Peafowl diet and entertainment questions

[MinxFox]

bdfive yes that is the pen my peafowl are in. For the top I use a bird netting, but it is a little thinner then I would like it to be. We have to fix it sometimes because it tears from the wind making it rub against the fence. Also the raccoons found out they could chew through the netting and killed two birds earlier this year so that is why we got some hotwire to put on the outside so the rascals can't chew in again. The netting doesn't show up well in my photos and it isn't very noticeable but it keeps the birds in. They bounce right off of it so even though it has some cons, it still has some nice pros.

doudini2: Wow I thought you kept him in a dipper more than that! I couldn't deal with that..I didn't even like it when my peachick Peep was really little and I would let him out of his pen to play in the house with me and he would poop. At least it was easy to get up with a tissue.

 

[bdfive]

MinxFox, how large is your pen? I have an enclosure that is 30' by 42' that can be closed into 4 equal size pens but have kept chicks that grow up fast and now have to many. I'm thinking of adding a fenced area and cover it with netting so they'll have more room during the day but will go into the safe pens nights. LOL, wish I could just drop a huge net over the Live Oak trees but will have to go around the trunks of a few depending on how large of an area I decide on. Know someone that fenced and netted 5000 sq ft. I'd love to manage that but don't think it's going to happen. Thanks for the reply.

 

[MinxFox]

My peafowl pen is 40x50ft but the little tin covered portion is maybe 200 square ft.

I know what you mean. My dad and I are always talking about how we wish we could just net the big oak trees in the yard. The birds would just love it and so would I but how you would actually do that, the cost, and the fact that it might not last long due to the tree rubbing the netting.

Sometimes I wish I could have a nice setup like a zoo with the giant aviary all nicely planted with a little stream running through it. If only...

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
Sigh, that's on my forever-wishlist too

 

[bdfive]

Quote:
Sigh, that's on my forever-wishlist too

I'm going to the Zoo soon and will see what you're talking about. Haven't been for decades and back then I'm sure I paid no attention to the aviaries. I'm sure they are much larger then it makes sense for a home owner to have and not sure the Home Owners Assoc. would approve but most everyone builds what they want and if caught deal with it, LOL!!! We're set way back off the road so totally out of sight and our 2 adjoining neighbors have multiple violations on their properties so don't have to worry about them telling on me, haha!!! I've been trying to decide what to add on to the existing pens for sometime. Maybe seeing what they have at the Zoo will inspire me to get it done in a mini size compaired to what they have.

 

[MinxFox]

Well we recently were driving down the road and saw a big greenhouse someone was building and now I even have my parents looking at things and thinking "Huh that might make a great aviary..." We were thinking greenhouses like this:
http://www.hullquist.com/images/BigGreenhouse2.jpg could work for birds.

I used to not pay much attention to the setup of aviaries and things but now that I am into birds when I go to a zoo I look carefully at the aviaries. I love those aviaries that have the flower vines growing up the fence or over the top of the aviary. I just don't know how I could do that because when I try to grow vines up the aviary fence the peafowl eat off all the leaves.

 

[bdfive]

I've seen pictures of aviaries built with bent PVC plumbing pipe in that shape which should be fairly inexpensive. I have a friend that has a huge aviary shaped like a round bird cage. The frame is steel. It's like 2 stories high with platforms for the birds to fly up on. Also large cypress tree trunks for roosts. Mike and Linda live on the Guadalupe River here north of San Antonio about 20 miles so the trees are available to him. Hopefully I'll get something built in the next 6 months. The picture of the greenhouse in the link would be great but I'd have to have wire....it's so hot here in Texas pens can't be completely closed. I used some polycarbonate roofing which was a big mistake. Wanted to let light through but it also intensifies the heat.

 

[trailchick]

Hey, I just want the 8' X12' from Home Depot, EasyGrow by STC with bronze roof:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...Id=10051&catalogId=10053&superSkuId=202851349

Need it to start seedlings, process honey from the bees bc I dont have a garage to do that, and keep young avian things when necesarry!!!. Wouldn't really work for an aviary, unless a lot of modifications were done. Florida has a much better environment for keeping all sorts of fauna than Colorado....

 

[bdfive]

Problem with greenhouses as aviaries here in Texas is the birds would fry in the heat. We used some polycarbonate roofing on the addition to the existing aviary we'd bought at Home Depot. We alternated the green and grey sheets to let in some light and sun. Beneath it are 2 corner nesting boxes. My poor hens were so hot setting on their nest I tacked up cardboard but just recently installed cedar fence boards on the ceiling to shut out the sun and heat over the nesting areas. Other then that I love the roofing. It keeps out the rain but lets light in.

 

[MinxFox]

I guess if it got too hot in the summer you could have an outdoor run attached to the greenhouse aviary or have a lot of vents that you could open up in the aviary but the vents wouldn't be large enough for the birds to fly out of.