This is my journey of building an aviary in one of my spare bedrooms for my 32 Button quail, also known as Chinese Painted quail or King quail. The empty room:
I scrubbed the logs clean with Murphy Oil Soap, and Scott Rags in a Box. They are thicker than regular paper towels; I highly recommend both of these products.
The first thing I did was remove the curtain from the back wall and nail up two photographic backdrops that I purchased from Amazon.
The back wall is 9.5' wide and I bought this 9' x 6' backdrop for it.
For the left wall I bought this 7' x 5' backdrop.
I used Grip-Rite 1 in. x 11-Gauge Electrogalvanized Smooth Shank Roofing Nails 1 lb. Box from Home Depot. I like them because they have a large head like tacks do, but they didn't have any tacks I wanted in stock. But these worked great.
Next I installed an EVERBILT 10 ft. x 12 ft. Brown and Silver Heavy Duty Tarp, using the same nails:
In hindsight, I should have gotten a larger tarp. I secured the backdrops to the tarp with brown duct tape from Amazon: Nashua 2280 Polyethylene Coated Cloth Multi-Purpose 1086895 Duct Tape, 55m Length x 48mm Width. And I secured the tops of the backdrop to the wall with clear packing tape. I didn't want any of my birds to get stuck behind the tarp or the backdrops.
For the right wall, I removed the curtain and nailed up some Tenax 72120546 Hex Poultry Fence, 3' x 25' Black (same nails). I secured them with 4" black zip ties. I bought two rolls of the poultry fencing and 200 of the zip ties.
@CliftonQuail, after noticing the potentially hazardous zip ties above, made the great suggestion of using flush cutters for the zip ties to prevent injury. So I did that. After installing two lengths of the fencing, there was left a gap between it and the tarp. I used the brown duct tape to fill in this gap. It was either this or buying a second tarp. This gap needed to be filled by something fairly solid to prevent the birds from kicking stuff into the radiator.
I didn't want the tape sticking to the radiator and blocking the heat, so I doubled up on the tape as seen in the picture below:
For a more secure structure, I made horizontal rows of tape facing into the room and vertical rows facing away from the room. All the rows overlap one another. Nothing is blocking the heat source, and the heat can rise and enter the room through the poultry fencing. I'm pretty impressed with how the color of the tape blends in with the tarp.
I also placed clear packing tape along the top of the poultry fencing. Here is the finished wall; it is 5.5' wide:
I want to mention here that I will be employing the deep litter method. I bought hardwood mulch from Home Depot. I got 5 bags to start. The soil is coming from our yard. They are both fairly damp. So, when I started on the right wall, I began to air those out. I spread out one bag of the mulch and then every hour or so, sprinkled on some soil. I'm using the rake to keep it stirred up. I will continue to do this as I build the front wall.
The front wall will only be attached to the ceiling and the tarp. This is so I will have access to the closet. The aviary door will be just a couple feet in front of the door to the room. Because the backdrop on the left wall is 7' wide and the right wall is 5.5' wide, the front wall will be 'L' shaped just like the front of the room is in the picture below.
I bought these 1"x3"x8' furring strip boards to frame out the front wall. They were a bit on the rough side, so I spent some time sanding them smooth with my orbital sander. I had some leftover Minwax Polyshades in Pecan Gloss for the stain, I did two coats. These boards didn't take the stain very well at all. I probably won't buy them again. But they were super inexpensive.
Next is making the door. I found a screen door insert in the basement which needed a few repairs. I used hot glue where one of the corners came loose.
I stained some oak boards to frame out the door. They are 1/4"x2"x48". It took 12 of them, and I used the same stain as above. These boards were a dream to stain compared to the others. Of course, since they are oak, they were a lot more expensive.
I pounded the bent frame back into place with a hammer and repaired a tear in the screen first with hot glue, then covered it over with the brown duct tape. I learned that duct tape does not like to stick window screen. But I wanted something to cover the repair work I did with the hot glue. I got the tape to finally stick with more hot glue.
