Outdoor Accommodation – Birds Aviary
Category: Parakeet Health
If you are far into the aviculture, probably you will feel the inevitability to have more specimens. If you have bird rooms or aviaries, you can have a great numbers of birds in different variations.
There are different suggestions for housing various birds- from parrots to finches.
There are a lot of types aviaries – already built in flat pack so they are very convenient. But also they are very expensive.
When you choose an aviary be sure that it is practical and has all the basic needs:birds need shelter to get out in bad weather, you need a safety porch for access without the possibility birds to fly away and also there should be a roof against wild bird droppings and other elements. Also the aviary should look nice and be functional.
Of course it will be cheaper and unique if you make it yourself. For getting ideas how it to look like you may use ready-made aviaries.To build your own aviary you have to obtain good DIY skills or you may use ready-made panels- 6ft high and 3ft wide, they are easy to work with.
Design
Aviary’s design depends on what are birds you are going to keep, the available space and the materials for building it.
If you have finches then a wooden house for them is good, but for more destructive birds as cockatoos and other hookbill birds as budgies and macaws you will need a metal frame.
The birds you have determine the size of the mesh. For finches, budgies and cockatiels it should be square 1/2inch by 1/2 inch, it is safer. For them the thinner 19G (gauge) mesh is proper. 16G mesh is good for senegals and conures, 14G or 12G mesh is good for macaws and cockatoos; 2 by 2 inch is suitable for the larger parrots and often it is cheaper.
The shelter can be added as a box, attached to the top or you’d better have bird room or a shed that has an indoor flight and allows birds to fly during bad weather. It is also recommended that there should be a selection of perches for the birds to sleep at night.The flight inside the shed will be not as large as the main flight, birds use it for exercises. During good weather in warm seasons the birds may sleep where they want, but in winter or at cold nights they have to be shut. Birds can get in through a stable door whose top is open or through a pop-hole.
The shelter could be wooden or from bricks and can be easily adapted and insulated. There should be enough light via windows or if it is not sufficient there should be artificial lighting or a mix of both so birds can feel comfortable to be fed and the owner can work in the evening.
Temperature is also very important, especially for the most fragile birds. You can choose tubular convector heaters with built in thermostats for the temperature or separate heater-thermostat units.
For the good health of your birds also air filters or ionizers would help. They remove feather dust from the air, which is dangerous for people suffering from asthma.
Choosing The Site
Place the aviary far from trees against falling leaves and branches, but put it in sight of the house and to a direction where morning sunlight comes from. Leave a room around it so in the future if you decide to expand it to have that opportunity. Set the aviary away from the main roads because if you do not consider it, your birds could be startled by the car lights and they are exposed to a risk from the opportunist thief.
Also you should discuss your ideas with your neighbors and check with local authorities if planning permission is needed.
Put down a solid footing against predators and for hygiene reasons.If you have soil floor it is perfect breeding ground for bacteria parasites and is difficult for cleaning .The best solution is concrete, never mind that it is permanent. Predators can not dig it and it is ideal for disinfection. It you are put off its permanent feature, consider the alternative to lay slabs,they have almost the same effect but they are less permanent.
After the footing is set, it is time for the aviary panels. Put a layer of brickwork round the bottom and drill holes 1ft from either end in the panels.Then it is easy to fix the panels together with nuts and bolts. That way they are easy to be dismantled if they have to be moved or replaced. The best method is to fix first the shelter and then to fix the panels to it.
Risks
Predators like birds of prey, rodents, mice,rats and other, foxes, snakes and cats are the enemies of the birds and you have to think about buying ultra-sonic devices which are harmless to your birds,they emit radio waves that scare off the predators.Good hygiene, laying traps and cleaning up spilt seed will help you against rodents and also snakes will be kept away if you place panels on brick work.
Treat your birds for parasites at least once a year .Regular disinfecting and cleaning will reduce the risk if illness.
You should do something against thieves and the elements, too. You aviary should be built sturdy and locks to every door should be fitted. Motion sensitive security lighting and a high quality security alarm are good investment .These preventative measures should deter the thieves .It will be hard for you to control the elements so offer a shelter and keep birds warm and dry.
Check List
Before introducing birds in your own built aviary, allocate a section listing needed things.
Neighbors’ approval and permission to build
Proper site with plenty of room
The right frame and wire for the birds
Shelter for the birds
Solid floor
Air filter
Predator protection
Practical/sturdy design
Heating
Safety porch security
Plan in details
The Birds
When you keep birds you have to follow some general rules.
