eddie_van_quailen
Songster
We finished the aviary (or quaviary 
) last week but I haven't gotten around to making a post about it yet. I wanted to post our process for others who may be interested in building an aviary or natural-style enclosure for their quail, since @le_bwah's posts about their aviary gave me a lot of inspiration and encouragement to build my own. We made lots of mistakes throughout the process but learned a lot so hopefully it helps someone. And I know it's not perfect, so critiques/questions are welcome!
We decided to use untreated kiln-dried wood, and treated it with Internal Wood Stabilizer to weatherproof it. I saw it recommended on The Garden Coop and liked the idea of not using any pressure-treated wood around the birds. I know many have used PT wood for coops & aviaries without issue, but I wanted to try something non-toxic and the IWS was interesting to me. (FWIW, most PT wood these days is highly regulated and perfectly safe). So we spent the first week applying the IWS as directed and waiting for the wood to be ready. This involved spraying it on with a yard sprayer and letting it dry for 4-12 hours between coats.
Next we prepared the area. I chose a spot in the garden that was on somewhat level ground. We spent a few days pulling a ton of foxtails and other weeds, as well as pulling up the old weed barrier that covered the area. Once the land was clear, we dug a trench that would accommodate the foundation and predator apron and took that opportunity to level the ground as best we could (this is why the trench is deeper on the top of the hill). We learned the hard way (literally) that our soil in this area is very hard clay for the most part
Next we laid out our foundation wood and marked the corners with flags to be sure we had enough space to fit everything and made sure the ground was reasonably level (if we owned the house, we would have preferred to pour a concrete slab, but alas, as renters this is what we were allowed to do). We also got some mulch and spread it around the rest of the garden area around the aviary.
Then we filled the trench with gravel and attempted a final leveling of the area. Again, it's not perfectly level but we wanted it to be reasonably so. This would also (hopefully) provide some drainage and keep standing water from sitting under the frame, as the gravel provides a level & fast-draining surface, and the trench underneath should direct water down the hill. Next we assembled the foundation and applied the predator apron. We used stainless steel screws and fender washers to attach the hardware cloth to the underside of the foundation pieces, and assembled it onsite. I do wish at this point that we had put the predator apron under all that gravel rather than on top, but we were able in the end to bury the apron under about ~2-3 inches of dirt and mulch. With the foundation and predator apron built, we started assembling the walls.
We assembled the walls with decking screws, and attached the hardware cloth with poultry staples. Over the top of the poultry staples, we applied a redwood trim that should be reasonably weather-resistant and insect-repellant. We screwed the trim onto the walls with decking screws. We learned partway through that this stuff must absolutely be pre-drilled, after we split a few pieces
But it turned out to be really beautiful and provided a lot of tension and strength to the hardware cloth.
With the walls assembled, we were ready to attach them to the foundation and get the whole thing put together. Before closing the walls in, I planted 2 muhly grasses and blocked off one corner for a sand bath. We buried the predator apron and filled the aviary with the remaining mulch. This is finally when things started feeling more fun than stressful and I got to start decorating
Then, ta-da! We carried the walls out, attached them to the foundation one-by-one, built the door, and suddenly it was finished! We applied a single cross-brace to the roof and covered it in hardware cloth attached with more of the stainless steel screws and washers, and then it was ready for the birds. I made some little fairy houses out of hollow logs and sticks, placed a grass rabbit hideout filled with hay, added a fake monstera for extra shade/cover, and put in the food and water. (We're planning to build a bucket watering system, but it's not finished yet, so for now they're still using gravity waterers and a large saucer with pebbles that I have to empty and refill every day...) We also added a temporary tarp roof, but it didn't look as pretty in the pictures so it's not shown here We're in California, so hopefully finished with the rain until fall, and will be adding a sloped plastic poly sheet roof in the next few months.
