Do you have an aviary?

For questions about finch enclosures (cages & aviaries).
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Crystal
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Do you have an aviary?

Post by Crystal » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:29 pm

I am looking to add an "Aviary of the Month" section to my website (finchinfo.com), so if you have an aviary that you would like to have featured, please let me know.

In order to be a participant, you will need to provide some photos of your aviary (preferably large/high quality photos, taken from various angles) and a description of how it was built (if known). You may also wish to include diagrams or drawings detailing its construction, your favorite and least favorite aspects of your aviary (i.e. if you wished you had done something differently when building it to make it better/easier to access/etc.), and any general tips or building material recommendations. The more information, the better.

Chosen aviaries will be featured on the main page of the site with a link to the full article for a month. After the month, the photos and article will be moved to the "building your own aviary" section under "housing" so that your article will always be available for readers to locate. Credit of course will be given to you (so be sure to include your name/location/e-mail/website info--whatever you want to go with your article & photos).

Thanks!

-Crystal

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Winston
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flight cage

Post by Winston » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:35 pm

I have a large flight cage (4'x3'x6'), I could easily fit inside it. How do you classify an aviary?

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tammieb
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Post by tammieb » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:59 pm

My brother and I recently built a large flight cage, 6'L x 7'T x 3'D, using 4 pre-fab screen doors. I got the idea from, "how to build your own flight or aviary", on FinchInfo.com.

I think the design has worked out well as there isn't anything I would change if I were to do the project over. It's easily maintained. I replaced the mesh screen in each door. The top half with vinyl coated hardware cloth and the bottom half with plexi-glass, so the birdy mess is well contained. I staple brown craft paper to the floor to protect the plywood. Once a week I vacuum up the loose debris and then roll up the paper and replace with fresh.

We used 1/2" plywood for the floor, back wall and top and 2" X 2" pine lumber for the framing of small access doors. I attached a vinyl lattice panel to the back wall to hang the seed hoppers from. Small branches can also be wedged behind the lattice for perches that are easy to remove for cleaning or to replace.

I had a 4' two-bulb shop light in the basement so only had to buy the full spectrum bulbs and a second timer to provide lighting for the 12 birds housed in this flight.

I can provide photos of the finished project if you'd like. Unfortunately, I didn't take any during the building process.

TammieB.

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Post by tammieb » Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:11 pm

Here are a couple photos of my flight cage...

Image

Image

Sorry for the fuzzy quality. The flight is large and the birdroom tiny. In order to photograph it, I have to stand outside the birdroom and take the photo through the screen door.

TammieB.

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Crystal
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Re: flight cage

Post by Crystal » Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:01 pm

Winston wrote:I have a large flight cage (4'x3'x6'), I could easily fit inside it. How do you classify an aviary?
I usually define aviaries as structures you can physically walk into, but I would also like to feature large flight cages on the "Aviary of the Month" page as well.

I think it is great to offer variety.

-Crystal

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Post by Crystal » Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:10 pm

tammieb wrote:Here are a couple photos of my flight cage...
Tammie, that looks great! I will definitely feature your aviary. You used the same T-bar screen doors I did--aren't they great? And you even stained them; they look beautiful. I became lazy and didn't stain mine.

I really like what you did with the back of the aviary as well. Do you ever have any problems with the birds in regards to the trellis? And the stickers on the plexiglass--have you found that those sorts of visual aids help the birds realize there is a barrier there? I left my plexiglass plain and the birds bumped into it for the first few days; lucky for me the aviary isn't large enough for them to build up enough speed to hurt themselves! I wish I had thought to add stickers. I am really happy that the "panel-form aviary" article inspired you; I was browsing through Home Depot one day in boredom and saw the screen doors and immediately thought they would make perfect aviary panels (minus the screen).

Your aviary looks fantastic. And I really like your improvements over the original design.

Thanks so much for sharing,

Crystal

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Post by tammieb » Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:45 pm

The stickers on the plexi are window clings. I found some really nice ones on e-bay that look like stained glass and bought several sets. I can remove and reuse them as much as I like. I was concerened the birds would crash into the plexi when first placed in the flight. During the 15 weeks I've had the flight in use, a couple birds have been startled when I entered the birdroom and bumped into the plexi. But as you pointed out, they can't get up enough speed to do themselves harm. I like the look of the ivy clings so have kept them in place even though I feel it would be safe to remove the visual reminder at this point.

As for the trellis... The birds have not tried to get behind it even though we bumped the panel out 1/2" with wood shims to allow for the hoppers to be hung. I used this method in a previous flight cage and it worked out well then too. No problems at all.


TammieB.

Luis

Screen doors

Post by Luis » Tue May 30, 2006 2:50 pm

I am looking for those exact doors to give my birdies a larger home outside. Where did you find them? I've searched everywhere with no luck.

Thanks,

Luis

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tammieb
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Post by tammieb » Tue May 30, 2006 3:31 pm

I found my doors at LOWES last fall. I believe HOME DEPOT carries a similar screen door.
TammieB.

Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best. ~Henry Van Dyke~

Luis

Screen doors

Post by Luis » Wed May 31, 2006 9:20 am

Thanks Tammie. If you don't mind me asking, how much were they selling them for?

L

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Post by tammieb » Wed May 31, 2006 9:59 am

I believe they were $25-30. I stained and sealed mine. You can also get them in a white vinyl for about $50.
TammieB.

Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best. ~Henry Van Dyke~

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Sketchs, photos or links

Post by Gaviota » Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:58 pm

We do not have an aviary but we love to. We are moving soon and then we are going to have more space :lol: . If you have a sketch, photos or links that have ideas of aviaries and you would like to share we will appreciate it. Thanks.

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tammieb
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Post by tammieb » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:56 pm

Somewhere on here there's a link to a site that Crystal put together showing different aviaries and flight cages. My computer crashed recently, so I lost all my bookmarks and I can't seem to locate the post now... Maybe someone else can show us the way??
TammieB.

Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best. ~Henry Van Dyke~

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Crystal
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Post by Crystal » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:12 pm

http://www.finchinfo.com/visitor_aviaries.php

It's still under construction, but that's the start of it; the site also has the panel-form aviary article written up, but the others are still being worked on.

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tammieb
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Post by tammieb » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:18 pm

Thanks Crystal!
TammieB.

Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best. ~Henry Van Dyke~

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