Chili's travel cage is here!!!!

[getwozzy]

****happy dance**** can you see the permanent smile on my face?! Lol Chili's Kings Cages aluminum travel cage finally arrived today...this thing was **INCREDIBLY** easy to put together

The box said the panels just slide together, I thought riiiiiiight... Lol


Well, a matter of a few minutes later and it was together



The included dowel perch never even was considered because if I had used it, it would've been too high in the cage so I grabbed a spare mulberry branch I had in my stash and cut it to fit and voila!









It is a tad heavier than I expected but that's what muscles are for, right?? Lol but my favorite thing about is that it matches her

Let the adventures begin!!!

 

[JerseyWendy]

That thing is OUT OF THIS WORLD, Shirre!!! WO-HOOO!!!!! And Chili looks fantastic in it.

Say, she's totally unafraid of everything, isn't she?

Really really REALLY love that travel cage!

 

[getwozzy]

We just went outside for the first time and she LOVED IT!!

She's not afraid of much- except balloons lol She wasn't afraid to get in it, wasn't afraid of going outside, and then when we came back inside and I took her out she wanted to go BACK IN it!! [emoji38][emoji38] LOL

Seriously- I wish I would've bought this thing ages ago and anyone **thinking** of buying one of these should just go for it- it's the easiest thing to put together and break down!!

 

[GW.Joe]

except balloons lol

Shirre you just cracked me up!!
I remember Poe being completely freaked out when he saw a couple of balloons (raising his hackle, pinning his eyes and generally freaking out LOL)

That thing is built like a TANK, looks like it could hold up a car, I will be getting one of those!!

What did that set you back about $300 bucks?

I'm jealous and I don't even have a bird that would need it right now

Hope everyone's having a great weekend

Joe

 

[getwozzy]

LOL she seriously FREAKS out when she sees balloons- she raises her crest to maximum fluff and flaps her wings vigorously while screeching like something is killing her [emoji33][emoji33] so we don't do balloons in our house anymore lol

It is pretty solid- each panel has clips that clip together when you slide them together...no screws or anything! And the latch is magnetic! So if it's unlocked you have to slightly pull to open the door.

It was actually cheaper than you'd expect- I paid $140 total including shipping and got it off Amazon...it comes in silver, gold, blue, and red


The next model up with two feed doors is $230 [emoji33]

 

[GW.Joe]

It was actually cheaper than you'd expect- I paid $140 total including shipping and got it off Amazon...it comes in silver, gold, blue, and red The next model up with two feed doors is $230 [emoji33]

WOW that is a GREAT price!!

Chili looks beautiful in that cage, it looks like a custom fashion accessory

Bet you are VERY happy !!

Joe

 

[craftEcowgirl]

Will the tray move upward if cage is tipped? Have read before that it doesnt sit in groove. Is there bars under it?

 

[getwozzy]

Will the tray move upward if cage is tipped? Have read before that it doesnt sit in groove. Is there bars under it?

The tray just sits inside, but yes- if the cage tips over or something pushes up from the bottom it'll come up- there's nothing that really holds it in other than gravity lol and there are no bars underneath. An easy way to fix it though, would be to attach dishes on the inside fairly low enough (maybe one on two opposite sides) so the dishes would act as a stop.

 

[getwozzy]

Joe- thank you! I'm really happy with it and I'm excited I was able to get the red one so it matches her lol. Corny I know but whatever hahaha

I'll get some outside adventure pictures here in a bit so stay tuned!!! [emoji4]

 

[GW.Joe]

An easy way to fix it though, would be to attach dishes on the inside fairly low enough (maybe one on two opposite sides) so the dishes would act as a stop.

Very good thought process Terry, that's exactly what I would do, as a mechanic I would do one of two things:

1) sandwich four stainless steel eyehooks at the bottom four corners as low as possible, like so:

Of course you would have to get large stainless steel "fender washers" to span the bars

OR

2) Drill four holes (one in each corner) and use stainless steel carabiners to go from the holes in the tray to the horizontal bottom bar of the cage

I'm excited I was able to get the red one so it matches her lol.
I'll get some outside adventure pictures here in a bit so stay tuned!!! [emoji4]

I know, right? I really meant it, the coloring looks like it was made for Chili
I will be waiting for pictures !!

Joe

 

[Bundiibird]

Awesome travel cage. It's made for Chili. Looking forward to outside pictures.

 

[getwozzy]

I like idea #2! I was trying to get the tray out to take this picture and it was kinda tough to get it out, and then I realized that the branch I used is pushing on the two ends causing a bit of a skew in the squareness of the cage and putting pressure on two corners...so at this point because of my branch/perch the tray won't move- I turned it upside down and it's not even moving. Lol so I guess I inadvertently solved the issue hahahha

 

[Terry57]

That cage is amazing! And I can't believe how well it matches the beautiful Chili! A girl must have her accessories match, after all
I can't wait to see pictures of her outside in it

How long before Jed decides to see if Jessie will fit in there?

