Suggestions for room conversion

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:11 am

The heating system was a concern, but it is hot water heat with dispersal fins around the copper. The parts that can be touched are never more than warm. I let two pairs of button quail run around the room last night. They would hop up and perch on the top and seemed content. And booooy did they love their meal worms!

plantsandbirds · Post by **plantsandbirds** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:37 am

Wow vetbridge! My friends kid me that I'm becoming the bird and plant lady and that one day my entire home will be plants, birds and pets! muahahaha! It already is and they don't visit enough! I'm going to show them photos of your new bird room!

I have visions of a conservatory attached to my house with huge palms, banana trees, other foliage, running water and finches flying (and pooping - ha!) everywhere!

I'd love to see photos of the birds in residence in your new room!

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:17 pm

Thanks, plantsandbirds. Do you have any specific plants you would suggest?

I will post some pics soon. So far, my button quail have the room to themselves and they love it.

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:45 pm

I'm not plantsandbirds, but i've got a few ideas...
One thing I know all your birds will love is some fine, soft tussock grasses such as Fountain Grass. For best effect, get a few and group them together. Be prepared for your birds to love them a little too much - especially at first. Fortunately grasses can recover from all sorts of abuse very readily.

A small potted tree or two would be a good idea - something tough and leathery and evergreen like a Moreton Bay Fig or a Eucalypt if you can get 'em.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:56 pm

I second the fountain grass except I think it would do better in an outdoor enclosure because I believe it (and most trees, unfortunately) require full sunlight to grow/survive. I tried keeping it in a shaded enclosure outdoors and it didn't last long at all even under those conditions (while the one I planted in the sunlight grew like a weed and now is as tall as I am). If you just want something the birds can enjoy for a couple of weeks until they've destroyed it, then don't worry about selecting plants that could ordinarily survive indoors. But if you were looking for plants that do pretty well indoors (and will periodically need to be rescued from the BIRDS destroying them to keep them going):

I have had good success with umbrella trees (schefflera) as far as "things birds can use for perches"--just be sure to add additional perching with different sizes/shapes/textures since the umbrella trees are pretty smooth an uniform as far as perching goes, which can lead to bumblefoot (pododermatitis) if it's the only available option.

My birds have historically also enjoyed boston ferns--another ground plant or hanging plant option that tends to do fairly well in 'shaded areas'.

I am also interested in hearing others suggestions for plants (both indoors and out) though. I wonder if any nurseries here sell live eucalyptus (for the eventual large oudoor aviaries I aspire to build one day), because that really would be the ideal plant for me to invest in eventually.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:04 am

Also, this might just be me being overprotective of my birds, but I always feared them eating the potted plant soil--partly because it can harbor a lot of bacteria, partly because I don't know if it's been treated with any chemicals, and partly because it contains those little balls of styrofoam or whatever that can't be good to ingest. So after I pot my plants I put a good 1-2cm thick layer of fish tank gravel (the kind that is too large to be eaten) over the soil. This prevents the birds from reaching the soil but in no way inhibits watering of the plants and is not condusive to fungal growth the way mulch can be. It's really an ideal 'protective barrier' in my opinion, plus it comes in every color under the sun.

Just a thought.

plantsandbirds · Post by **plantsandbirds** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:35 am

All of you plant lovers might like to try www.glasshouseworks.com for a HUGE listing of all sorts of houseplants. There are great photographs and descriptions. These plants are usually very small so be prepared for quite a bit of growing time.

Since my birds and house plants are not together I am not certain that I don't have something that could adversely affect the birds.

I have read that spider plants are OK and it's neat that the Boston Ferns are OK for birds too. They like to be rather humid so misting frequently is usually required.

Could you rig up an indoor lighting source (maybe that had a little cage around it so the birds would bird their feetsas

)? Then those sun loving plants might be an option in your bird room!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:34 pm

You should provide your birds with some type of full spectrum lighting, this would benefit the plants as well.

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:05 am

MadHatter wrote: A small potted tree or two would be a good idea - something tough and leathery and evergreen like a Moreton Bay Fig or a Eucalypt if you can get 'em.

Well, the grasses are hard to find this time of year, but my gf got me this big shrub. The fluorescent fixture has full spectrum bulbs, which should help.

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:07 am

The button quail love the room. Hopefully they will like it as much once other birds are added.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:22 am

your quail look happy anyway! all they need is a dust bath now

ken

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:07 pm

I have a container for a dust bath, but what would you suggest I use for the dust?
EDIT{please, no comments about my housekeeping ability or lack thereof

}

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:24 pm

you can use ordinary bird cage sand,i use the stuff that they sell in stores for kids sand boxes

ken

Post by **Hilary** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:56 pm

My quail use their container of crumbles as their dust bath! In your set up they could then go ahead and eat the crumbles that they've just flung all over the floor! (I have mine on hay so a lot of the crumbles disappear - they go through a LOT of crumbles.....)

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:45 pm

Those button quail are so cute! I would love to get some someday.

I love your bird room by the way, Those birds are going to be so happy!