Don’t mix beak type with others, keep them saparately
The
Other potential problems and dangers your outdoor aviary birds may encounter and how to deal with them
Category: Parakeet Health
The most obvious dangers would appear to be extremes in the weather conditions, but most pet aviary birds are more hardy than you would expect from a ‘tropical’ bird. For example – as mentioned in one of my earlier articles – sub-zero temperatures are not a great threat as long as your birds are well fed, away from draughts, and dry; although your birds will be quite fond of a rain shower occasionally. Hot sticky weather again is not too much of a threat as long as your birds can get out of the sun into some shade and have a plentiful supply of fresh clean water. You will find that many birds do actually like to have a snooze in the day, especially if it’s hot; a kind of bird ‘siesta’.
Quite a large threat for your birds is their own expert flair for escapology. ‘Houdini’ would be a fitting name for almost any small pet bird as they are most efficient at getting free from only the slightest weakness to the aviary construction or through your own ignorance. Don’t allow this to happen; check your aviary every day for signs of weakness and repair it accordingly, plus be sure to have some type of double-door security entrance to save them from busting out as you are trying to enter.
As your birds are in an unprotected and often mixed species environment the risk of them picking up any illnesses is much increased, as is the risk from ill health from any contagious diseases your other birds may have or be carrying. Keep a close eye on them, get to know all your birds and you will soon notice if there’s anything wrong. If you find an ill bird you must remove it from the others and quarantine it whilst you deal with the issue and keep a close look out for any of your other birds showing similar symptoms.
A large and possibly fatal risk to the birds in the outdoor aviary comes in the form of predators.
Cats, birds of prey, and other predators such as foxes, snakes, stoats, weasels or any predatory animal pose the greatest risk to your outdoor aviary birds, but having said that I once had two cats who were always around the outdoor aviary and were actually a massive help; once they realised that they could not get to my birds they unwittingly became the birds’ ever present protectors. They would climb onto the top of the aviary (cats like their wild cousins like to get high up) and would dare any other animal, birds of prey for example, to come anywhere near, of course nothing ever got close enough.
For your birds in the aviary predators can at the very least frighten them as they stalk and pounce, and a frightened bird can easily injure itself, and if a predator can actually get at your birds the results of course could be fatal. Also common sense should tell you not to take your pet snake in there for example.
Birds of prey also pose a massive risk, sparrow hawks are probably the most notorious here in the UK as they hunt birds by nature (but sparrows are not the only birds on the menu). Other birds of prey such as owls, kestrels etc. also pose a risk, if they think your birds are easy prey they will keep trying to get them.
One of the most effective ways to protect your birds from these predators is to adopt an aviary construction method known as ‘double-mesh’, this means that aviary mesh is attached to both sides of any framework; yes you will use twice as much mesh when you build or protect your aviary but it will certainly prove to be worthwhile; this will help prevent any predators from coming into contact with your birds and causing damage with claws etc. I once had a beautiful pair of yellow turquoisine grass parakeets, but a visit to my aviary (which co-incidentally was only single-meshed at the time) one day from a sparrow hawk left my turquoisine hen with a large gash to the chest from the talon of the sparrow hawk, sadly her injury was too substantial and resulted in her untimely death. Hasten to add I learnt my lesson and promptly went out and double-meshed my aviary.
Another potential but often less fatal hazard is brought about by the presence of rodents.
Squirrels, mice, rats etc. will most certainly attempt to get into your aviary to get at the bountiful food contained within. With their large incisors most rodents will think nothing of gnawing through wooden framework to gain access, and if the wood gets damp or wet regularly its strength is weakened, making it all the more easier for rodents to get through.
With this in mind any wood that is in constant contact with the ground will rot more quickly, and rats especially will happily chew away at ground level as it’s much easier for them than chewing at height. They are also rather efficient at digging through soil to gain entry from below.
To help prevent this it is best to have a solid concrete or slab (flagstone) base, concrete foundations (to stop them digging) and a brick, stone or concrete block wall at least 12 inch (30 cm) high at ground level with the remainder of the aviary attached to the top.
Also mice can get through a smaller hole than even your smallest birds, so don’t give them the chance.
Rodents are unlikely to cause any physical damage to your birds but they will steal food and leave behind unhygienic droppings. Rats especially will also take eggs and young chicks as a high protein meal.
The above is by no means conclusive and there are many more potential hazards to be aware of so you will need to be very diligent.
Please email me for more information or to reserve your copy of my new bird keeping ebook coming soon.
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Pete Etheridge
Nottinghamshire, UK
Keeper and breeder of pet birds for 10 years.
Offering information and advice on all aspects of bird keeping.
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