Kiran
New member
Hi all.
My wife and me will be moving to another city in some time and soon the construction of the new building I have booked will commence. The contractor has left it to me and the architect to custom design the size of each of the 12 bedrooms in it. 1 of the rooms will be solely kept for birds. At present, the intended size is 30 feet(L) x 20 feet(B) with 12 foot high ceiling.
We plan to keep between 2 to 6 of each species of bird we shortlist, depending on ease or difficulty of tending to them and other factors like flocking / loners, etc. At present our list includes - Amazon Parrots, Cockatiels, Caiques, Galahs, All Cockatoos, African Greys, Conures, Blue n Gold Macaws and Pionus.
I will design 2 sides of the room to be open air (without walls - just a wire mesh to keep these birds in and keep away crows & insects) for cross ventilation. It will be open to the East and West sides as I want them to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. As mentioned the height will be 12 feet and the cages will be on the floor level. We will be giving each bird an hour of supervised free flight (in room) daily along with walking around with the peaceful (non biting) ones on our shoulders everywhere else in the house, you know the kind with whom I can walk around on me without worrying if my flesh will be bitten off.
My entire house is designed keeping the birds safety in mind, as in I won't be installing ceiling fans they can get hit by and all windows will be having a metal grill outside. Basically, the aim is to keep one or two of them on our shoulders in turns at least 6-8 hours daily 5-6 days a week as we want meaningful affection and not just showpieces, so to speak.
I had a few questions to ask the experienced folk here. I've looked after budgies, love birds and cockatiels for the last 8 years now, but I understand that the bigger birds are an entirely different ballgame.
1. Among the birds I listed, which ones in order are the easiest to get along with (Amazon Parrots, Caiques, sulphur crested / palm / major Mitchell's / white / galah Cockatoos, African Greys, Conures, Blue n Gold Macaws and Pionus) and can be kept in groups of 4-6, and then which ones are the hardest and recommended to be limited to 1-2. Any specific mutation / species that we may have left out which would be a worthy addition? We will be procuring freshly unweaned birds around 2-3 months of age. I believe all of them are available with top breeders here.
2. Do I really have to clip their wings?, as I've never clipped the wings of any of my birds thus far and feel they should always be free to experience what God made wings for. I've noticed all the ones I have are more than happy to fly around for 5-10minutes tops and then peacefully sit in their perches / on me. I'll do it for the bigger birds for safety if I'm advised to on here, using a vet's services.
3. As all these birds will be in the same room measuring 30 feet x 20 feet, top quality food and water and fairly clean air, the risk of viruses being low, is it ok? As in are there any types I should make an entirely seperate partition with ventilation for ? Australian species / African species, etc.
4. Which birds among the above are occasional biters (even after being friendly) with whom we will have to take extra care not to get too close to? (I know cockatoos are, wondering about the others, as I don't want to risk the health of my wife and children)
5. As I'm in India and bird accessories are very limited, or if available are too small (budgie size) and ridiculously priced to boot, I'll be custom making perches with top quality wood blocks and utilizing a Carpenter's Services. (and will place ropes, hanging toys, etc). Any particular kind of wood I should be using?
6. What are some easily available items I can get for the larger birds to shred and keep busy?
7. In my custom made large flight cages 7' x 7' x 9'(H), what is the best material to use for flooring as we'll need to clean that often. It's a walk in cage, so will marble floor be fine, since it will be cleaned daily?
8. Can I keep various mutations of the same species together safely? Like for example, sulphur crested / palm / major Mitchell's / white / galah Cockatoos in the same Cage. or all various amazon parrots.
Other things I've thought out are:
For constant supervision, I'll be employing an helper during the day and will keep a CCTV on for supervision during the nights so I can rush to tend to any issues that may crop up.(I sleep around 3am and the staffer comes in around 8am so the only hours the birds will be outside supervision will be 3am to 8am). The carpet area in my house is 10000 sq ft+ so the CCTV will be a must.
I'll be hiring my bird specialist doctor to accompany me when i'm going to the breeders to purchase the birds to make sure they're all healthy and without problems, etc.
I will be making custom cages using the walls, wood and wire mesh so my birds won't be restricted to regular cages but instead will have at least 7'(L) x 7'(B) x 8'(H) cages to move around in. The largest available regular cages will be used for the types I only have singles or a pair of. What is the recommended technique of finishing the metal? i.e. painting, chroming, powder coating, etc? Is there a minimum recommended thickness of the metal mesh wire for the larger birds ?
Sick / Ill birds will be kept in a cage in another room so they are totally separate from the others.
I know it is going to be a huge responsibility, but it is something both me and my wife want as we love animals, birds especially. Any and all advice from experienced people on here are most welcome.
Here's a plan layout for the aviary...
http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp217/RasaKiran/NayaksAviaryJPG_zps61b24fe9.jpg
Thanks so much for reading & all advice is appreciated!