The door frame was built with the aforementioned 1"x3"x8' furring strips and attached with 2" Corner Braces (brackets) to the ceiling, or with wood screws for the bottom horizontal pieces.
The vertical pieces for the corners were also attached with the corner brackets.
Last piece across the ceiling. Actually, two pieces joined with a 3" Mending Brace. And the framework is complete.
As you can see in a couple of pictures above, the door is fairly warped. So I added a glass knob that I had made in my kiln a while back and a wooden latch to secure it from the outside so it doesn't flop open.
And a copper knob that I found in the basement with a wooden latch to keep it closed while inside.
Poultry netting fills in the rest of the front wall.
I used a Stanley Aircraft Aluminum staple gun, model TR150 to connect the netting to the framework. I hated this staple gun with a passion. It was super hard to squeeze the trigger, and if all the stars and planets in the entire universe didn't line up just so, it refused to release a staple. I'm exaggerating a little, but I will never use this staple gun ever again!
I cut the tarp and stapled one end of it to the wooden frame and nailed the other end into the log wall.
Some holes were drilled along the top edge of the tarp, then zip-tied to the netting. Duct tape secures the bottom of the netting to prevent any gaps.
The zip ties were clipped, and the front wall is complete!
This concludes the main structure of the aviary. I will shortly add a page for the interior to include all of the lights, decorations, and other features, and of course, the release of the quail.
For day-to-day progress, including my thoughts and challenges, and many more pictures than I can include here, see Button Aviary Journey in the Quail section.
I scrubbed the logs clean with Murphy Oil Soap, and Scott Rags in a Box. They are thicker than regular paper towels; I highly recommend both of these products.
The first thing I did was remove the curtain from the back wall and nail up two photographic backdrops that I purchased from Amazon.
The back wall is 9.5' wide and I bought this 9' x 6' backdrop for it.
For the left wall I bought this 7' x 5' backdrop.
I used Grip-Rite 1 in. x 11-Gauge Electrogalvanized Smooth Shank Roofing Nails 1 lb. Box from Home Depot. I like them because they have a large head like tacks do, but they didn't have any tacks I wanted in stock. But these worked great.
Next I installed an EVERBILT 10 ft. x 12 ft. Brown and Silver Heavy Duty Tarp, using the same nails:
In hindsight, I should have gotten a larger tarp. I secured the backdrops to the tarp with brown duct tape from Amazon: Nashua 2280 Polyethylene Coated Cloth Multi-Purpose 1086895 Duct Tape, 55m Length x 48mm Width. And I secured the tops of the backdrop to the wall with clear packing tape. I didn't want any of my birds to get stuck behind the tarp or the backdrops.
For the right wall, I removed the curtain and nailed up some Tenax 72120546 Hex Poultry Fence, 3' x 25' Black (same nails). I secured them with 4" black zip ties. I bought two rolls of the poultry fencing and 200 of the zip ties.
@CliftonQuail, after noticing the potentially hazardous zip ties above, made the great suggestion of using flush cutters for the zip ties to prevent injury. So I did that. After installing two lengths of the fencing, there was left a gap between it and the tarp. I used the brown duct tape to fill in this gap. It was either this or buying a second tarp. This gap needed to be filled by something fairly solid to prevent the birds from kicking stuff into the radiator.
I didn't want the tape sticking to the radiator and blocking the heat, so I doubled up on the tape as seen in the picture below:
For a more secure structure, I made horizontal rows of tape facing into the room and vertical rows facing away from the room. All the rows overlap one another. Nothing is blocking the heat source, and the heat can rise and enter the room through the poultry fencing. I'm pretty impressed with how the color of the tape blends in with the tarp.
I also placed clear packing tape along the top of the poultry fencing. Here is the finished wall; it is 5.5' wide:
I want to mention here that I will be employing the deep litter method. I bought hardwood mulch from Home Depot. I got 5 bags to start. The soil is coming from our yard. They are both fairly damp. So, when I started on the right wall, I began to air those out. I spread out one bag of the mulch and then every hour or so, sprinkled on some soil. I'm using the rake to keep it stirred up. I will continue to do this as I build the front wall.
