Glass sides for aviary

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mondo
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Glass sides for aviary

Post by mondo » Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:56 pm

I keep seeing glass sided finch aviary, even zoos use it for their bird exhibit
are glass sides safe for them? the only thing I worry about would be if they hit the glass and injure themselves...

***oh I didn't mean I'd put them in aquarium, I meant that the aviary would be outdoors and one way to enjoy them from the comfort of indoors would be through the window

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MiaCarter
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by MiaCarter » Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:15 pm

That's a great question!
Unfortunately, I don't have an answer.

But I'd love to hear others' feedback on this, as it's something I've considered myself.
I have a plant shelf above a small portion of my bird room. (Please excuse the painting; it's not finished. We're doing another color above the plant shelf.)
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I've thought of putting a bird cage up there, as I can't see any way the cats could get it, but it would require a ladder for food and cleaning, which is just not something I could commit to. It would work for a week before I got sick of it. LOL

So I'd love to enclose that area with plexiglass and cut holes in the "floor" of the plant shelf/in the ceiling of the bird room so the birds could fly up there.
But I had the same worries as you about plexiglass.
I thought of doing cage instead of plexi, but it wouldn't look very attractive.

So I'll be curious to hear what others have to say!

I wouldn't be too worried about them flying into the glass once they become familiarized with the enclosure.
My main worry was ventilation and cleaning.
I was thinking of making tracks so the plexi panels could slide in/out, allowing for cleaning. But if yours was an aviary on the ground, I imagine cleaning would be pretty simple. Just climb inside and wipe it down with a cloth with vinegar.

The ventilation is an issue I can't seem to remedy. (And it's important in my case, as heat rises, so it could get rather warm.) So I think realistically, I'd need to do some sort of cage siding if I did this.
Humum to....
13 Zebra Finches....and 2 squeeps!
3 Society Finches
6 Gouldians
1 Weaver
1 Pintail Whydah
2 Cockatiels
2 Parakeets

....along with 1 MinPin, 1 Pug, 1 JRT, 1 Yorkie, 2 Chihuahuas and 15 cats.


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www.PetFinchFacts.com

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MariusStegmann
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by MariusStegmann » Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:56 pm

I would not do it myself.
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mondo
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by mondo » Sat Oct 25, 2014 7:57 pm

where is everybody else...?
I've really seen it on bird exhibits in zoos! they actually have an indoor planted aviary with glass front so visitors can come and look

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by Atbird » Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:12 pm

My cage has plexiglass front. The birds learn not to fly int it, but also, plexiglass has " give" so even when they fly into it ( when I catch them for nail clippings) it is no worse, and maybe better, than metal cages.

in zoos, when they introduce the birds into the glass enclosure, they put soap on the glass to make it foggy and slowly clean it off. I tend to hang a shear sheet on the top half of the plexiglass to show the birds there is something there. You can also put post-it's on the glass ( which are easier to clean than soap).

Also, in zoos, the part the birds are in are brightly lit and the side the people observe the birds has subdued lighting. Birds are reluctant to fly into the "dark" so a lot of times you'll find exhibits without any glass and the birds do not attempt to fly out :D
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by Sam007 » Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:14 pm

Atbird wrote: in zoos, when they introduce the birds into the glass enclosure, they put soap on the glass to make it foggy and slowly clean it off. I tend to hang a shear sheet on the top half of the plexiglass to show the birds there is something there. You can also put post-it's on the glass ( which are easier to clean than soap).
Good ideas! :)
I love Gouldian Finches.

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by DanteD716 » Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:44 pm

I had a 5 foot flight with plexiglass sides and front. I wouldn't do it again. I don't like how dirty the glass gets, it's difficult to clean and inconvenient
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by MiaCarter » Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:34 am

Atbird -- Great points!
Also, with many zoo enclosures with birds, the glass comprises a very small portion of the enclosure -- like the lower portion of one "wall" of the enclosure.
And the rest is all open air, so ventilation isn't an issue.

Ventilation would be my primary concern. I think you'd need some sort of ventilation system if you did an aviary with more than one or two sides glassed in.

Also, while glass would look nicer and be more durable, I'd be concerned about it breaking.
Humum to....
13 Zebra Finches....and 2 squeeps!
3 Society Finches
6 Gouldians
1 Weaver
1 Pintail Whydah
2 Cockatiels
2 Parakeets

....along with 1 MinPin, 1 Pug, 1 JRT, 1 Yorkie, 2 Chihuahuas and 15 cats.


