Cages (continued) Since I started with 8 x 4 foot sheets of 3/8 inch plywood most of my cages are sized to best use the full sheet. Before constructing the cages, I painted the wood. The first coat was a bare wood primer and the two coats that followed were an enamel high gloss latex. Cages have wooden tops, bottoms and sides. Fronts and backs are wire mesh. I cut out the tops and used duct tape to apply clear heavy plastic. This makes the cages ligher and lets more light in. I built eight "small" flight cages. and six large breeding cages. More recently, I added four larger flights. The "box" of the cages is constructed using small flat headed nails to hold it together. The box was weak at first but once the wire was attached it became rigid and stable. As with all my hand-made cages, the wire is held in place with tacks driven into the side of the plywood. The back panel of wire was installed first. Galvanized wire is best cut with a good wire cutter and even then you will feel hand pain for days after cutting wire for hours and hours.  
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