The front wall will only be attached to the ceiling and the tarp. This is so I will have access to the closet. The aviary door will be just a couple feet in front of the door to the room. Because the backdrop on the left wall is 7' wide and the right wall is 5.5' wide, the front wall will be 'L' shaped just like the front of the room is in the picture below.
I bought these 1"x3"x8' furring strip boards to frame out the front wall. They were a bit on the rough side, so I spent some time sanding them smooth with my orbital sander. I had some leftover Minwax Polyshades in Pecan Gloss for the stain, I did two coats. These boards didn't take the stain very well at all. I probably won't buy them again. But they were super inexpensive.
Next is making the door. I found a screen door insert in the basement which needed a few repairs. I used hot glue where one of the corners came loose.
I stained some oak boards to frame out the door. They are 1/4"x2"x48". It took 12 of them, and I used the same stain as above. These boards were a dream to stain compared to the others. Of course, since they are oak, they were a lot more expensive.
I pounded the bent frame back into place with a hammer and repaired a tear in the screen first with hot glue, then covered it over with the brown duct tape. I learned that duct tape does not like to stick window screen. But I wanted something to cover the repair work I did with the hot glue. I got the tape to finally stick with more hot glue.
The door frame was built with the aforementioned 1"x3"x8' furring strips and attached with 2" Corner Braces (brackets) to the ceiling, or with wood screws for the bottom horizontal pieces.
The vertical pieces for the corners were also attached with the corner brackets.
Last piece across the ceiling. Actually, two pieces joined with a 3" Mending Brace. And the framework is complete.
As you can see in a couple of pictures above, the door is fairly warped. So I added a glass knob that I had made in my kiln a while back and a wooden latch to secure it from the outside so it doesn't flop open.
And a copper knob that I found in the basement with a wooden latch to keep it closed while inside.
Poultry netting fills in the rest of the front wall.
I used a Stanley Aircraft Aluminum staple gun, model TR150 to connect the netting to the framework. I hated this staple gun with a passion. It was super hard to squeeze the trigger, and if all the stars and planets in the entire universe didn't line up just so, it refused to release a staple. I'm exaggerating a little, but I will never use this staple gun ever again!
I cut the tarp and stapled one end of it to the wooden frame and nailed the other end into the log wall.
Some holes were drilled along the top edge of the tarp, then zip-tied to the netting. Duct tape secures the bottom of the netting to prevent any gaps.
The zip ties were clipped, and the front wall is complete!
This concludes the main structure of the aviary. I will shortly add a page for the interior to include all of the lights, decorations, and other features, and of course, the release of the quail.
For day-to-day progress, including my thoughts and challenges, and many more pictures than I can include here, see Button Aviary Journey in the Quail section.
Lights, Decorations and other features.
I installed a grow light that I bought at a thrift store. Only half of it works, but it still puts out an incredible amount of light. I used a #10 1/8" x 2 1/6" Screw Hook to install it into the ceiling. The light kit came with loop-end wires for hanging. It's the brand UGrow, but I can't find a link for it.
It's for this plant. I'm sure I'll get more real plants in the future. I bought the pot at Home Depot, but it's been a couple of years, and I can't find a link to it. I don't remember what kind of plant this is. If you do, please let me know.
These fake ivy vines and lights hide some of the seams from the duct tape and poultry netting. I had a lot of fun adding these. (Kitty wanted to help.)
60 lb. bag of Sakrete, multipurpose sand, tree limbs, bark, and rocks from the yard. Update: that sand has a lot of gravel and pebbles in it, which might make great concrete, but I find it wasteful. When I scoop out the poop, I'm also scooping out a lot of gravel. I switched to Sakrete Play Sand.
Made a feeder from an empty plastic coffee tub, Quail/Chick feeder ports, and Contact Paper. It was peel and stick paper, but I wanted the extra hold from hot glue. I needed a 1 3/4" hole saw, but only had a 1 1/2" one, so I used a box cutter to make the holes bigger after drilling.
I marked 4 areas with a marker, punched an initial hole with an awl, then drilled a bigger hole, and finally used the hole saw.
