Well I have been procrastinating about building an aviary for a while now. I currently have two large flight cages and two breeding cages in my house. My flock is currently at 15. I have my two show quality birds in a large flight cage of their own. This afternoon my oldest dog (and naughtiest) decided to knock down a wall of that flight cage and try to eat my beautiful grey cock bird. As he was flustered he was caught on the floor making the matter worse. After I caught the dogs and patched up the cage I decided I would start building my aviary and I thought I would start a thread sharing the journey with you all. The budget is very low, so it will be done in sections and I will be using plenty of recycled materials. I will take a photo of the site tomorrow. Well here goes . . .

Did your Grey Cock survive the attack okay? Good luck with the aviary, if you or/partner friends etc. are handy with tools you can do wonders with a bit of thought.

The first step is the hardest.

Sorry robyn I didn't make it clear, but yes Dollar (I didn't name him!) is fine. This is him:

This is a bad photo, but I only just took it now. He was not touched, just really upset. He seems to be over it now though, that mark is beetroot on his face!

This is his flight cage in its old position. I have moved it now so my naughty dog is not able to jump on it. The whole side bottom wall of it came loose yesterday when she jumped on it, and instead of flying to the top like his mate Cent, Dollar decided to drop like a stone and sit on the bottom, waiting to get squashed!

This is the culprit. Looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth doesn't she. We are mates again today though. She is lucky I love her.

These are my other two reasons for getting on with the job. And I live with two others which are not mine.

This is my yard. If it seems big that is because it is actually two yards. I live next door to my parents and we took down the dividing fence so I get one big yard for half the price! The photo is taken from their side, the edge of the garden is my boundary line.

This is where I am going to build the aviary. Long term, I am going to turn the green grassy area into a fully enclosed shed which will be a bird room and also give me room to keep a few canaries. But for now, I am just focusing on building an avialry with three flights up on the hill where the dead grass is. I need to begin by digging in some mesh to prevent rats tunneling under the floor and causing it to cave in. I then need to level the hill out with a small retaining wall and lay a paved floor out of old pavers I have left over from renovating the yard. This is actually a really big job as when I bought the place this was a hole where a pool had been, so it was filled in with "fill" a euphamism for any building **** that wont break down. So it is hard to dig in because it is full of lumps of cement, rocks etc.

The flight area will go at the left end of this garden. I am really luck with my neighbours. To the right of this garden is my mum and dad, and they don't care what I do as long as I don't make it difficult for dad to mow the lawn (yes I get free lawn mowing!). To the back is bushland owned by the Water Board, and they are never a problem. Great neighbours, beautiful wild birdlife, just a shame that rats live out there. To the left is my neighbour with some serious substance abuse issues. She has some massive fights and parties, but she is a poor soul who generally wants no trouble, particularly from me and is always happy for me to do whatever I want along the fence line. She also loves animals, so never complains about my animals. She does own a lot of 'free range' cats, but I am sure my dogs will keep them at bay.

I am pretty handy on the tools myself, but I have my dad who is also really enthusiastic about birds and he will be my second pair of hands when I am too short, too weak or too useless to get something done : )

Today I actually made a list of things I will need to get going and pulled out all the old junk I had laying around that I could use for the job. There is a lot of it! Building in earnest begins next weekend.

Edited March 17, 201312 yr by Pebble

It sounds like you have a great plan. I think you are lucky to live next to parents that you have a good relationship with. Family is important.

Glad Dollar survived, (also the dog). Beautiful animals by the way. Great looking yard and aviary spot, a lot of work ahead but will be worth it in the end. Will have to keep posting on your progress.

Well its been five months, its in a different spot than I had planned and its not totally finished yet, but today my birds moved in to their very own aviary! I am so excited. Photos to come soon.

Great news. I haven't been keeping up with everyone's progress either. Everyone gets tied up with their own "stuff" and it takes a while to catch up. Look forward to seeing your pics.

So here are some pictures of my new aviary.

I built the floor up rather than try and dig down to lay a floor, due to drainage. The floor is made of pavers. The outside is lined with treated pine, but the birds can't access this from the inside.

I made sure I built a safety on the front, to make it easier to get cages and tools in and out when I am cleaning.

 

Edited September 12, 201311 yr by Pebble

Looks great Pebbles, glad you put in safety door saves losing birds, they are so quick to escape. Is your aviary built onto building behind it or is it freestanding? With your plants etc in front it will make a pretty picture in the yard. Well done.

A couple more photos of my aviary contents!

<img src="http://i870.photobuc...zps6283e23f.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AviarySitePhotos020_zps6283e23f.jpg"/></a>

This is the whole flock on the tiered perch I made myself from eucalyptus branches.

<img src="http://i870.photobuc...zpsc4b30df2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AviarySitePhotos017_zpsc4b30df2.jpg"/></a>

Hanging out on a swing perch.

<img src="http://i870.photobuc...zps212d9ca6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AviarySitePhotos016_zps212d9ca6.jpg"/></a>

Two of Onion and Garlic's babies.

<img src="http://i870.photobuc...zpsa9150f72.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AviarySitePhotos015_zpsa9150f72.jpg"/></a>

The sky blue hen is a show quality bird I bought at an auction recently. The little cock bird sitting next to her is one of Onion and Garlic's. I was considering puting them together to breed when he is old enough.

<img src="http://i870.photobuc...zps9dffd0fa.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AviarySitePhotos014_zps9dffd0fa.jpg"/></a>

My unphotographic cock bird Dollar (grey bird) and the violet green hen I recently bought at auction. I will eventually put them together, but would like to put her to some of my blue birds first to see if I can get some visual violets in the future. I am not sure what she is genetically carrying, so I don't know how long it will take to get the violet back out.

Hope you like my flock : )

Sorry, not sure why the pictures are a link and not an actual picture.

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Pebble

I see inside you're aviary where the tin on the roof has holes.

are these blocked?

L_J

 

You mean where the aluminium roof profile has ridges don't you?

 

Yes, I would suggest blocking them as well. I use the budgie wire (hexagonal stuff) scrunched up and pushed into place in the gap of the ridge so that nothing can get in like pythons, mice, small rats etc.

Then I use expanding foam as well to fill the holes... just to be doubly certain.

 

Wayne

Edited October 1, 201311 yr by W Brown

Yes I mean the corrugated ridges.

 

It could be as simple as adding a strip of U flashing.