Bird Aviary Chat Thread

[Birdlover 13]

Wow! Those are some awesome aviaries you have there!

 

[Lady507]

That's a really nice aviary!!!!

 

[gpop1]

thanks for the likes. Im still working on the design for a perfect aviary that maybe one day I will sell.

As a florida aviary I tend to over design the wind load which adds extra cost but it also means that the aviaries can be loaded on a trailer and moved. I wouldn't use this design in colder climates but for the few nights that the temperature drops we have sheets that are cut over the mesh. We also have heat lamps and oil filled radiators for the worst nights. Its not a good idea to heat a aviary as the bird will not produce downy feathers but florida weather can change 50 degrees one day to the next so the birds have not had time to acclimatized.

As this is a chat about aviaries I thought it would be a good idea to talk about design

1/ mother nature

location and weather has a lot to do with the design. This includes where in the yard you plan to set up the aviary. Some of my aviaries are under a large oak tree so they get natural shade thus I have used clear panels on the roof. Other areas have no shade so the roof is white to reflect the heat from the sun.

Florida is a high wind load state so every thing is screwed together. Extra bracing has been added to stop the aviary from twisting and the base is secured to the floor with metal anchors. Extra mesh windows have been added on the rear to allow the air to escape in the hope that the roof will stay on during a hurricane.

2/ ground prep

I really like the deep litter method in the base of the aviary. That means that the base need to be at least 4" thick so the litter doesn't touch the mesh. Deep litter also requires workers to keep the litter healthy. Drainage is also important and our first aviary cost us 10 tiels before we found and corrected the problem with mold. (area had a swimming pool years ago and there was a ground sheet buried under the woodchips that didn't allow for drainage this lead to mold)

To prep the ground make sure there is no weed mat and if possible remove all plant growth then sprinkle lime and rake into the soil. I use cheap wood chips then spray with a good quality aviary cleaner then rake the chips and repeat a few times. all seed chaff is tipped from the feeder straight on to the floor where button quail eat any left over seed and scrap the chaff into the floor. We also remove some flooring from a established aviary and add the bugs to the new floor after a few weeks as the insects will assist in keeping a health floor. (great source of insects if you plan to keep insect eating finches). It takes a while to get the right balance so you have to adjust by giving high protein quail food until the floor becomes its own little eco system.

3/ predators

depending on where you live the mesh should be able to protect the birds in the aviary. The general rules are that the mesh can not be small enough to trap a birds claws or large enough that they can get there head stuck. As the aviary is built from 2x4 that means you can have 2 types of mesh if required. I have wanted to try a 1/2 mesh on the inside for the birds and window screen on the outside to keep the mosquitos off the birds but I haven't had a chance yet. I have used 1/4 inch to stop snakes but its harder to add and remove feeder cups than a 1/2 mesh. A aviary should have at least on solid wall so any predator can not run around the aviary scaring the birds.

4/ cost

you don't have to start huge if you design it to be added to later. Try to work with easy to buy materials and avoid odd sizes. Most hardware stores have a internet page so you can price check the materials. A 7' 3" wide by 6' 9" deep aviary (base) costs me about $400 on material the reason the sizes seem odd is due to the expense of the roof panels. 6' '9" works with a available 8' poly carbonate roof panel. A 12 x 8 which is really 11' 4" x 6' 9" (base) costs about $550. Either can be built in a day using power tools. I have a chop saw, battery powered drill, battery power sawsal and a air-powered stapler. I only use torq drive screws as they can be removed even years later. cross drive screws tend to strip there heads so try to avoid them. I dislike nails as they always seem to come loose as the glue doesn't stick to pressure treated lumber like it does to untreated.

5/ mesh prep.

vinegar wash all galvanized mesh before use to remove the acid they use clean the mesh. I haven't found a stainless mesh with in my budget but your budget may be different from mine.

6/ night lights

most hardware stores or online can sell a cheap 12vac garden light transformer including a timer. Cheap trailer side markers that use bulbs that are rated for 12vdc will happily run on ac but the expensive led ones will not work. Protect all wiring as birds can chew the insulation of the wires.

7/ ease of use

things like water dishes, food storage bins (50lb), hanging feeders will all make life easier. On my next build I want a mini kitchen with running water, power and a flat surface that's enclosed in mesh so I can go back and forth with out leaving the aviary (also would like a hand feeding area) but that may be just a pipe dream.

8/ have fun

Its a hobby. If you are breeding for money then a aviary is not the way to go. If it becomes work that normally means that its a bad design. Adding a tap inside the aviary with a coil hose can save hours of work (I think that every time I have to enter and leave the aviary as work) so storage inside the aviary, a tap even if that's just a hose pipe buried under the aviary, a bin for nest box material and easy to open nest boxes means more time watching the birds then working on them.

Im sure other people can add to this or disagree with some of it. I like to hear other peoples thoughts as im not a expert and they may have a idea that I can incorporate.

 

[yellowherb]

This is a budgie nest box Gpop1 built me(I'm the crazy wife). I decorated it.. did not last long, the budgies have undecorated it for me. They enjoyed the plaster door and window outlines a LOT!. So I left all others plain.