Image
Image
www.PetFinchFacts.com

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mondo
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by mondo » Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:40 am

Also, in zoos, the part the birds are in are brightly lit and the side the people observe the birds has subdued lighting. Birds are reluctant to fly into the "dark" so a lot of times you'll find exhibits without any glass and the birds do not attempt to fly out :D
OHHH that's a very good idea!
Which means I should use one of those dark sided glass (the dark side is for the birds) so us indoors can watch them do their natural behavior without being surprised or alert at us :)
thanks! the idea's wonderful!

BUT I have read somewhere there's this product that can be applied to glass... The birds can see some kind of web so they don't fly onto, but our human eyes cannot see them... I don't know what its called

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by finchmix22 » Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:51 am

If you are talking an outdoor aviary, I used the plexiglass, which is not completely see through, on two sides and wire mesh on the other two sides, for ventilation; however, the plexiglass gets marked up easily and turns a dusty color after a while outside. So, I would use something different next time, but I"m not sure what. Glass makes me nervous that is would break if there are storms, high winds, hail, or a neighbor with a baseball. Let us know what you decide.
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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by MiaCarter » Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:22 am

You know what I wonder?
When you're wearing polarized sunglasses, certain types of glass have a rainbow coloration. Best way to describe it to someone who's never seen it is that it's similar to an oil slick on water.

So depending on how birds see, perhaps it's possible they too can see this or something similar?
Humum to....
13 Zebra Finches....and 2 squeeps!
3 Society Finches
6 Gouldians
1 Weaver
1 Pintail Whydah
2 Cockatiels
2 Parakeets

....along with 1 MinPin, 1 Pug, 1 JRT, 1 Yorkie, 2 Chihuahuas and 15 cats.


Image
Image
www.PetFinchFacts.com

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by monotwine » Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:36 am

I visited a Gouldian breeder that had a massive aviary fully enclosed with sliding glass doors. It was built under a car port.
Not too sure how ventilation worked, but it could only have been from the top. He had more than enough space and it was dry inside, so no fogging up.
Perhaps because of space, clever placing of perching and a meticulously clean nature the glass was not dirty or fogged up yet the birds never bashed into it. It was lovely to sit there and watch them through glass instead of mesh I must admit.

It was very sheltered. The birds looked great and had great breeding success, but they would probably have died the minute they were put into an outdoor aviary like mine, mesh and open on 3 sides.
If you only want to watch birds from the inside of your home / on a patio you could join the aviary to a large window or place glass on the viewing side and keep the rest as a regular aviary. I see no harm in that at all.
Last edited by monotwine on Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by monotwine » Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:37 am

A very expensive option is to buy that glass they use in high rise buildings to prevent migratory birds from flying into the windows. Threaded with strand that birds can see.

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by Atbird » Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:56 am

MiaCarter wrote: You know what I wonder?
When you're wearing polarized sunglasses, certain types of glass have a rainbow coloration. Best way to describe it to someone who's never seen it is that it's similar to an oil slick on water.

So depending on how birds see, perhaps it's possible they too can see this or something similar?
Birds have polarized lenses in their eyes.

As for putting something on the glass, I put a heat reflecting film on my balcony door to help keep cool during the summer. When viewed from outside at a certain angle, it looks somewhat like a mirror. A nice side effect is that the birds I feed on the balcony can no longer see me well, and if I move somewhat slowly I can get right up to the glass and watch them. (If I move quickly, they must see some kind of shadow because they get scared). They sell this film in Home Depot.
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ImageBlaze, Cinder, Sunday
Image Storm & Sky

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Re: Glass sides for aviary

Post by mondo » Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:28 am

I visited a Gouldian breeder that had a massive aviary fully enclosed with sliding glass doors. It was built under a car port.
Not too sure how ventilation worked, but it could only have been from the top. He had more than enough space and it was dry inside, so no fogging up.
Perhaps because of space, clever placing of perching and a meticulously clean nature the glass was not dirty or fogged up yet the birds never bashed into it. It was lovely to sit there and watch them through glass instead of mesh I must admit.

sounds lovely!! I wonder how the owner kept the birds from crashing to the glass
If you only want to watch birds from the inside of your home / on a patio you could join the aviary to a large window or place glass on the viewing side and keep the rest as a regular aviary. I see no harm in that at all.
that's what I've been saying!! LOL
best thing with a dark sided glass is that, the birds will not see us and behave normally (my hypothesis) unless their eyes are super powerful and can see beyond that, then the dark glass only prevents crashing

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