After finally receiving the new mesh I spent days (weeks? I am slow) cutting it and scrubbing it with vinegar solution. To be on the safe side I scrubbed the mesh three times.
Then I put together the panels using J clips and... The cage is HUGE! I mean it, really humongous lol




Now, I have a slight problem.
Being it so large, and not having a wood frame, to stay in rigid shape it needs all six panels joined together.
For easy cleaning, I wanted to make the front panel completely openable. My intention was to join it to the cage on one side only, so that I could open it like a huge door.
The problem is illustrated in the pics below. All the cage is put together but without the front panel, and this is what happens







I don't know what can be done to make the cage stay in shape without the front panel.
Do you guys have any good idea?
I need to have it done and placed tomorrow afternoon so I don't have much time to think about it.
Should I just join the front panel and forget about my idea of a huge front door?
This is so annoying, I should have thought that this would happen, given the size

You could make a rectangular frame out of thin strips of wood and attach it to the cage on that side to support the opening. If you attach it to the outside the cage bottom won't sit completely flat on the floor or table. If you attach it to the inside you'll probably have to replace it occasionally because it will get chewed. So you get to choose which option is less inconvenient.

Sooner or later I will use your excellent idea and add a wooden frame inside to keep the cage stable.
It will also be useful to attach trellises and other climbing materials to the front of the cage (inside) because the front is where the birds tend to climb the mesh and, even though I thoroughly brushed it and cleaned it, I want to avoid them to be constantly picking at it when they are inside.

In the meantime, the more dramatic bending has been eliminated, fortunately.
I am posting a few pictures so that if someone wants to make a huge suspended cage he/she will have an idea of what not to do

First, I added two mesh strips to the front, one on each side of the opening











These two strips force the frame to stay in shape, at least while it's on the floor or on a table.
This alone would have been enough if the cage was to sit on a surface, but since it has to be suspended I needed to do something else to make it stay square.


- end of part I

- part II

This is how the cage looked when we moved it to its corner... very sorry and wonky. At that point I was starting to think that the whole idea was stupid.






Since I wanted the cage suspended, I had to find some way to fix it on the walls because hanging it from the ceiling would put too much strain on the mesh.
We fixed four wood strips to the walls in the corner where the cage was supposed to go, and attached the cage to the strips





I cut the front panel in two because having one huge door wasn't an option: too big.
One part is joined to the top and flips up, the other part is attached to the bottom and flips down.
I will have to find a way to reinforce the doors because they bend very easily, but for the moment they are ok.

After fixing the cage to the wall frame there is no bending, you can see below how nice and level the bottom is




- end of part II

- part III

These are views of the top and the bottom of the cage full of toys, perches and birds; I am really surprised at how straight it is







All in all, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but it's awesome to have a cage built exactly as I wanted it, in size, number of doors etc.

This below is the cage ready to welcome Mr Darcy and his harem




- the end

If you have any criticism or suggestions on how to make the cage nicer, please post and let me know! Even though the birds are living in it already, it is a work in progress so any new idea is more than welcome.

Darcy isn't sure of what to make of it yet




... and surely it's not the most attractive cage you'll ever see... quite possibly the ugliest

Hey, got to make do with what you got. Kudos for attempting it yourself instead of just buying it. It's the American way.

I think it looks great actually. It's surprising how straight the sides and roof are with a wood strip along just some sides not all. If you put some thin wood strips along the edges of the doors that would keep them nice and straight too.

Looks good to me...
Does Mr Darcy like it?
You happy with the cage?
does it suit where it is?
If yes to those 3 questions....JOB well-done!

To answer questions 2 and 3 is easy: yes I am quite happy, and that corner of the room is at last used to the full.
Mr Darcy isn't sure of it. He never had his own cage here, because I tend to rotate them (in my opinion it helps with the girls' egg laying... they have no time to think about a nest).
This is the first cage that's his own, and maybe he hasn't grasped the idea yet.
I will post about him in more details on his own thread, but I think he's getting used to it