Dear /an/

I want to get a budgie over the summer/christmas holidays (Ausfag here), but I want to make a summer project out of the whole thing; You know, giving me something to do.

For a start, before I even buy a budgie I want to build my own custom cage. I owned two budgies when I was only like, six years old, and I hated cleaning the standard pet-store cage because they shat all over the edges of the base and it was just a huge hassle. So, I want to build a cage with ease of cleaning at the forefront of the design. I'm thinking of having the slide-out base actually extend further than the cage wire, so even when the budgie is sitting right up against the side of the cage he won't be able to shit all over the side of the base.

I want /an/'s help with this. Come up with the coolest/most practical cage designs you can, and if I see anything I like I'll put it into practice. I'm also curious as to what things I should actually be constructing it out of; stainless steel for the cage wiring? What wood/paint won't be unhealthy for the bird? Stuff like that.

The maximum length of the cage is probably about 1 metre, the height would be more like the standard height for store-bought cages. Let's see what cool ideas /an/ can come up with!