melbournebudgies

TB what has changed since the spangle was first developed? I'm a sucker for spangles and now that I have my big show type df spangle Ozzie I'm looking forward to putting him with my big hen and seeing what I get. What's the best way to get the most out of a spangle bird, my first clutch will be a test clutch but then I'll work out who to put him with. smilies Smilies do NOT work in Topic Titles so yours has been removed

TB what has changed since the spangle was first developed? I'm a sucker for spangles and now that I have by big show type df spangle Ozzie I'm looking forward to putting him with my big hen and seeing what I get My current spangle babies are all pet types.Changed my mind, gonna put it in another subject as Tb said

Ahh, well when I have babies I don't usually bother taking the seed guard off, the majority of it gets caught in the tray anyway, so I just take the tray out and empty, don't have to take the guard off to do that Mine are custom made to fit my cages, my smaller flight is identical to yours so I don't mind making a couple for you in return for all the hover critters you've got me lately

That box is great, cost me $15 at the bird sale and it was one of the best purchases I made all day! Good progress!

Would you like me to make a couple of my snazzy seed catchers for you? I make them in bright colours out of stretchy ribbing so that sit nice and flush around the sides and underneath and I just take them off every week or to when I do a big clean and empty the husks/seed out of them.

I have one of those AV plus the same one in the next size up too (which is HUGE and would probably actually be perfect for you Maesie!). I had to make stretchy seed guards for them as they flick the seed out all over the floor constantly. Other than I love them. Also if you got two smaller ones you could take the ends off and join two together to make a single longer one. Check out this website, the guy is in Sydney but apparently he does freight, he has some really cool cages at pretty good prices. I love the breeding cages and the house typ cage on page 2 of the wrought iron cages http://www.geocities.com/jj_aviariescages/

One from the back showing her wings would be good

It will be inside the garage plus they have their wings clipped so no escape possible anyway. I do that wth my outside aviary though, it's a great idea.

Sorry I need to clarify better I think. The chicks won't be staying in there, I will be taking them out and handrearing them from about 2 weeks, so the cage only needs to suit Tim and Tam not the babies

I was worried about that until I actually saw the sample but once it is stretched tight I don't think there will be any issues. Its not quite the same weave as shade cloth more like a basic knit with single links on each stitch( a bit like cyclone mesh), the photo makes it look more of a complex weave than it actually is Have added a close up photo in the first post

It is completely flexible, like real fabric, so I can make it fit any shape I want with ease

I bought 70 metres of wire mesh today on ebay, it's a cool product from the states which is totally flexible and high strength. It is also made of stainless steel rather than galv so it's much less likely to rust. I haven't picked it up yet but the bloke was kind enough to give m a big piece of it so I could be sure it would be strong enough and safe for the birds before I bid and I also did a bunch of investigation with the company that actualy makes it. Note that in the ebay photo it is actually in a double layer, in real life it is almost invisible from a couple of metres away!! Here's a photo I just took, it's not stretched tight of course but you get the idea http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...N:IT&ih=022

Thanks guys. I am actually kind of praying that the shed will be made in such a way that I can just remove the colourbond off the front panel and not have to cut it at all. If that is the case than I might not worry about doing the side and just have the whole front open, might even build a timber frame and make an extension for the front to put some finches in with a divider between them and the budgies and the extra sheet metal used for a half side and roof. Sounds complicated and ugly but if you could see this special wire it would make sense, it's almost invisible so you would hardly see the divider.

That's awful Kaz!! Has your new bird room got concrete floors so they can't burrow in?

I love Daz's mine will be far lss technicl than that! Basically I just need the grunty details, what do I cut with and what sort of bolts do I use to attach the wire (which will be on a timber frame with the wire on the inside and wrapped around so they won't be able to chew the timber)???

I have been given a small shed (approx 2 x2 metres) which I want to convert into an aviary. What I need to know is how people cut the windows in their sheds? What tool do you use for cutting colourbond? I am planning on having windows in two sides, the mesh I am using is a snazzy product that I have purchased from America which won't allow mice through as the mesh size is about 5mm so I can have a full length window if I want to. At this stage I am thinking a full length window on the front and a half height one on one side going only half the length of the shed side, does that make sense? Basically it will be fully enclosed on two sides and a third side will have a window taking up the front top corner (If you imagined the side of the aviary cut into four squares)

I guess it would be nice to know. The hens are essentially identical except that one is green and one is grey, so I guess using the grey would kill two birds with one stone. I think the grey is actually a better type than the green, she has a better head than the green defniately. It's a bit hard to know what she is like other than that as she had a case of rickett's as a baby so she stands a little funny, as it is it will be a test to see whether she is able to have chicks.

My IRNs were raised in a small cage(not by me) and they won't fly properly even when they have their wings. I tried putting them in the aviary a while ago and they just climbed around the wire and on the branches ,they didn't want to fly because when they tried they ran into the walls. When we move house I plan to set up a large parrot flight room and I will try and get them better at flying then when there isn't anything for them to run into but for the moment I think they are better off in a small aviary where they are less likely to injure themselves.

Cool, I guess if I put him with the grey hen I will also get to find out whether he is split for blue, so would she be the best bet or should I use the green opaline hen.

At this stage I am thinking I will use it as a breeding cage for my ring necks. I have been given an old 2 X 2 shed which I am picking up next week to convert into an aviary also, I'll put the loris in that(they aren't tame). The ringnecks aren't particularly tame but they have clipped wings so they can't fly anyway. Plus it will be in an enclosed room so they won't be able to escape even if they do get out.

I checked my hens this morning and the grey hen that I thought was normal is actually an opaline I think (she has a lot of spotting in the V area but no barring on her head so I think the spotting tricked me when I just looked quickly the other day). The only good sized normal marked bird I have is the dom pied who is a dom(dutch) pied normal. The rest are all opaline or spangle.

It has a nearly full height door on the side. I will be using it in my garage (which is being converted into a bird room) so there will be no danger of escape even if they do get out of the aviary.

They've obviously been well looked after at Ivan's, personally I'd just let her go for it

Kaz said she was going to do a cull, I think it is time for her to put up a for sale list

I agree AV, we worked out we can probably get 5 or 6 shipped for $80 or so. I depends on weight so we would need to work out the weight of the box plus the weight of the budgies and get a quote from AAE.