The building of Pea Palace(Pic Heavy)

[MinxFox]

I am good at doing schoolwork on time, but when it comes time to do work on bird pens, I am such a slacker. I got happy the other day because I was able to nail something up.

I tried getting the electric screwdriver like what you recommended but found out that we don't have the right attachment for the size screw I needed to use. Soo I had to do it the nail and hammer way. The darn squirrels recently started chewing off the nice plastic handle on the hammer which makes me mad. My netting is ripping all over the place. I don't understand why it rips around the fence. I am definitely going to make the new pens far more different than my current pen and use different materials.

I think in the future if I eventually have a setup with a large pen to put the birds in the off season, I would have colored leg bands for each pen. So pen #1 would be say purple leg bands and pen #2 would be yellow or something like that. I don't plan on getting as large as you though Frenchblackcopper. At least I don't want as many varieties as you, but I am not sure how many birds I want.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Are you using hex-head screws? You can actually use a 5/16" socket on them but they do make a "driver" that goes into your drill. it helps if you have a variable speed drill. I like the hex-heads because I can insert one into the driver and it will stay there while I position the drill and screw where it needs to go. A regular phillips head screw head will easily fall out once it's in a horizontal position.
Your netting,,is it pulled extemely tight? Is it polyethylene? Or Nylon? Polyethelyene lasts a lifetime from UV ray exposure. My netting is not pulled fiddle string tight but more less lays across all the wires between the poles.

 

[MinxFox]

Yep I am using the hex head screws. I should try and figure something out so I can use them. The only ones I can use with our current attachments are too small to go all the way through the wood like what I need.

My netting used to not be so tight, but since we never thought to put something over posts all of the hole patching has caused the netting to be pulled together tighter. That must be what is causing it to rip. Do you think it is bad that I let plants grow through the netting? I think it helps it stay up but the trees do rip the netting a little. I might should only let the bamboo grow through and that is it. I also think it might be nylon. Being in Florida I definitely do need the polyethelene instead then if it stands up better to UV rays. I am so excited to get wires between the poles. I know that will help soooo much more. I have been looking at the designs of large ringneck pheasant breeding operation's aviaries. They use a lot of cable and some of them even have it set up so they can raise and lower the netting using the wire so that they can catch the birds more easily. I swear someday I will have aviaries worked out to a science... I have to say while my current aviary has it's issues, my original one for my first birds was far too small so at least I have made some progress I guess.

My finals for this semester of college are next week, so after that I should start my "aviary school" where I re-read all of your aviary information and work on the new aviaries as well as my current one. Oh and I am upset because that awesome tree that was going to be in one of the new aviaries (it had a great natural roosting branch) it fell over!!!

 

[frenchblackcopper]

They do make magnetic sockets and phillips head drivers so the screws stay put while your fidgitting with getting them to line up right. Allowing plants to grow thru netting should keep it from sagging for sure but as the branches gets larger I'm sure the netting squares will rip over time. I'm constantly trimming the austrees along the sides of my aviary and this year I think I have cut enough so whats left growing next to the pen wall fence,and top netting should not interfere with anything.
Here is what a friend sold me,,24 chain link panels,each 12' long,8' high with a framework around each one. 288 feet worth of quick pen building walls.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

My plans for the above sections of fence will be diffrent than what I did on the east side. For quicker installation I'm going to use 8' long landscape logs buried 2' deep spaced where these edges of the sections meets,which will be every 12'. I will then use double 12 guage wire or number 9 wire to wrap around the posts and both adjoining fence edge frames at ground level, 3' up,and then at the very top of the posts. I'm not going to sakrete these landscape logs into the ground because the fence sections will be sitting on the ground,on the bottom pipe of their framework. And below here you can see I still have an overabundance of chain link fence to use for more expansion,,over 750', probably closer to 1000'

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Please compare these three pictures and notice the growth of the Austrees I planted for windbreaks.First pic was taken when this thread was started 2 years ago ,,last two pics were taken tonight. This is where I will begin building more pens,hopefully this weekend. One large square 50' x 40' divided into 4 equal sized pens.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Old airborn pic of the west side taken in 2012 while standing on top of the Palace

 

[MinxFox]

Nice tree border! I googled Austree to see more photos. They are nice looking. Nice materials too I can't wait to see the pen go up! You have a nice guide already with those trees.

 

[Trefoil]

I've got my run ready for the netting. I was going to use cheap frisbees on top of the posts to protect the netting, but your idea of plates sounds like a winner. have the liquid nails worked to keep them in place? I was going to put a screw in the middle and try to figure out what to do so it didn't snag the netting, but if the liquid nails is holding for you, that's a much better idea. This has been a great topic, I reread through it, just for the great ideas.

 

[MinxFox]

I agree this is a great topic. I need to re-read through it too. I keep telling my dad I need his help for the new pens and he keeps telling me, "I'm no carpenter." And I keep telling him we can do it.