My wife and me will be moving to another city in some time and soon the construction of the new building I have booked will commence. The contractor has left it to me and the architect to custom design the size of each of the 12 bedrooms in it. 1 of the rooms will be solely kept for birds. At present, the intended size is 30 feet(L) x 20 feet(B) with 12 foot high ceiling.
We plan to keep between 2 to 6 of each species of bird we shortlist, depending on ease or difficulty of tending to them and other factors like flocking / loners, etc. At present our list includes - Amazon Parrots, Cockatiels, Caiques, Galahs, All Cockatoos, African Greys, Conures, Blue n Gold Macaws and Pionus.
I will design 2 sides of the room to be open air (without walls - just a wire mesh to keep these birds in and keep away crows & insects) for cross ventilation. It will be open to the East and West sides as I want them to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. As mentioned the height will be 12 feet and the cages will be on the floor level. We will be giving each bird an hour of supervised free flight (in room) daily along with walking around with the peaceful (non biting) ones on our shoulders everywhere else in the house, you know the kind with whom I can walk around on me without worrying if my flesh will be bitten off.
My entire house is designed keeping the birds safety in mind, as in I won't be installing ceiling fans they can get hit by and all windows will be having a metal grill outside. Basically, the aim is to keep one or two of them on our shoulders in turns at least 6-8 hours daily 5-6 days a week as we want meaningful affection and not just showpieces, so to speak.
I had a few questions to ask the experienced folk here. I've looked after budgies, love birds and cockatiels for the last 8 years now, but I understand that the bigger birds are an entirely different ballgame.
1. Among the birds I listed, which ones in order are the easiest to get along with (Amazon Parrots, Caiques, sulphur crested / palm / major Mitchell's / white / galah Cockatoos, African Greys, Conures, Blue n Gold Macaws and Pionus) and can be kept in groups of 4-6, and then which ones are the hardest and recommended to be limited to 1-2. Any specific mutation / species that we may have left out which would be a worthy addition? We will be procuring freshly unweaned birds around 2-3 months of age. I believe all of them are available with top breeders here.
2. Do I really have to clip their wings?, as I've never clipped the wings of any of my birds thus far and feel they should always be free to experience what God made wings for. I've noticed all the ones I have are more than happy to fly around for 5-10minutes tops and then peacefully sit in their perches / on me. I'll do it for the bigger birds for safety if I'm advised to on here, using a vet's services.
3. As all these birds will be in the same room measuring 30 feet x 20 feet, top quality food and water and fairly clean air, the risk of viruses being low, is it ok? As in are there any types I should make an entirely seperate partition with ventilation for ? Australian species / African species, etc.
4. Which birds among the above are occasional biters (even after being friendly) with whom we will have to take extra care not to get too close to? (I know cockatoos are, wondering about the others, as I don't want to risk the health of my wife and children)
5. As I'm in India and bird accessories are very limited, or if available are too small (budgie size) and ridiculously priced to boot, I'll be custom making perches with top quality wood blocks and utilizing a Carpenter's Services. (and will place ropes, hanging toys, etc). Any particular kind of wood I should be using?
6. What are some easily available items I can get for the larger birds to shred and keep busy?
7. In my custom made large flight cages 7' x 7' x 9'(H), what is the best material to use for flooring as we'll need to clean that often. It's a walk in cage, so will marble floor be fine, since it will be cleaned daily?
8. Can I keep various mutations of the same species together safely? Like for example, sulphur crested / palm / major Mitchell's / white / galah Cockatoos in the same Cage. or all various amazon parrots.
Other things I've thought out are:
For constant supervision, I'll be employing an helper during the day and will keep a CCTV on for supervision during the nights so I can rush to tend to any issues that may crop up.(I sleep around 3am and the staffer comes in around 8am so the only hours the birds will be outside supervision will be 3am to 8am). The carpet area in my house is 10000 sq ft+ so the CCTV will be a must.
I'll be hiring my bird specialist doctor to accompany me when i'm going to the breeders to purchase the birds to make sure they're all healthy and without problems, etc.
I will be making custom cages using the walls, wood and wire mesh so my birds won't be restricted to regular cages but instead will have at least 7'(L) x 7'(B) x 8'(H) cages to move around in. The largest available regular cages will be used for the types I only have singles or a pair of. What is the recommended technique of finishing the metal? i.e. painting, chroming, powder coating, etc? Is there a minimum recommended thickness of the metal mesh wire for the larger birds ?
Sick / Ill birds will be kept in a cage in another room so they are totally separate from the others.
I know it is going to be a huge responsibility, but it is something both me and my wife want as we love animals, birds especially. Any and all advice from experienced people on here are most welcome.
Here's a plan layout for the aviary...
http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp217/RasaKiran/NayaksAviaryJPG_zps61b24fe9.jpg
Thanks so much for reading & all advice is appreciated!
Last edited:
. You've got the right idea!
