AMAZING!!! It's like what you see at bird sanctuaries!!!

 

Pixie - to answer your questions about my budgies going down to the floor. The baths were on a little table which they love running around on. However they don't have any problems going down to the floor either. When i give the fresh vegies they love dropping it on the ground then eating it down there.

Now that is something I could build. If I had the room

 

Oh well we can dream.

 

Andy you can use galvanised but wash it down with one part vinagur to 4 parts water. Make sure all the "dags" off off the wire and then give it a spray of black paint. It will be good. Heres mine.

 

Hi

You have some great plans there. Hows the progress going?

 

I have a pretty simple aviary on my patio. I am in Southern California, so we dont get too cold of nights. I attached bamboo type blinds that I can roll up & down depending on the winds. I have a heat lamp that I turn on everynight. It is off to one side, so they can move around depending on how warm they want to be.

 

Where it doesnt get too cold here, We just have it as one room. We made the door small, just the bottom 1/2 of the end. It has a sping on it, so it pulls back & closes as you go thru it.

 

I put down on the floor a course sand, its easy to shop vac up a few times a year, and just put down a few new bags. It serves as a good gravel for their gizzards too!

 

I feed them every morning their veggies on a paper plate that I put on the floor. They seem to really enjoy scavenging around picking at the millet and other veggies someone else dropped!

 

I put a base to a plant pot on the bottom to fill with water for them to splash in, but they only use it for drinking! They use the water cups on the side for the bath!

I also have some small rabit type water bottles attached to the side. That way, there is always poop-free water available.

 

I put a solar charged lantern inside, so the mom's can see to feed the babies at night. It puts off a nice full moon type glow!, very pretty.

 

We have 8 budgies in the aviary now, and there are 4 babies in the boxes. 6 more eggs waiting to hatch!

 

I put eucaliptus on a hook every day for them to nibble at. They love it! They all preen themselves while eating it. I assume the oils in it are good for their feathers???

 

here is a link to my pics, I need to get some better shots of the aviary.

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/

 

 

I hope any little bit of info I gave you helps in some way! I'm pretty new to this aviary business too, but so far, so good!

 

( I did have to remove one of the breeding pairs, she became agressive to one of my girls, attaked her and I beleive killed one of her babies. I think I will put the nesting boxes on a shelf for the next breeding season, and add 2 more boxes so there will be more choices for the girls!)

 

GOOD LUCK & KEEP US POSTED!