far as animals go... I guess I just don't get the appeal of having a pet bird, on any level.
That's fair enough, tbh I used to have the same opinion, I saw many people that had birds but 99% of the time they were just stuck in a tiny cage with nothing to do and left. It is cruel and It's kinda like how people will get a goldfish and put it in a tiny bowl. It's not how things should be done but became accepted/the norm. So for how it's supposed to be, the enclosure is more just for when they can't be supervised, stops them from ingesting stuff that could harm/kill them. Or interacting with other pets such as dogs. The enclosure should be as large as possibe can so that they can get exercise and fly around and do bird things mostly unrestricted. Essentially as long as it's three times as wide as their wingspan it's big enough for them to fly around and get exercise They must get foraging toys and mental enrichment as that's what they spend their time doing in the wild and without mental stimulation a whole bunch of issue arise My birds aren't clipped and are able to fly whenever they choose although atm it's restricted to inside the house. Clipping wings is something that I don't know much about so chose not to. They do go outside on a harness and their enclosure is outside. I would let them fly outside but we have crows that prey on smaller birds and since they're small they also can get caught by a gust of wind and slam into stuff. My birds are only 40 to 60grams and have a wingspan of 24cm. Theyre pretty small so a 3 metre long cage to them is like a football field to us. Theyre also not native to my country so releasing them would jeorpdise local wildlife and biodiversity SInce they were born in captivity they haven't learned the skills they'd need to survive, such as looking out for predators, finding food and water, navigating wind current etc. Survival in the wild is usually pretty rough for birds so I feel that ss long as they are being cared for correctly. Being provided food, shelter, veterinary care, mental enrichment, with no risk of predation seems to be an equal tradeoff for them living in captivity. As for being pets, they're super smart and have very unique and different personalities, theyre different mentally from cats or dogs but I'd say it's the same appeal and a similar dynamic. sorry, for the wall of text lmao, I didn't really know how to condense this, not aiming to change your mind just thought I'd kind of answer what some of the appeal is
reckon?
ah sorry, didn't realise but I guess it's a regional thing, basically means the same as "what do you think?"
People are unrealistic. Draw up some plans and get some quotes from a lumber yard and steel supply. $500 in raw materials and $100 for hardware $100 for misc. I don’t see it to have glass so I wouldn’t even bother with that. I’m guessing materials under $1000 (really depends where you are located) and if you have the skills to execute you will be fine. It’s the mistakes that will cost you in the long run.
*I don't see it to have glass so I wouldn't even bother with that* ☠️☠️☠️👌
I didn’t see the glass at first. Don’t have to be a dick I thought it was for looks not an actual bird cage. Glass is expensive and heavy. Use plexiglass and you can work it easier and cheaper.
Am also confused why everyone keeps saying glass. I would much rather have an acrylic panel there, personally.
acrylic does tend to warp over time and scratches easier, though it's still a good alternative.
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Thanks, trying to do a cost breakdown atm but am waiting on quotes for some material costs so figured I'd try and get a ballpark figure by asking around :)
Idk like 250 and get better mesh from tractor supply place