Ok I know there are peoples on here who know some stuff about birds, but dammit search isn't finding me anything useful.

My birds got used to my mom's screened in porch. They were totally enclosed on 5 sides, with screening on one side. Well, Mom's sick now and asked me to take the birds back ... before they weren't much trouble, I bought their food and such and they didn't really use the cages so she just swept up after them and more or less enjoyed sitting in her rocking chair with them ... but now she can't handle the heat and thxu chemo even the simplest things like taking 10 minutes to wash out the cage is too much. Poor babies, they're not into this whole cage thing. So, I'd like to build a flight outside.

Here's what I'm thinking:
* 4x4s or 6x6's on the corners and central wall braces
* 2x4's framing the walls and flat roof
* wire screening on the outside (keep out bugs, rodents, snakes) and maybe 1/2" wire mesh on the inside just in case something breaks through the outside
* double entryway

Problems:

I'm not sure what to do about the bottom -- I don't want it to be a weak point, but I obviously need to be able to clean in there. I am considering making a tray of sorts and filling it with some large stone aggregate, that way when I need to clean it I can just remove the front of said tray (slider? unscrew it? what do you think?), have some mesh there to keep the stone from falling out, and just blast it with a hose.

I'm not sure what to do about a roof -- they need shade from the sun, a little light at night, and shelter from rain. I could put a box fan, lighting, etc. in the peak of the roof, but what do I use to make the thing?

What about shelter from wind/rain? Should I enclose two sides in plywood or plexi, or just put a wood box in there, kind-of like an oversized nesting box, except with that 6th side half-open instead of just a hole?


My girls thank you in advance

7/24/2006 10:37:44 AM

go to a zoo and see how they do it & model yours after it as best you can

or call a bird vet & ask for suggestions

7/24/2006 2:42:13 PM

i don't know about making an outdoor aviary, but you might find some good tips from this guys website, and you can even email the vet about questions:



http://www.birdieboutique.com/

hope that is helpful at least a little. how many tiels do you have? you could just get a really large cage???

7/24/2006 3:06:10 PM

http://www.backyardaviary.com/ has some information.

You may consider joining one of the bird communities on line because I occationally see discussion going on about building aviaries. Browsing the boards were a big help to me when I decided to build my own PVC pipe play gym for my birds.

Search Amazon for some books on building aviaries. I know that they're out there.

If you're not going to build a large aviary, you may want to consider laying down the money on a pre-built aviary. It'll save you a lot of time and effort.

Good luck. I think that you're taking on quite a lot of work for your birds, but they'll be much happier for it.

7/24/2006 3:08:09 PM

I don't have an aviary for my little man so I can't really offer any structural suggestions, however I do use a corn cob bedding on the bottom of his cage. Its safe for him to walk on (as opposed to most of the other litters on the market), it reduces the "bird" smell, and is easy to clean. Just dump and refill. I suppose in your case you could sweep and refill...but anyway, good luck

7/24/2006 3:35:16 PM

^second on the corn cob bedding...I don't have a bird, but I had mice several months back and everyone knows they smell...the corncob bedding did the best job at absorbing everything on the bottom of the cage. It's also affordable.

As you probably know, bird poop is usually a bit runny or at the least sticky, so it'd be a good idea to have something really absorbent on the bottom of the cage.

7/24/2006 3:53:32 PM

you have to be careful with the corn cob bedding though... it is dusty and can make your birds sneeze. the vet actually recommended to me to just use newspaper on the bottom of the cage instead because i was using the corn cob bedding before. some books recommend having a wire grate like thing over the top of the bedding so that the poop goes through but the birds don't walk in it because tiels like to walk around on the bottom of their cages...

~skip~

7/24/2006 4:33:29 PM

If the aviary is going to be of any decent size and exposed to the elements, any kind of bedding is going to be impractical. He is going to want something that he can wash down and hose off.

Corn cob bedding is extremely dangerous. If the birds have access to it, they can ingest it and become very ill because it does not pass through their system.

Not to mention, most vets do not recommend using any kind of substrate (bird litter, corn cob bedding, Carefresh, etc) because you cannot examine your bird's droppings for changes which is the fastest way to detect illness. And most people who use a type of bedding, stop changing their cages as often because the bedding hides and masks the filth.

