Cuttle bone and nests

[DanteD716]

I love all the brush!

[kenny66]

Hm.. many pigeons around here lately for sale, maybe I can find some too

Dante-stick to finches other you will become a pet store !!!!!! LOL

[PrettyBird]

Love your aviary Kenny. Thanks for all the pics

[DanteD716]

Hm.. many pigeons around here lately for sale, maybe I can find some too

Dante-stick to finches other you will become a pet store !!!!!! LOL

[kenny66]

Very interesting. It's great that you can provide such a natural habitat for the finches. How do you keep out vermin and bugs, predators etc.?

I tape ant rid plastic disc baits under cover to the outside of the aviary and underneath it for ants-I have cocroach bates (the plastic disks) placed under the elevated part of the aviary-The aviary is predator proof supposedly)with wire on the base and enclosing the whole aviary, even the roof. However nothing is fail safe so I bait heavily for rats and mice (2 inch plastic plumbing pipe for mice and 4inch for rats-put the bait inside the pipe and place under the aviary floor below the wire in the elevated walkway. I spray the interior of the whole aviary including nest boxes every 3 months with Coopex insecticide (safe for birds) to kill anything else. Snake try t oget in but cant get through the wire of doors but I do have them drape themselves over the aviary (mainly pythons). these I remove by hand a relocate. Unfortunately my aviary is a bit of a "Pizza Hut" for them. The only predators I really worry about are the white tailed rats(about the size of small cat). If they get in they will kill every bird. For them I have a large wire trap and when one gets caught I drive it way into the bush and release it.

[kenny66]

Very interesting. It's great that you can provide such a natural habitat for the finches. How do you keep out vermin and bugs, predators etc.?

I tape ant rid plastic disc baits under cover to the outside of the aviary and underneath it for ants-I have cocroach bates (the plastic disks) placed under the elevated part of the aviary-The aviary is predator proof supposedly)with wire on the base and enclosing the whole aviary, even the roof. However nothing is fail safe so I bait heavily for rats and mice (2 inch plastic plumbing pipe for mice and 4inch for rats-put the bait inside the pipe and place under the aviary floor below the wire in the elevated walkway. I spray the interior of the whole aviary including nest boxes every 3 months with Coopex insecticide (safe for birds) to kill anything else. Snake try t oget in but cant get through the wire of doors but I do have them drape themselves over the aviary (mainly pythons). these I remove by hand a relocate. Unfortunately my aviary is a bit of a "Pizza Hut" for them. The only predators I really worry about are the white tailed rats(about the size of small cat). If they get in they will kill every bird. For them I have a large wire trap and when one gets caught I drive it way into the bush and release it.

[finchmix22]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. The pvc pipe for mice and rats with the bait, how does that work? The go inside to eat the bait and then what? I'm not sure what you mean by "in the elevated walkway?"

[cindy]

Kenny can you show us pictures of how you have traps set for the mice and other pests? It may help give others some ideas for their pest issues.

[kenny66]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. The pvc pipe for mice and rats with the bait, how does that work? The go inside to eat the bait and then what? I'm not sure what you mean by "in the elevated walkway?"

It is very little work. The baits are replaced every 3 months only and it works out at no more than a couple of dollars per week. My main aviary is about 35ft X 7ft X 6ft so it really important to make sure that no vermin problems take hold. Mine is purely a preventative program and so far I have no issues with bugs, ants, rats or mice. I will take pics tomorrow of the things I have in place and s I said all are very low cost easy measures. The elevated walkway refers to the firstly constructed half of the aviary that was built 18 inches off the ground, fully wired to make it impossible for any access by anything to ge in. It also does not touch the ground so there are no soil based disease problems. This part contains an enclosed nesting area and holds all food and water dishes. It also allows me to close it off from the extension area in winter to keep everything warm. The "non elevated" section was built as an add on is about half the length of the full aviary. It has a less sheltered outside area with a clear roof centre to allow maximum light. It is connected to the other part of the aviary by a hatch 2ft X 2ft. This aviary is built at ground level and has a 6 inch gravel floor lightly sprinkled with hay. Many of the finches prefer this area to nest. I will take the pics early tomorrow morning and post soon after as it is getting dark here now.

[kenny66]

Kenny can you show us pictures of how you have traps set for the mice and other pests? It may help give others some ideas for their pest issues.

here are some of the pest control measures as promised

[kenny66]

We have many pigeon supply places here in the states...we should be able to get the same product here...Paridise Aviary (Rancel) breeds pigeons...wonder if he knows of a good supplier...there is Foy's!

Here is a photo of the pigeon pick block and the inexpensive calcium and iodine bells (usually sold for canaries). I smach these up with a hammer like the cuttle bone and the finches definitely get stuck into it. Someone askded me about the clear roofing I used in the aviary extension so I icluded a couple of pics of that.

[finchmix22]

Kenny
Thanks for being so helpful. One more request, if you can, a picture of the aviary overall? I'm curious about the connector to the outside/ground level and the sheltered above ground (elevated) area. I also wonder about keeping the floor clean with all that hay. Do you just rake it up and throw down new hay? How often do you have to clean the floor or other areas? I am trying to create something similar in my back yard; although, not as large. Thanks.

[kenny66]

Kenny
Thanks for being so helpful. One more request, if you can, a picture of the aviary overall? I'm curious about the connector to the outside/ground level and the sheltered above ground (elevated) area. I also wonder about keeping the floor clean with all that hay. Do you just rake it up and throw down new hay? How often do you have to clean the floor or other areas? I am trying to create something similar in my back yard; although, not as large. Thanks.

Hi Deborah
Its middle of the night here (10.30) pm so I will have to get the pics for you tomorrow morning. I will take it in sections so you can see how I did it. It is working really well as an aviary and not much I would change about it-maybe one extra entry way to the extension area with a door trap but other than that I am happy. I will post tomorrow
kenny

[kenny66]

The hay in the first part of the aviary sits on wire above the ground. I lay it in sort of hay mats about 2ft square thickly. In this area I just remove the top layer with poo on it by hand weekly. Takes about 10 minutes. It goes into the garden. I buy one bale of hay for this area that lasts about 6 months before I get to the bottom layer. A big bonus is that the birds use a lot of it for nesting material.

The extension on the other hand has a very thick aggregate (gravel) floor, which drains very well, as I am in the tropics. The thin layer of straw in this section is more about being cosy for any chicks that get hatched in this more exposed area. As usual the birds prefer it to the more enclosed sheltered first part of the aviary. I origninally built the estension really as a flight area only with very little greenery but finches started nesting in support posts and under the roof and any other difficult place they could find. So I eventually gave in a fitted it out as the "Finchdome Apartments" and now everyone of the more delicate breeds (for here) cordons-fie finches and jacarinis are using it for nesting. Fortunately the latest arrivals of pied parrot finches are content to live and nest in the enclosed area, which I think is due to the fact that is where the larger water bowls are!!! Anway pics will be done tomorrow

[Martie]

Kenny, thank you so much for sharing all these photos. Your aviary is wonderful - I love it! So many great ideas...