18 gauge wire aviary?

[laraE]

I have a senegal parrot and I want to get him an aviary so he can enjoy the sunshine in the summer. A lot of the aviary's I've seen have 18 gauge wire - is this strong enough for a senegal? I've only seen these aviary's advertised on the internet so I can't judge how thick it is - I don't know if he'll be able to chew straight through it! I've seen quite a bit of conflicting advice, has anybody used this for a senegal aviary with success? I can't seem to find an aviary that uses thicker wire than this!

Thanks for your help

 

[PortaPerch]

I would ask the seller to send a sample of the mesh.

18 Ga. might not stop a raccoon or some other predators. I can't imagine a parrot chewing through it, though. They soon learn metal is not fun to chew.

 

[GregPara]

I built my aviary with 12 guage because my blue and gold loves to chew. We give her combination locks to play with and she tears the metal apart in about 2 weeks. The other post talks about raccoons or other animals getting through is a great point. You may want to consider putting screen around the aviary this way other birds, snakes and such cannot reach into the aviary. You can still hose everything down as your bird goes to the bathroom. I also put ferns around the inside of the aviary and laid stone down on the flooring this way food and waste can be rinsed through the stones and fertilize the ferns. Also, bugs and frogs and such will eat the dropped food and it becomes a little eco-system.

 

[GregPara]

Another thought on aviary caging you may want to consider no more than a half inch gaps and no longer than one inch verticle because you do not want anything to be able to reach into the cage including children but you will have enough for your bird to be able to move around the interior with ease.