I have a rather large walk in aviary which is sitting but not joined to a concrete slab. I am wanting to move the avairy onto the grassed area at the back of my yard but I'm wondering if that is suitable for the birds. How much harder would it be to keep clean? I am really getting paranoid about mice too as 3 eggs have simply vanished from the nest box

 

Also If i was to get quails of some sort will they help to keep the avairy floor cleaner in between proper cleans which I do regularly? What do I need to provide for them in the way of food and where do they sleep? hmmm what to do......what to do...........

I used to have my avairy on a dirt floor I found it impossible to keep clean, but I know some people find it easier.

About the eggs dissapearing it could be mice , but it is also possible that the parents have been eating the eggs. Have the birds been bred before? It might be a good idea to put some fake eggs in for a bit to see if it is just the parents eating their eggs, plus if so the fake eggs should stop this behaviour.

Quails are fine with budgies as long as they are in a large area (avairy), I have a number of quails and I have now taken them out from the avairy because combined with budgie droopings the mess was enormous.

(Tried to stick to the budgies)

By the way all quails need is food, water and they will survive!

I'm not sure how the quails would go on a concrete floor. My Dad always had dirt floors.

 

They will need something to hide in because sometimes certain budgies pick on them. Also, if they breed you'll need really fine wire because those babies are really small and will escape at the first opportunity. The cutest thing I ever saw was a bunch of baby quails leaving the aviary and being called back by their mother when I ran out the back door to try and stop them.

 

Mice will always be a problem. We don't have an aviary here, but when we moved in and started using our compost bin the mice moved in. Apparently that also brought snakes - the neighbours told us. We heard on a gardening programme that mice hate mint so we planted some right next to the compost bin and discovered that it does deter the mice, but it also grows like a weed! I don't know if mint is any good for budgies.

thanks I think i'll skip the quails I don't want more mess

I will try and find out about the mint. I will try anything. I just hate mice yuck yuck yuck!!!!!!!

 

I bought the 2 birds as a breeding pair and apparently they had bred together before but i don't really know for sure.

When you say they eat them, do they eat the whole thing, shell and all? The eggs were gone and no shell was on the ground either.

Thanks guys for your advice. :sad:

Nice tip on the mint I might get some now so they are in place before I have a problem.

 

I havn't had an egg eater but from what I know yes they can eat enough of it so you can see anything left.

 

As to the ground I have gravel in my and I'm starting to hate it with the cleaning, which is scraping off the top layer and adding more every second time or so. I'm planning on getting pavers to give me a floor I can scrub clean.

Quails are great they eat dropped seeds and mine use some of the husks and grass to create their nest they are handy little things they can use a corner or a log to sleep in they arent fussy theyll sleep anywhere huddled up in the corner mainly but get a male and a femalecoz otherwise they will howl all day and night and drive you bonkers...king quails are the better breed smaller and cleaner...also quails lay eggs all over the floor constantly in the doorway so you are better off watching your step as you enter the aviary

...i have paved floors underneath all 5 of my aviaries

Edited October 23, 200618 yr by reneeb_2145

 

I have decided to pave as I can pretty much do this myself and it will be heaps cheaper (i hope) than getting in a professional to concrete the area. I love my birds and want what is best for them and smelly little mice are definately not good.

My aviary is on the dirt/grass but its all lined with bricks and really thick anchor rope, i've had no issues with rats and i've filled the shed parts of the aviary with sand which is really easy to sweep clean every few days and then top up every month or so. All the flight areas are either grassed, wood chipped or pebbled

Cheers :beer:

Una