Walk-in Bird Aviary

[gracebowen]

If I recall correctly one of our members used plexiglass to build his/her aviary.

Ps mine aren't clipped. Their cages are small but they are out for hours every day.

 

[Physicist]

Yes, that would work but then you would not hear them very well and you would have to clean it pretty often so it remains transparent. I am happy with mine as they are. I have talked to friends who are professional ornithologist's and they agree that my aviary is perfectly safe. It is impossible for birds to get metal poisoning unless they swallow metal. As long as the metal splatters are cleaned off when you first build it then it is perfectly safe. There is no metal to swallow. The birds do not eat the wire. I. e. they *never* eat the metal. "touching" the cage does not hurt them. sigh.

 

[Velimir]

Yes, that would work but then you would not hear them very well and you would have to clean it pretty often so it remains transparent. I am happy with mine as they are. I have talked to friends who are professional ornithologist's and they agree that my aviary is perfectly safe. It is impossible for birds to get metal poisoning unless they swallow metal. As long as the metal splatters are cleaned off when you first build it then it is perfectly safe. There is no metal to swallow. The birds do not eat the wire. I. e. they *never* eat the metal. "touching" the cage does not hurt them. sigh.

I am glad you posted this, Physicist. I have wanted to make a large aviary for a very long time but the warnings against homemade cages scared me away. I am still concerned, but you sound very confident and competent in your replies.

Is there anything I could do to further mitigate the risk of ingestion? Some of my birds like to chew and I am worried they might find the clumps in the metal mesh and pick them off. Would soaking in vinegar help this?

 

[Puck]

This is very helpful. I am hoping that once we get settled down in Honduras in a more permanent location I can build an aviary for my guys myself. Just hope I can find safe supplies there.

 

[thekarens]

If you Google stainless steel mesh you can find it in about any size you might need Velmir.

I would agree normal aviary birds wouldn't touch or eat the metal, but parrots aren't normal in that sense. They are very curious and easily bored, so IMO it's not worth the risk if you can avoid it.

In the OPs case it's said and done so there's no sense arguing about that, but if I were starting fresh I might as well be as safe as possible.

I personally don't like plexiglass aviaries either since it impedes air flow and traps the dust and dander.

 

[Physicist]

I agree that it would be good to use stainless steel if you don't want to have to inspect the wire. However, if you are building it yourself using my Instructable you are going to get intimately acquainted with the wire anyway, so it isn't too hard to pick away loose metal splatters. Once you have done that it is just as safe as stainless steel. If your bird bites down and actually chews on any metal wire it is not normal behavior. Curious is one thing but that is abnormal. They will chew on the wood parts of the avairy (but it would take decades to do enough chewing to actually bite through any of them - in which case you simply replace it). There is nothing in the aviary that they can't eat. In fact, I expect them to try to eat anything I put in there. I always put cardboard boxes in there (I am surprised I haven't had to have the big long argument about boxes yet. let me explain before that starts that I don't use ones with paint on them.) You can put all the plastic you want in there and they will only try to chew it until they see it is pointless. They only chew things that they can shred. That is the point. They aren't interested in eating their toys, only destroying them. They can't shred up the metal wire and hence they won't chew on it. Ever. Period. I don't even buy fancy toys anymore. My conures get bored with them far too quickly. Boxes and other easily shredable things are better (and cheaper!). I put treats inside so that once they manage to rip a hole in the side they are rewarded with a treat. I also have many different bowls containing all kinds of foods in addition to store bought parrot food. They love peanuts in the shell (unsalted preferably but salted won't kill them either unless that is all you ever feed them 24/7) sunflower seeds in the shell too (again don't jump up and down freaking out about how "we're all gonna die!" if they are salted. Just make sure they don't gorge themselves on them all the time) they have lots of fresh fruit (bananas, chopped apples, etc. alternated each day) lots of different kinds of nuts and bird seeds. They like pieces of bread or toast. They love peanut butter. The options are endless. I change their water two or three times a day when I remember to, but there is so much water in their aviary that there is always clean stuff somewhere even if you forgot to change it one day. I wash all the bowls ever few days but I only clean the cage once every couple of weeks or more. I just wrap up the huge piece of packing paper lining the floor and discard it, then roll out another sheet from the big roll I have. I takes 5 minutes. A roll of paper lasts a couple of years or more. I could go on and on giving tips and stuff that saves time and money and results in a happy bird. They love 80's rock. Sometimes I download jungle sounds and play that as background music. I have a decent sized Ornithology textbook library by now and some are quite fascinating to read although fairly technical. Parrots are very much like children. There are many dangers but don't be such a neurotic parent that your kid is a head case shut-in. Like I said before don't stop taking your kid fishing because you are scared they will swallow a lead weight - instead, just keep the weights out of site.

 

[Physicist]

:r site/sight

 

[Flboy]

" They love 80's rock. Sometimes I download jungle sounds and play that as background music. I have a decent sized Ornithology textbook library by now and some are quite fascinating to read although fairly technical."
WOW! All mine do is shred the pages!!

 

[Physicist]

hahaha. You need to start by reading to them until they get interested enough to read on their own. Even still they tend to shred things they don't agree with. (They take after me! isn't that cute)

 

[veimar]

Wow how cool! I loved your bird rescue story.
I had the same thing happened years ago, but the poor thing died because it was too late and all the stores were closed.

 

[Physicist]

I found a baby hawk when I was probably 14 or so. I put him in an old Mink farm cage that I had found and tried to feed him pieces of raw steak. He didn't make it either. That may be the reason I went so far over the top this time -- all that subconscious guilt I have been carrying around all these years.

 

[Velimir]

Thank you so much for providing these plans, Physicist. I am not very carpentry inclined so it helps to have a plan already in my head. I think I will the over-protective parent and order stainless steel mesh as the one exception, though. I am not so confident my birds won't deliberately seek out the metal chunks because they seem to find everything I don't want them to. And I do not trust my eyes enough to find every piece.

I have not built anything like this before. The unknown just makes me nervous.

Also, this:

Parrots are very much like children. There are many dangers but don't be such a neurotic parent that your kid is a head case shut-in. Like I said before don't stop taking your kid fishing because you are scared they will swallow a lead weight - instead, just keep the weights out of site.

I loved this. I used to be part of another message board and the people there were so neurotic that they made me neurotic. I do not visit that message board anymore. But it funny that you mentioned it.

 

[Puck]

I am building one of these on my back porch so that when I go outside to work in the yard, my flock can enjoy the day, too! Thanks for the detailed plans.