slanted aviary

C A · Post by **C A** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:08 am

Hello everyone,
I am thinking about building an aviary this summer. I have found many good ideas in previous posts and photos, but I am wondering if slightly slanting the front and possibly the sides inward might help contain feathers and seed hulls, as well as minimize waste from collecting on the sides. Hopefully I can build one large enough so the top won't be too narrow. Perches/nests would be mounted on the back wall. Food/water dishes will either be mounted on one end or placed on the bottom of the cage w/covers.
Can anyone think of any unforseen problems I might have missed?

I'm not sure what the dimensions will be exactly, but the flight space will roughly be 2.5'wx5'L at the base and 5' tall with an inward slant no more than 4 inches. Would this design take away too much flight room? Any input would be appreciated!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun May 13, 2007 11:17 am

I'm not sure what you mean to accomplish by slanting the walls.

Using plexi glass or a similar solid material to enclose the bottom half or third of the flight will contain 90% of the mess. Using the seed hoppers will also drastically reduce the amount of seed hulls you would normally need to contain.

If you are thinking the slanted walls will keep the birds from pooping on the sides and etc..... don't count on it.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:02 pm

tammieb wrote:If you are thinking the slanted walls will keep the birds from pooping on the sides and etc..... don't count on it.

HA! My finches somehow manage to get poop outside of the aviary!

C A · Post by **C A** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:24 pm

tammieb wrote:I'm not sure what you mean to accomplish by slanting the walls.

Using plexi glass or a similar solid material to enclose the bottom half or third of the flight will contain 90% of the mess. Using the seed hoppers will also drastically reduce the amount of seed hulls you would normally need to contain.

If you are thinking the slanted walls will keep the birds from pooping on the sides and etc..... don't count on it.

I'm not expecting the slant design to completely eliminate all the mess, but I think any percentage I can contain within the aviary is helpful. I'm hoping that gravity will give me a hand in my cleaning duties!

I had forgotten to mention I was planning to put a skirt around the bottom to help also as most of the mess my birds create presently is caused by their wings kicking up seed hulls, etc. when they fly near the bottom. I don't like plexiglass because I've seen my friend's birds get startled and fly directly into it as if they were trying to fly through it. I sure don't want any accidental injuries!

I have also noticed while observing my birds that when they are startled they tend to sort of fling poop out of the cage while flying from end to end. I was surprised to see how far that stuff would go! When they are calm though, the poop pretty much just falls straight down. In that case, the poop would collect a few inches away from the base at the bottom instead of right on the edge. I know there will always be messes to clean, I just want smaller ones!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun May 13, 2007 5:24 pm

Build it with slanting walls if that's what you want. But I believe you could accomplish what you want by careful placing of your perches.

I have plexi covering the bottom half of my 6'l x 4'dx 7't flight cage. A few birds have been startled and flown into it but the distance is too short for them to get up enough speed to injure themselves.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Sun May 13, 2007 6:47 pm

I built a similar aviary to Tammieb's with the plexi bottom, and at first they crashed into it, though not very hard. They figured it out pretty quickly that there was a barrier there. The only thing I don't like is that the birds tend to snuggle up next to the side and the poop runs down the side of the plexi. I put clothespins on the perch ends to try and keep them a little farther from the ends. It helps a little, but I still have to go in and wipe down the plexi once in a while. I think the slanted aviary would solve that problem

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun May 13, 2007 7:24 pm

I don't really have that problem with poop on the plexi as the perches are away from the sides a fair bit. Occasionally one will make a direct hit but I'm not sure how they manage it.

StevePax · Post by **StevePax** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:48 pm

The laws of gravity don't apply to finch poop. Somehow, my zebras have managed to get poop on the wall above the cage - I don't know if they were flying upside down and having a drunken fraternity contest flying upside down to see who could get their poop up highest on the wall or what, but I sure would have liked to see that.

C A · Post by **C A** » Sun May 13, 2007 11:38 pm

Hi Steve,
I had a feeling this post would interest you!:lol: Being newer to finch keeping, my knowledge of keeping finches is minimal. I guess I haven't had them long enough to see vertical poop!
A couple of questions though. Do your birds get startled often? Do they quarrel much? It would seem the less this happens the less velocity the poo would have. I have put my birds in a low traffic area in my house, and just that alone has helped contain their messes. Maybe with more time for us to get used to each other I won't frighten them as much when I walk by.

As for my idea, I know there is no miracle solution, and the fact is there will always be flying gifts from our bird friends

! I am just trying to end up with less mess overall.

Tammie said

...the perches are away from the sides a fair bit

Do you have any pictures showing this? Do you hang them? I had only thought about side mounted perches. My avatar now shows 2 of my birds on their favorite perch. As you see they are against the back wall of their cage. This is where they make the biggest mess. A perch away from the sides will definitely help.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Mon May 14, 2007 3:18 am

If you go for slanted walls be sure to give updates about how you like the design! I'm all for trying new things :)

C A · Post by **C A** » Thu May 17, 2007 1:23 am

I was wondering if using treated plywood for the base of the aviary would be ok. I would also have a pan in the bottom covering it and I don't plan on using treated wood anywhere else. I thought it might lengthen the life of the aviary where moisture might collect from baths, etc. , but if it isn't healthy to birds I'll definitely scratch that idea.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:55 am

hi ca
you could still use plexi glass as long as the birds know its there.all you need is a marker pen or felt tip pen,black preffered and draw some mesh onto it with a ruler as long as the birds can see the mesh drawing on it they will not fly into it as they will just think it is netting..i have done this with success with glass and had not a single case of birds flying into it!
ken

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Thu May 17, 2007 11:07 pm

I used treated lumber to build my dove pen. I haven’t had any problems with it. I wouldn't recommend it for hook bills though considering the fact that they chew on every thing.

C A · Post by **C A** » Thu May 17, 2007 11:09 pm

Wonderful idea! It's funny how the solution can be so simple sometimes:) I've seen window clings also(I think tammieb's?). That could make it more natural feeling too. If I do go with the plexi, I might even try to talk my wife into painting the outside w/ some kind of grass scenery or something.(If I'm lucky!)

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:21 am

Yes, I ordered some really nice widow clings off ebay. They really helped in the beginning. I believe I could take them off as all the birds in there now know where the boundaries are. But I've left them on as I intend to buy a few birds to replace the elderly ones I lost this past winter.