The birds loved their new home, and weren't nearly as skittish as I expected them to be. We put them in the new enclosure at dusk, since I read that's when they would be the calmest. All was well, or so I thought... A few days later I added a camera, and discovered one of the neighborhood cats was spooking them during the night/early morning hours
We had previously considered adding a "skirt" to help the ladies feel less exposed, but I thought with enough cover/hiding places they would be OK as they didn't seem to mind our dog walking by. But clearly not, so we decided to add this right away. In the meantime, for 2 nights I stacked some flat rocks up against the walls (not resting on the hw cloth but on the studs) to keep anything from peeking in. The next day, we got some wood siding, and even though I don't love the way it looks, the girls are much calmer and happier not being able to be spied on. It's 24" high so it should shield them from the wind a bit more as well. I'm thinking about painting a mural on the sides, or growing some plants to cover it. We didn't cover 2 areas, one of which is where I plan to add a "nest box" sort of enclosure where they can be completely protected from wind/elements, and another wall that I plan to cover with a vine. This wood siding is also untreated and will rot eventually, so I will be manually applying the IWS if I don't decide to paint the exterior.
Overall, the ladies seem to be loving it. Every time I go out there or check the camera they're playing in the sand pit, running/hopping around, climbing the logs, or just generally enjoying life. We still only have 1 that's laying eggs (I'm not sure who) but they're only 7 and 8 weeks old so it's fine. I'm still switching things up occasionally while I figure out what works and what doesn't. I ended up removing some of the larger logs and putting in some smaller pieces that provided a better bulk:shelter ratio. I added a new gravity waterer and a larger saucer until we can get the bucket waterer & cup system built. I add a little new bedding every few days, either mulch or Flock Fresh hay mix, or just mix up the bedding a bit to turn it over as necessary. But honestly they do a pretty good job turning it on their own, too, with their scratching and dirt bathing. I plan to do a sort of modified deep litter and clean the whole thing out once or twice a year. But we'll see how it goes, I'm still learning. I'll update here occasionally as I make new discoveries or learn new lessons in the hopes it might help someone
) last week but I haven't gotten around to making a post about it yet. I wanted to post our process for others who may be interested in building an aviary or natural-style enclosure for their quail, since @le_bwah's posts about their aviary gave me a lot of inspiration and encouragement to build my own. We made lots of mistakes throughout the process but learned a lot so hopefully it helps someone. And I know it's not perfect, so critiques/questions are welcome!We decided to use untreated kiln-dried wood, and treated it with Internal Wood Stabilizer to weatherproof it. I saw it recommended on The Garden Coop and liked the idea of not using any pressure-treated wood around the birds. I know many have used PT wood for coops & aviaries without issue, but I wanted to try something non-toxic and the IWS was interesting to me. (FWIW, most PT wood these days is highly regulated and perfectly safe). So we spent the first week applying the IWS as directed and waiting for the wood to be ready. This involved spraying it on with a yard sprayer and letting it dry for 4-12 hours between coats.
Next we prepared the area. I chose a spot in the garden that was on somewhat level ground. We spent a few days pulling a ton of foxtails and other weeds, as well as pulling up the old weed barrier that covered the area. Once the land was clear, we dug a trench that would accommodate the foundation and predator apron and took that opportunity to level the ground as best we could (this is why the trench is deeper on the top of the hill). We learned the hard way (literally) that our soil in this area is very hard clay for the most part
Next we laid out our foundation wood and marked the corners with flags to be sure we had enough space to fit everything and made sure the ground was reasonably level (if we owned the house, we would have preferred to pour a concrete slab, but alas, as renters this is what we were allowed to do). We also got some mulch and spread it around the rest of the garden area around the aviary.
Then we filled the trench with gravel and attempted a final leveling of the area. Again, it's not perfectly level but we wanted it to be reasonably so. This would also (hopefully) provide some drainage and keep standing water from sitting under the frame, as the gravel provides a level & fast-draining surface, and the trench underneath should direct water down the hill. Next we assembled the foundation and applied the predator apron. We used stainless steel screws and fender washers to attach the hardware cloth to the underside of the foundation pieces, and assembled it onsite. I do wish at this point that we had put the predator apron under all that gravel rather than on top, but we were able in the end to bury the apron under about ~2-3 inches of dirt and mulch. With the foundation and predator apron built, we started assembling the walls.
