Posted March 29, 200718 yr Hi All, Fairly new to this site, After 10 years have decided to get back into Birds as i have missed it so much. I am looking at building an aviary in the next few months. The Aviary will have three flights inside, 2 flights will be smallish housing Budgies and finches and the large flight in the middle will house small parrots and budgies. I have been thinking about what materials to use to build my Aviary and would love people's opinions or suggestions on what i should use. The Aviary will be approx 7.7metres wide and 5.6 metres deep with a round Paving section at the front. 3/4 of the Aviary will be closed and the other 1/4 open. I was looking at the following (and have the following questions?) Frame - Was thinking timber Walls - Was Thinking Hardiflex - which is similar to cement sheeting, is available in 4.5mm and 7.5mm and is supposed to insulate pretty well from direct sunlight. Roof - Also hardiflex underneath colourbond Roofing and cover 3/4 of the Aviary Internal Sperations for Aviaries - Wodden Frame with Wire/Mesh. Questions What is the best timber to use and what would last the longest? Has anyone ever used Hardiflex and will this be good for birds? What size Wire/Mesh do I Need to house Budgies/Finches and Small Parrots? and to keep mice away. I have this aviary all drawn up in my head but its hard to sketch. All Aviarys will have plants as well. OPen to any suggestions on what i should consider and what i shouldn't. I want to get it right the first time and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks Wayno. P.S Will post Pictures when i start which should be after Easter.
March 29, 200718 yr Wayno the first thing I would do is get some information from your council about the requirements of having birds and building an Aviary.. It will save you a lot of head aches in the future, believe me .
March 29, 200718 yr Author Daz, I didn't know there were any requirements, I suppose council regulations change state to state, are there any regulations in your state? I had birds at another property in my area, but didnt even think about contacting council. Interesting! Will send them a quick e-mail. Wayno
March 29, 200718 yr I know here in the states you would need approval too but one thing I didn't see is a double entry door where so you don't have any budgies escaping . You can also go to the aviary section of our site and WOW there are so many ideas along with Daz's own journal about building his aviary
March 29, 200718 yr Wayno check this post and you'll see what I am now going through. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....ndpost&p=145918
March 30, 200718 yr Hi All, Fairly new to this site, After 10 years have decided to get back into Birds as i have missed it so much. I am looking at building an aviary in the next few months. The Aviary will have three flights inside, 2 flights will be smallish housing Budgies and finches and the large flight in the middle will house small parrots and budgies. I have been thinking about what materials to use to build my Aviary and would love people's opinions or suggestions on what i should use. The Aviary will be approx 7.7metres wide and 5.6 metres deep with a round Paving section at the front. 3/4 of the Aviary will be closed and the other 1/4 open. I was looking at the following (and have the following questions?) Frame - Was thinking timber Walls - Was Thinking Hardiflex - which is similar to cement sheeting, is available in 4.5mm and 7.5mm and is supposed to insulate pretty well from direct sunlight. Roof - Also hardiflex underneath colourbond Roofing and cover 3/4 of the Aviary Internal Sperations for Aviaries - Wodden Frame with Wire/Mesh. Questions What is the best timber to use and what would last the longest? Has anyone ever used Hardiflex and will this be good for birds? What size Wire/Mesh do I Need to house Budgies/Finches and Small Parrots? and to keep mice away. I have this aviary all drawn up in my head but its hard to sketch. All Aviarys will have plants as well. OPen to any suggestions on what i should consider and what i shouldn't. I want to get it right the first time and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks Wayno. P.S Will post Pictures when i start which should be after Easter. Here is my aviary plans http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....topic=14142&hl= My aviary complex was here when we bought the house, but the aviary was just the two main sections...on the left a L-shaped section and on the right the long section. I have since divided up the section on the left to suit my budgies and breeding them. The section on the right is my husbands for his parrots. We are still working on mine in that we are soon to tile the birdroom area and insulate the walls and clad them inside with whitecoated ply ( melamine ). The birdroom has power and lights and water supplied. There are low wattage night lights on at night to stop "night frights" and the birds DO like to have the night lights on. The aviaries are made from treated pine pole construction. Treated pine is poisonous so care must be taken if using it to cover any pole sections the birds may have access to...wrap with some extra aviary mesh would be good. Ours isnt, but that mainly due to the whole thing being well aged and the birds havent tried to gnaw the wood in any way. The mesh is around 25mm by 12mm rectangular wire. Some of our doors have been made with recycled security mesh screens ( rewired with aviary mesh ). Flooring is a mix of concreted areas, paved areas ans soil and woodchip areas. The soil/woodchip areas will become concrete eventually as soil is not helpful re mouse invasion and also with problems of spread of disease and intestinal worms. I will try and get some more recent photos but here is a topic when we moved............I now have a lot more budgies than when we moved. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....wtopic=7998&hl= Edited March 30, 200718 yr by Kaz
March 30, 200718 yr Author Elly, There is a double door entry planned. I forgot to mention this in my plans. Thanks Wayno
