Aviary building

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How to Design Your Own Aviary

By Len LaRiccia

Finding relaxing ways to spend your time is essential in today’s society. An aviary can be the perfect place to give your pets a new and exciting home, while also providing you with a place for quite, relaxing time.

Your first step in building an aviary will be to decide on the location. Aviaries can be built indoors or out, and can be great uses of otherwise dead space. If you decide on outdoors, try to find a spot that’s sunny but also provides partial shade.

Aviaries can be built for as little as $200. Some of the most common materials include welded wire, wood, brick or stucco. Your aviary should include nesting boxes, perches or trees, and live plants. The bottom can be made from concrete or plain dirt. If you chose dirt, be careful to watch for ground parasites, mice and worms. Concrete or dirt is easily cleaned by hosing the area down. Bird droppings can also be great for plants, if mixed in with the soil.

The roof should be solid or have some sort of cover to prevent other birds from spreading diseases through droppings. This will also protect seed from getting wet and souring or going bad.

The size of mesh used on the sides should be small so that it can give protection from small animals; other birds and keeps your birds inside. Although the smaller the mesh, the higher the cost of your aviary. It is important to keep out other birds, cats, possums who carry parasites and will eat bird eggs, skunks who will dig from underneath to forage for food, and hawks looking for an easy lunch.

STOCKING YOUR AVIARY

Bird Crazy suggests you speak with a professional before choosing the birds to house in your aviary. This will help you make sure you select birds that can co-exist peacefully, this can also depend on your birds’ personality. Some soft bills can live together, however we do not suggest you mix Parrots with soft bills. The most important thing is to talk to someone. Get it in writing, if possible, which birds can co-exist peacefully.

Additional items in stocking your aviaries can include waterfalls, and some streams or ponds (no deeper than a couple of inches.) Babies that fall out of the nest can drown in only a couple inches of water. If you do have babies in your aviary, you can place wire mesh over the pond until they are older. Remember it is important to keep your filter clean. The birds will be drinking out of the pond, and if it unhealthy, you will have unhealthy birds.

Placing geckos, small fish or iguanas in you aviary are also some ideas, as they will help to control the population of bugs, like the birds. However, some birds do eat lizards and some iguanas eat meat, so make your selections wisely.

If your birds do have babies, it is very important to separate them, as they get older or if the parents have a tendency to kill their babies in the wild. If the babies get old enough and start breeding with each other, they will weaken the gene pool, and cause problems.

An aviary can be an important part of your home environment. It can also provide your pets with a home that is more like their natural habitat.

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