We assembled the walls with decking screws, and attached the hardware cloth with poultry staples. Over the top of the poultry staples, we applied a redwood trim that should be reasonably weather-resistant and insect-repellant. We screwed the trim onto the walls with decking screws. We learned partway through that this stuff must absolutely be pre-drilled, after we split a few pieces
But it turned out to be really beautiful and provided a lot of tension and strength to the hardware cloth.With the walls assembled, we were ready to attach them to the foundation and get the whole thing put together. Before closing the walls in, I planted 2 muhly grasses and blocked off one corner for a sand bath. We buried the predator apron and filled the aviary with the remaining mulch. This is finally when things started feeling more fun than stressful and I got to start decorating
Then, ta-da! We carried the walls out, attached them to the foundation one-by-one, built the door, and suddenly it was finished! We applied a single cross-brace to the roof and covered it in hardware cloth attached with more of the stainless steel screws and washers, and then it was ready for the birds. I made some little fairy houses out of hollow logs and sticks, placed a grass rabbit hideout filled with hay, added a fake monstera for extra shade/cover, and put in the food and water. (We're planning to build a bucket watering system, but it's not finished yet, so for now they're still using gravity waterers and a large saucer with pebbles that I have to empty and refill every day...) We also added a temporary tarp roof, but it didn't look as pretty in the pictures so it's not shown here
We're in California, so hopefully finished with the rain until fall, and will be adding a sloped plastic poly sheet roof in the next few months.The birds loved their new home, and weren't nearly as skittish as I expected them to be. We put them in the new enclosure at dusk, since I read that's when they would be the calmest. All was well, or so I thought... A few days later I added a camera, and discovered one of the neighborhood cats was spooking them during the night/early morning hours
We had previously considered adding a "skirt" to help the ladies feel less exposed, but I thought with enough cover/hiding places they would be OK as they didn't seem to mind our dog walking by. But clearly not, so we decided to add this right away. In the meantime, for 2 nights I stacked some flat rocks up against the walls (not resting on the hw cloth but on the studs) to keep anything from peeking in. The next day, we got some wood siding, and even though I don't love the way it looks, the girls are much calmer and happier not being able to be spied on. It's 24" high so it should shield them from the wind a bit more as well. I'm thinking about painting a mural on the sides, or growing some plants to cover it. We didn't cover 2 areas, one of which is where I plan to add a "nest box" sort of enclosure where they can be completely protected from wind/elements, and another wall that I plan to cover with a vine. This wood siding is also untreated and will rot eventually, so I will be manually applying the IWS if I don't decide to paint the exterior.Overall, the ladies seem to be loving it. Every time I go out there or check the camera they're playing in the sand pit, running/hopping around, climbing the logs, or just generally enjoying life. We still only have 1 that's laying eggs (I'm not sure who) but they're only 7 and 8 weeks old so it's fine. I'm still switching things up occasionally while I figure out what works and what doesn't. I ended up removing some of the larger logs and putting in some smaller pieces that provided a better bulk:shelter ratio. I added a new gravity waterer and a larger saucer until we can get the bucket waterer & cup system built. I add a little new bedding every few days, either mulch or Flock Fresh hay mix, or just mix up the bedding a bit to turn it over as necessary. But honestly they do a pretty good job turning it on their own, too, with their scratching and dirt bathing. I plan to do a sort of modified deep litter and clean the whole thing out once or twice a year. But we'll see how it goes, I'm still learning. I'll update here occasionally as I make new discoveries or learn new lessons in the hopes it might help someone
And the quail can eat the grapes, too!
Gardening is always a practice in patience, isn't it?
The little monsters.