March 30, 200718 yr Author Here is my aviary plans http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....topic=14142&hl= My aviary complex was here whn we bought the house, but the avairy was just the two main sections...on the left a L-shaped section and on the right the long section. I have since divided up the section on the right to suit my budgies and breeding them. The section on the right is my husbands for his parrots. We are still working on mine in that we are soon to tile the birdroom area and insulate the walls and clad them inside with whitecoated ply ( melamine ). The birdroom has power and lights and water supplied. There are low wattage night lights on at night to stop "night frights" and the birds DO like to have the night lights on. The aviaries are made from treated pine pole construction. Treated pine is poisonous so care must be taken if using it to cover any pole sections the birds may have access to...wrap with some extra aviary mesh would be good. Ours isnt, but that mainly due to the whole thing being well aged and the birds havent tried to gnaw the wood in any way. The mesh is around 25mm by 12mm rectangular wire. Some of our doors have been made with recycled security mesh screens ( rewired with aviary mesh ). I will try and get some more recent photos but here is a topic when we moved............I now have a lot more budgies than when we moved. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....wtopic=7998&hl= Thanks Kaz for your feedback. I'm now starting to get worried about Neighbours and councils, Might have to call the council. Where my aviary is situated is a fair way away from my neighbours actual living quarters. And the wire mesh part will be facing my property and no one elses. okay so i will stay away from Treated Pine. I have my borther who is a builder to draw my plan up for me and let me know a rough price for materials. Also still trying to convince the wife, I'm trying to make her part of it but she isnt really interested. But i think i have her 99% support. I also have a dog but he should be alright around the birds as he is getting on in age. I so wanna build this aviary but it is alot of hardwork to plan. Wayno
April 2, 200718 yr Author Another quick question, Can I Paint my aviary? Going to have Hardiflex Sheets as the walls and maybe on some of the roof, was thinking about painting the outside and inside. Do you think its worth painting the inside or just leave it? What is the best type of paint to use to protect my birds? Wayno
April 20, 200718 yr Author Well the Aviary has finally started, Landscaper has been in all week, ground is all level, flooring and front brick work going in first. Once the walls start will start posting some pictures. Quick question for anyone that keeps different birds. I'm building a large Aviary, and inside this aviary there are 2 seperate flights, One for finches and one for budgies. The Budgies flight will not have any breeding boxes in there. Someone told me i should not put a flight with budgies next to a flight with finches seperated by only wire. Has anyone heard of this before or has a similar set up. I've never had finches just budgies and parrots and would like some feedback before the Aviary walls start going up. Thanks
April 20, 200718 yr Well the Aviary has finally started, Landscaper has been in all week, ground is all level, flooring and front brick work going in first. Once the walls start will start posting some pictures. Quick question for anyone that keeps different birds. I'm building a large Aviary, and inside this aviary there are 2 seperate flights, One for finches and one for budgies. The Budgies flight will not have any breeding boxes in there. Someone told me i should not put a flight with budgies next to a flight with finches seperated by only wire. Has anyone heard of this before or has a similar set up. I've never had finches just budgies and parrots and would like some feedback before the Aviary walls start going up. Thanks A friend of mine had budgies next to finches with only wire separating them and came out one day to find the finches legs bitten off. One solution would be to use a sizeable spacer like a four inch wooden beam and use two layers of aviary mesh...one each side so there is no contact. Hope this helps PS We want photos ..... Edited April 20, 200718 yr by Kaz
April 20, 200718 yr I have a friend that has budgies and zebra finches in together with no problems. But after reading the above posts, maybe she has just been lucky!?????
May 22, 200718 yr Author Been delays with the Aviary, Frame hasn't started yet but i'm hoping it will in the next week or so. All this time waiting gets me thinking about the layout more. Another question, Inside my aviary there is going to be a bird room, The floor is Tuscan Topping and not concrete. Can anyone think of something i can put on top of the tuscan topping to make it easier for cleaning and sweeping Cannot put concrete down but there must be something else i can put down to sweep the excess bird seed off. Tried doing a plan of my aviary to show you all but its only in Excel Spreadsheet format and i do not know how to convert that to something else to put on here. Any suggestions
May 22, 200718 yr Author Kaz, Tuscan Topping is similar to Lilydale Topping, it is a small crushed Rock/Pebble, It is laid on top of Crushed Rock and when set becomes very hard and acts a bit like concrete but you do always get some loose stones on top. Sweeping the bird room up all the time will more than likely also sweep up some Tuscan Topping so I was thinking to make it easier have some sort of covering to make things a little easier. Sorry to hear about your birds today. Do you have any idea on how i can put a diagram on here. Would love to show you my design.
May 22, 200718 yr Kaz, Tuscan Topping is similar to Lilydale Topping, it is a small crushed Rock/Pebble, It is laid on top of Crushed Rock and when set becomes very hard and acts a bit like concrete but you do always get some loose stones on top. Sweeping the bird room up all the time will more than likely also sweep up some Tuscan Topping so I was thinking to make it easier have some sort of covering to make things a little easier. Sorry to hear about your birds today. Do you have any idea on how i can put a diagram on here. Would love to show you my design. I don't know about the tuscan topping as a good surface for cleaning purposes. Eeven cement slabs can hold onto seed rubbish between the cracks. I vacuum the birdroom twice and day and still it looks messy. You may have to convert your diagram to jpeg and put it through photobucket. Not quite sure how...I did it once and cannot remember how I did it now. :budgiedance: Thanks about the birds. It has made a sad day today. Edited May 22, 200718 yr by Kaz
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