 

[Kiwibird]

What a fantastic travel cage! The integrate top perch/handle will be nice if you ever go anywhere overnight with her. Looks like it will last forever too.

Now being a girl, Chili *obviously* likes it because the red coordinates with her pink plumage well

 

[getwozzy]

That cage is amazing! And I can't believe how well it matches the beautiful Chili! A girl must have her accessories match, after all
I can't wait to see pictures of her outside in it

How long before Jed decides to see if Jessie will fit in there?

Hahaha matching accessories are a MUST!! [emoji4]

Jessie doesn't let him catch her! Lol Henry on the other hand would be in trouble if he lived inside LOL but her travel cage won't be in his reach- he likes to drag things around and bang them, so I'd like to keep both my floors and this cage nice for a bit longer [emoji6][emoji38]

 

[Terry57]

Yikes, that would be hard on those beautiful floors! A wise choice to keep it up

 

[getwozzy]

What a fantastic travel cage! The integrate top perch/handle will be nice if you ever go anywhere overnight with her. Looks like it will last forever too.



Now being a girl, Chili *obviously* likes it because the red coordinates with her pink plumage well

The perch/handle makes carrying it very easy! I'm thinking about replacing the dowel with a natural branch, but I haven't inspected it to see how the dowel is attached and if I can even swap it out.

We've actually put off going places so much because I feel bad at the thought of leaving her at home and I know she'd be mad if we did, so now I'm happy we can take her with us! [emoji1]

She was so funny- I thought I was going to have to acclimate her to it, but she climbed all over it, scraped her beak all over the bars, taste-tested it all over...it was like "ok mom! I know it's mine! Let's go!!" Haha

 

[GW.Joe]

I like idea #2! I was trying to get the tray out to take this picture and it was kinda tough to get it out, and then I realized that the branch I used is pushing on the two ends causing a bit of a skew in the squareness of the cage and putting pressure on two corners

I've been thinking about this tonight, if it was my cage I would mod it for two reasons, If it were to tip over the bird could be injured or escape (to be honest I can't believe they even sell it that way, nice cage but it has a design flaw)

If the branch is taking the cage out of square I would figure a way to mount the perch that does not do that, can't be good for the cage and over time it may permanently skew the cage (or make the cage "loose")

Now that I see the tray seems to have a good "lip" under it I would remove the branch temporarily and get the cage to "settle" square again, then put the tray back in and look at where the tray meets the lip, pick 4 of the black holes in the pic below that the tray seems to lay the flattest on, They should be the same sets of 2 (like either the 2 on both end lips, or the 2 on both side lips)

Once you have 4 of the same type picked out as the flattest (or easiest to drill from position) matching the corners of the tray I would get a drill with a 1/4 inch bit and drill through the tray and lip at the same time as follows:

First you would go to Home Depot and buy 4 of these 1/4 inch (1/4-20) Stainless steel Round-Head Machine Screws that are 1 inch long

( Everbilt 1/4 in.-20 x 1 in. Phillips-Slotted Round-Head Machine Screws (2-Pack)-33241 at The Home Depot )

And 4 of these 1/4 inch (1/4-20) Stainless steel Wing Nuts

( Everbilt 1/4-20 Stainless-Steel Coarse Wing Nut-32251 at The Home Depot )

Once you're sure you have the right hardware, take a drill with a 1/4 inch bit, put downward pressure on the tray and make sure it is not going to move, then slowly drill through the tray and lip at the same time (aluminum is very soft, if you go slow and straight with medium RPM it should go very easy)

MAKE SURE where you want to drill on the tray will be on the center of the lip below
(you wouldn't want to drill through the tray and "miss" the lip or only hit part of the lip)

Now here is the trick, after you drill the first hole, attach the bolt and wing nut in that hole to keep the tray and lip aligned (when you tighten the wing nut make sure the tray is as straight and square as you would want it to be when you are done the job) Now you do the next hole and then attach the next bolt and wing nut, then just repeat again 2 more times

When you are done you will have a cage that Chili can be left unattended in without fear of him getting out somehow, the cage will also be much stronger, and the good part is just remove the 4 screws and wing nuts to disassemble the cage

Do not attempt this unless you are good with a drill, and Very important : get the cage to "settle" square before starting (make sure the whole cage seems squared nicely through the whole Process)

Hope this helps !

Joe

 

[getwozzy]

Joe- you are freaking fabulous! Thank you for all that info!! I was making a list of bird stuff I'm hoping to get tomorrow- I'll add the hardware to my list!...I'm also going to get lag bolts for each end of the perch so it'll sit easier and not skew the cage. (With washers and wingnuts)

I'll make sure it's square again before we do any drilling (and by we I mean my husband lol!)

Thanks for the picture! I'll mark the spots for the holes with a sharpie so we know exactly where they're going.

You're right- I have no idea what they were thinking on this [emoji51] thanks again for your help, and I'll update as soon as it's fixed!

 

[MikeyTN]

That's a nice travel cage!!! The price of it isn't bad either.