I call these the painted ladies. The smaller ones on the right are for English budgies and larger on the left are for cockatiels. The roofs remove completely so we can get in and out of the box easy. The boxes are set on a shelf and are removable. When we had them attached to the walls we struggled to keep them clean but it's easier now with them just sitting on shelves. We remove the entire box, dump the old shavings, add fresh and put back on the shelf.

The houses are painted in non toxic watered down acrylic craft paints. They have held their colors really well and I love that each one is a unique color. The roof is flush on the back side to set against the walls but the front has eaves to keep birds from sitting on the top of the boxes and arguing with those in the box or perched outside the opening. We breed budgies in a flock which you are not meant to do. So we compensated for arguments with a special design box. The cockatiel box also has eaves.

 

[User395221]

We breed budgies in a flock which you are not meant to do. So we compensated for arguments with a special design box. The cockatiel box also has eaves.

Love those boxes. They remind me of those old-fashioned bathing huts at the beach.

That's interesting about your breeding in the flock. I moved my indoor budgie (my other budgie who was with her died) into an aviary out the back with some new friends and I'd looked up about putting a nest box in, in case anyone "got friendly" with someone else. The message was very strong not to do that, that any babies would be murdered, etc. I am not interested in breeding just keeping everyone happy, so I didn't put any boxes in there with them.

 

[gpop1]

photo shows I need to do some clean up. The smaller 1/4 mesh seems to trap the downy feathers when the birds malt which didn't seem to happen with 1/2"

The nest boxes just sit on shelf's. We was going to add a second level on the left but that's really more boxes than the birds require. The roof is pointed and overhangs the front of the box to reduce arguments. We noticed that with the store bought nest boxes that birds would stand on the top and harass the parent bird as they came and left. With budgies and tiels it seems to work.

Florida winter which happens to be the hottest on record have the birds all messed up so somewhere in this picture is around 50 adults that have about 40 chicks plus at least another 5 boxes with broody hens sitting on eggs. So this week we really have to get the covers made as the old ones after 2 years are tatty and need to be replaced before we get a cold snap.

 

[gpop1]

Love those boxes. They remind me of those old-fashioned bathing huts at the beach.

That's interesting about your breeding in the flock. I moved my indoor budgie (my other budgie who was with her died) into an aviary out the back with some new friends and I'd looked up about putting a nest box in, in case anyone "got friendly" with someone else. The message was very strong not to do that, that any babies would be murdered, etc. I am not interested in breeding just keeping everyone happy, so I didn't put any boxes in there with them.

That can happen but there's normally a warning sign before it becomes a problem. English budgies are a easier going bird then a parakeet

You have to be willing to remove a aggressive bird for a few weeks or permanently if you see any signs of a female showing a lot of interest in a box that's not hers. Also you need at least 1.5 boxes per female and plenty of room. We have learnt that budgies work on location and they don't care if you swap the color or design of the box as long as its in the same place. This means that you have to be real careful about moving things around. By shifting a box 3-4 inches you could be causing a problem.

The worst problems are caused by a loss of eggs/chicks that may result in a hen relocating to another box or a new hen to a established aviary. They will try to find a box that they consider safe (e.g a box that has chicks already). Most hens will guard there boxes and even guard other hens boxes that are close but chicks being killed is always a risk. In most cases with enough empty boxes the problem hen will just find another box. Once the hens have there boxes as long as nothing goes wrong they tend to leave each others boxes alone. The snakes caused us lots of problems but it seems stable and settled now.

I haven't seen a problems with tiels other than males screaming at each other which requires a divider so they can't see each other while perched on the boxs. We had parakeets along while ago and they were evil to each other. They will also attack tiel chicks given half a chance so I wouldn't suggest keeping keets like this. Before starting a aviary it would be wise to get advice from people who keep the types of birds you are interested in. Even cute little button quail will kill each other if you don't follow some basic rules.

 

[User395221]

Thanks gpop1. I'm not going anywhere near breeding It sounds way too stressful for me. My aviary is very small, it's way too small to try any of that. I'm a bit fanatical about giving my animals heaps of room. If I ever had a big setup like yours, I might consider trying something, but everyone seems happy enough out there without any signs that they need to breed (unlike my chooks, who have a large clucky contingent...)

 

[gpop1]

Thanks gpop1. I'm not going anywhere near breeding It sounds way too stressful for me. My aviary is very small, it's way too small to try any of that. I'm a bit fanatical about giving my animals heaps of room. If I ever had a big setup like yours, I might consider trying something, but everyone seems happy enough out there without any signs that they need to breed (unlike my chooks, who have a large clucky contingent...)

Sounds like you enjoy your birds and you are correct breeding is stressful. Ive seen things that make no sense and will break your heart but ive also seen miracles. Sometimes a budgie/tiel just like a chicken will decide that nest box or not she's laying and going broody. If you start to find eggs in the food bowls then you may have to add a nest to stop a hen from laying (you can replace the eggs with fakes to avoid chicks).

 

[User395221]

Sometimes a budgie/tiel just like a chicken will decide that nest box or not she's laying and going broody.

Oh, I hope not, it's been bad enough with the chooks. If I ever let the budgies breed, I wouldn't want to give away any of the babies. It's much better if they don't start any of that cluckiness.