New aviary! In Texas...

[carlamay]

One thing you might want to think about in your Drop Dead Gorgeous new aviary...we found in Mom's greenhouse that the clear and even the opaque white corrigated ceiling made it really hot in July/August. We put up curtains to deflect the sun and it helped. Daddy ended up putting the clear panels randomly on the sides. He put the green ones on the top. As far as the water...have you thought of a small water feature like a waterfall into a small pond? That or maybe get the huge weekend waterers for dogs sold at Petco, etc. Another thought is to go to the feed store and browse..they have all kinds of neat stuff for that purpose..there is one at 5500 Belknap@ Minnis (or Haltom Rd.) that is extra bird friendly... and a supporter of our Bird Club. They also may have thoughts on the mesh..

[EGByrd]

Thanks everyone! Carlamay, I would love to do a water feature but it is probably something we will have to do further in the future. The weekend waterer sounds perfect if I can find one that is shallow enough. Having goldbreasted waxbills makes small puddles dangerous! I will definitely check out that feed store! As for the roof, the guy that put the roof structure up told us he has enough tin to cover it and will come out and put it on for us. I don't know what I think about tin, but since it's free I guess we will try it! Anyone have thoughts on tin?

[lou]

Tin is noisy when it rains or hails and can get very hot in the summer. Make sure that you have air movement near the top to move the heat out
lou

[Sally]

Check out this company right on I-35W in Burleson for wire mesh, they used to carry 1/4". And a misting system installed near the roof will definitely help with the heat in summer.

http://www.burlycorp.com/index.html

[finchmix22]

Keep in mind, you'll need either outdoor heaters or insulation for cold weather and wind. The finches can become chilled easy. In summer, you need the option for good air flow and maybe even one area with a cooling system when it gets up to 100+. Misters above will help. As far as snakes, mice, squirrels etc. You definitely need wire below those bricks, so they can't dig under the stones. The wire should be metal, about 1/4 inch mesh and go up the side of the aviary, from the bottom, about 18 inches with a flap that sticks out horizontally all the way around to discourage climbing rodents and squirrels. Good Luck.

[EGByrd]

Well we did a LOT of work over the past few days! We got about half of the wire put up a couple days ago and yesterday I got the rest of the wire temporarily put up. It just needs to be nailed up now. I brought 2 of our finches and our baby girl Phoebe (our adopted ringneck dove) outside with me and they seemed to really enjoy being outside. Phoebe was sunbathing and cooing, I can't wait to get this thing finished! We used 1/4" mesh that we got from Burly Corp (thanks Sally!) and I feel much better than I would have if we had used 1/2" mesh. We still need to put wire along the bottom but we are doing that last. Our dogs are very vigilant about patrolling and protecting the yard so they are our first line of defense, but we will bury a strip of wire along the walls to provide extra protection. My biggest concern is fire ants, but hopefully we can keep them at bay with diatomaceous earth. We also need a roof and our tin supplier may not be available anymore (I didn't want tin so I'm not too upset about that) so if anyone has ideas on roof material let me know! Is stained plywood an option?

[EGByrd]

And my excitement about being so close to finished was replaced with severe disappointment when, while showing the aviary off to my brother, I discovered that one of the dogs had smashed right through the mesh and tore a hole in it, then forced their way out by busting out another corner. Now I've gotta figure out how to keep them out. They play rough, and the first night we had the mesh up one of our dogs ran face first into the mesh. I figured they just need to learn the mesh is there, but they'll never stop roughhousing.

[wellingtoncdm]

Looks great! The birds will love it! A visual barrier will help the dogs from damaging the wire or adding 1/2 x 1/2 over the 1/4 inch wire may work. As great as dogs are at watching out for things the predators may slip past them. Snakes, rodents, hawks and the larger raccoons and opossums will all want your birds. It's better to rely on the structure keeping them out and rote ting your birds than the dogs doing it. Can't wait to see it totally finished.

[cindy]

You aviary is wonderful and looks so spacious!!!! Lucky birds!

[EGByrd]

Thank you! I think we're gonna put 36" chain link around the aviary to keep the dogs from smashing through. Aside from burying mesh along the edges (and of course putting a solid roof on), what else should we do to keep predators out/ birds in?

[wellingtoncdm]

Watching for holes or uneven ground with the pavers may let rodents or snakes in. Burying the wire will help.
You will be surprised how many wild birds will try to move in as well. Cardinals would love to live in mine. For the water you can use a deep plastic plant saucer as a bathing source and a ball valve water bottle designed for rabbits or guinea pigs as a drinking water back up.

[EGByrd]

I've thought about the ball valve, but do the birds take to it easily? I guess I haven't put serious thought into it because I'm nervous they wouldn't use it. We bought a waterer that is built like a wild bird hopper feeder so it automatically refills and I'm hopeful but skeptical. I've also teetered with cutting a little hole in the bottom of a milk jug, filling it with water, and setting it in a bird bath kind of like the automatic dog waterers. The plastic gives though and disfigures the jug.

[wellingtoncdm]

Yes, the birds learn quickly to use the ball valve.

These are also great.

https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/pr ... 47fe0543bf

[Lisa]

And my excitement about being so close to finished was replaced with severe disappointment when, while showing the aviary off to my brother, I discovered that one of the dogs had smashed right through the mesh and tore a hole in it, then forced their way out by busting out another corner. Now I've gotta figure out how to keep them out. They play rough, and the first night we had the mesh up one of our dogs ran face first into the mesh. I figured they just need to learn the mesh is there, but they'll never stop roughhousing.

Actually, you're quite lucky this happened now instead of afterward when your birds were in it! So thank your dogs for that lol

It's coming along beautifully! Good job!

[EGByrd]

Lisa, you are absolutely right! My heart started racing when I thought about if that had happened with the birds in it! I was so anxious to get our birds out there and now I feel like it'll never be safe enough for them!
Charlie, thank you for the ideas! I don't want the birds to go even a couple minutes without water over the summer so I will likely have a little of everything for them!