That being said all 4 of my bird cages currently have CareFresh in their trays because I was out of newspaper and had plenty of hamster bedding when it came time to chage cages.

For information on cage liners go to http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww12eiii.htm

And that site may actually be a good place to look up aviary information. I know that I've found a lot of bird health information through the winged wisdom magazine.

[Edited on July 24, 2006 at 6:03 PM. Reason : More.]

7/24/2006 6:02:04 PM

I want to apologize for my brain fart. I don't use corn cob, I use a product called "FRESH NEST". I'm really sorry about that...again, brain fart!

7/24/2006 6:10:20 PM

[Edited on July 25, 2006 at 6:25 AM. Reason : meh]

7/25/2006 6:24:59 AM

^ LOL

1. Zoos I've been to that have exotics have indoor aviaries. The ones with outdoor ones just have some kind of mesh smaller than the bird's head, but then they have a lot of traffic and probably aren't as worried about predators since the birds come inside at night

2. I have two right now; I actually have three, but the third one is staying with my niece since he doesn't like my husband. We're not breeding them so it doesn't matter that he didn't come along.

3. I've seen them online. I don't just want a "big cage" because they got used to having a 30' long, 8' wide, 10' high screened porch all to themselves. They're used to actually being able to fly, not just flap their wings while they sit on a perch. Also the ones that are big enough to suit my personal wants for them are like $4000+, and I'd still modify because I don't want any chance of the local feral cat population making a snack out of them. I'm sure they're great cages and would save me a lot of time but I don't have the money, and I don't want to spend that much and still have to "fix" it. I also browsed boards but everyone wants to sell their stuff, and again none were quite what I'm looking for.

4. When in tight situations, we've just used plain old pine shavings - untreated of course - same as for the horses' stalls. It does a good job of keeping the smell down, and it's cheap, and I did check with the avian vet before using it. Like someone said, you don't want to use absorbent stuff on a regular basis and you don't want to use anything small enough or brittle enough for them to eat it, which is why I was thinking large rocks because the crap will kinda slide off to the side in most cases, but not get absorbed, so I can keep an eye on them and they can still walk on it. I don't want to put bars down because they obviously won't support my weight.

5. The smallest I will build is a 6' cube.

6. Still need roof/flooring ideas ... I saw some canopies at Home Depot yesterday. The fabric ones that would be large enough are like $200-$400, but they'd be big enough to put a freestanding loveseat swing or a table and chairs there too so we could have it do double duty. Flooring - the best I can come up with is to get some thick plastic or rubber, line the "tray", angle it so the water runs out, cover the drain with the 1/2" mesh, and pour in rock. I want this to be a moveable thing so whenever we sell the house I can just take it apart and take it with me FYI the birds won't be outside after it starts getting below 50-55 outside, and they're probably not going to be out there if there are going to be super duper high winds because I don't want their cage getting hit by tree branches falling off the dead trees in the woods.

7. Years later (after joining tdub when there were fewer than 150 members) I'm still a girl

7/25/2006 7:36:57 AM

you gotta look out for snakes too. i think a "cage within a cage" setup will be the safest, with really fine fencing on the outside and something a little more open on the inside, and leave a few inches between the two. make sure you don't use galvanized wire on the inside, zinc is toxic to birds. stay away from screening because animals can rip through that. and if you are planning to move them between the aviary and the house i hope you can get your hands on them easily (my cockatiel refuses to be touched or held).

7/25/2006 7:57:56 AM

I'm planning to use screening, but it's aluminum not fabric, so it shouldn't tear very easily. The wire is about the gauge of a normal earring post, perhaps a little smaller. It's twice as expensive, but the security's worth it I'll check if the mesh is galvanized ... I don't think it is, I think it's stainless, but I'll check

Yes they handle pretty easily. The girls like to fly around and wear themselves out first, but once in hand they don't bite or anything. They used to step up on command, but without anyone reinforcing that they started acting a little more wild.

7/25/2006 8:51:27 AM

i had some cats that tore through a screen like you are describing to come and go as they pleased on a screened in porch. but hopefully with a couple layers and you checking it frequently it should be ok, i don't think they ripped through it in one day.

7/25/2006 10:37:15 AM

tore through the metal one? It's bright silver ... you sure it wasn't the black fabric kind? If it really was metal, then

7/25/2006 11:48:19 AM