I made an anti-roost cone from the lid and added a hinge, which are made with thick, brown Kraft paper covered with the contact paper and hot glued on.
I made a second one with this contact paper. Next time I'll try to find a plastic tub that is a lot smoother in design. It was impossible to make these look nice and smooth.
I made two of these wooden stands to hold these waterers. I used leftover framework boards and hot glue.
I added more rocks around the sand bath areas. The larger waterer has 10 cups and comes with stands.
In the pic above you can also see two of the four hideys I made. They are simply wooden guinea pig bridges covered in contact paper.
This is the green contact paper, and this is the other one. They have a sticky back, but again, I thought hot glue would work better. I knew the birds would poop on these, and the contact paper would make them easy to clean. It was tempting to want to further decorate these with hemp string or ribbons, but . . . poop.
Even though I have more things to add to the aviary in the very near future, I decided it was time to let my buttons in there. They've been in somewhat cramped quarters, and I was very anxious for them to have more room.
I made some more hideys, this time with larger 11" x 6.5" hamster bridges. I included a smaller one in the pic for size.
I found a piece of Walnut Hollow Basswood Country Round that I've had for years. I don't remember which craft store I purchased it at. I bought some transfer paper and dusted off my Colewood Detailer wood-burning machine. I chose a font, printed out the letters I needed, traced the letters onto the wood, and made this sign.
I traced on and burned in some other design elements too, then stained and sealed it.
To be continued: a bench, flowers, and a water fountain.
It's for this plant. I'm sure I'll get more real plants in the future. I bought the pot at Home Depot, but it's been a couple of years, and I can't find a link to it. I don't remember what kind of plant this is. If you do, please let me know.
These fake ivy vines and lights hide some of the seams from the duct tape and poultry netting. I had a lot of fun adding these. (Kitty wanted to help.)
60 lb. bag of Sakrete, multipurpose sand, tree limbs, bark, and rocks from the yard. Update: that sand has a lot of gravel and pebbles in it, which might make great concrete, but I find it wasteful. When I scoop out the poop, I'm also scooping out a lot of gravel. I switched to Sakrete Play Sand.
Made a feeder from an empty plastic coffee tub, Quail/Chick feeder ports, and Contact Paper. It was peel and stick paper, but I wanted the extra hold from hot glue. I needed a 1 3/4" hole saw, but only had a 1 1/2" one, so I used a box cutter to make the holes bigger after drilling.
I marked 4 areas with a marker, punched an initial hole with an awl, then drilled a bigger hole, and finally used the hole saw.
I made an anti-roost cone from the lid and added a hinge, which are made with thick, brown Kraft paper covered with the contact paper and hot glued on.
I made a second one with this contact paper. Next time I'll try to find a plastic tub that is a lot smoother in design. It was impossible to make these look nice and smooth.
I made two of these wooden stands to hold these waterers. I used leftover framework boards and hot glue.
I added more rocks around the sand bath areas. The larger waterer has 10 cups and comes with stands.
In the pic above you can also see two of the four hideys I made. They are simply wooden guinea pig bridges covered in contact paper.
This is the green contact paper, and this is the other one. They have a sticky back, but again, I thought hot glue would work better. I knew the birds would poop on these, and the contact paper would make them easy to clean. It was tempting to want to further decorate these with hemp string or ribbons, but . . . poop.
TIME TO ADD THE BIRDS!
Even though I have more things to add to the aviary in the very near future, I decided it was time to let my buttons in there. They've been in somewhat cramped quarters, and I was very anxious for them to have more room.
I made some more hideys, this time with larger 11" x 6.5" hamster bridges. I included a smaller one in the pic for size.
I found a piece of Walnut Hollow Basswood Country Round that I've had for years. I don't remember which craft store I purchased it at. I bought some transfer paper and dusted off my Colewood Detailer wood-burning machine. I chose a font, printed out the letters I needed, traced the letters onto the wood, and made this sign.
I traced on and burned in some other design elements too, then stained and sealed it.
To be continued: a bench, flowers, and a water fountain.
