Finished my indoor aviary

Lloyd · Post by **Lloyd** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:01 pm

Finally finished my indoor avairy.
It's located in a large room over my garage. Size is 15' x 8'. It can be easily divided into 2 flight areas if required. Two double doors provide access as well as a series of plexiglass sliding doors along the bottom. The day lights, night light (15watt), and waterfall (9watt) are on timers. The waterfall is powered by a Fluval aquarium filter. So far the owls haven't gone near the waterfall. I'm hoping in time they'll get used to it. There is a small area divided off which they can use at night that has a heating unit within it. The heating unit (a 40watt Infrared non-light emitting bulb used for reptiles) is safely separated within this area and is also on a timer. This will allow me to set the temp. in the larger room lower at night (10C). From what I've discovered, this is about the normal temps that occur in Australia at night during the colder months.

The owls have been in the aviary for a couple days now. At first they seemed bewildered by the amount of space they found themselves in. Took them a while to get their bearings, but now they are zooming around with no problem. I was concerned about the plexiglass, so I drew some lines on it (non-permanent) and placed stickers as well. Both the male and female flew into the plexiglass a few times. Fortunately, it has some bounce to it and they didn't hurt themselves. The female (the more inquisitive and relaxed of the two) was quicker to realize she should stay away from the glass. The male took another day or so to realize this too. I'll remove the lines in time. The stickers I may keep. Both seem to be enjoying the new home now.

There are still some small things to do to finish it up. I only have a temporary feed/water setup at this time, until I decide what I want permanently. I need to make a base for the fountain which will hold the filter. I also need to work on more getting more plantlife (fake and real). The solid panel on the one end of the aviary is temporary. Eventually the flight will continue down the side of the room (and maybe outside).

Any comments,suggestions or questions welcome.

Aviary pics:

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:22 pm

A cracking job...dead jealous...wish I had your space.
I'm putting your pics on a UK forum to show what can be done...if that's ok with you??

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:27 pm

Lloyd
WOW that looks great so far I agree you need a lot more real or fake plants or tree like things for them to perch in and be able to hide and set up there own territory can't wait to see after you get it all done.Good job

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:54 pm

OMG.....what a wonderful huge Aviary you have created....it is just awsome!

It will be fun to add more things to it now that you have it enclosed. Those lucky Owls....all that space! I won't be showing my Owls these pictures...they would be so jealous....lol.

Lloyd · Post by **Lloyd** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:47 pm

Thanks for the comments.

Poohbear - Well, I had all that extra space so I might as well us it. Photos are ok by me.

B-CAMP - Yeah, it's looking a bit barren still. Especially along the side wall where the fountain is. I'll work on it slowly...the fake plants are expensive. I have set up a couple small perches in the greenery that is there now (after I discovered them trying to bunk down in some of the vine along the top).

Featherharp - I'll add a few more items too keep them occupied, but I don't want to make it too cluttered (too many things to clean poop off of).

Bigger image:

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:05 pm

WOW that's absolutely beautiful man, it's very impressive. Did you build it all by yourself from scratch? I'm JEALOUS and so are my birds

Kiko · Post by **Kiko** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:09 pm

My stars that is just absolutely beautiful! What a fantastic job you did. Please show us updates as you add greenery or other accesories.

What will you put on the floor, if anything, to catch poops?

Lloyd · Post by **Lloyd** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:48 pm

Thanks for the comments.

FinchezRule - I built it from scratch. Took me a fair while to do because I only worked on it a bit each day. Spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted and different ways of doing it, then wandering around the hardware store.

Kiko - Will update when it has a more finished look. The floor is made of vinyl. I'm hoping it will be easy to damp mop clean. I chose a dark colour so I can easily tell when it's time to give it a cleaning.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:08 pm

That is absolutely amazing. I LOVE the plexiglass. I think that you should fill it full of trees and plans for the birds. The more clutter, the better.

If you buy silk trees, you can take them out and wash them off with a hose. That is what I do... no problem. I clean each one about once a month.
Where did you purchase the plexiglass from? I have priced it and oh my...... even little sheets are quite expensive.

Great job. You can have LOTS of birds in there. Please keep pictures coming.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:08 pm

However long it took you it was time well spent,do you work in the building trade it looks like it great job

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:05 pm

Your aviary looks awesome.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:20 pm

brilliant aviary Lloyd, very well done.
are you going to put any live plants in there for the birds or will they all be fake? with that much space I was thinking that a couple of topiary plants ( the sort that some people make into weird shapes lol) in large pots would look good & be easy to maintain. they can be purchased already grown to a decent size. the couple that I have dont drop any leaves and the birds really seem to enjoy the tight spaces between branches for building nests.

Lloyd · Post by **Lloyd** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:20 pm

Thanks for the comments.

dfcauley - I do agree more greenery is required. And I do love lots of plants, but I do not have a green thumb and I am somewhat wary of too many plants (real or fake) making it difficult to keep everything at a decent level of cleanliness. So I will be adding some plants slowly. Most, like stated earlier, along the waterfall wall. As for the plexiglass, it was purchased at Home Depot. And it was expensive...$80 CDN per 3'x6' sheet. Another reason for slowly adding plants...I've already spent a load on this project, so I've got to cool it a bit for now.

B CAMP - I'm not in the building trades. I just tend to take my time and try to do a decent job of it. Most of the work was done with a chop saw and a paint brush. There was one tool that I have that did come in handy - a Dremel tool for cutting/trimming the hardware mesh (actually easier and does a better job than snips).

jamezyboo21 - Thanks

mickp - I'll keep those trees/plants in mind. I don't know much about plants and I'm afraid many of the plants are starting to become difficult to find in stores around here at this time of year. But I'll keep on the lookout.

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:50 pm

Great job

it looks great

franny · Post by **franny** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:08 pm

mickp wrote: with that much space I was thinking that a couple of topiary plants ( the sort that some people make into weird shapes lol) in large pots would look good & be easy to maintain. they can be purchased already grown to a decent size. the couple that I have dont drop any leaves and the birds really seem to enjoy the tight spaces between branches for building nests.

Lloyd, the plants used most often for topiary are boxwood. However, it's listed as "toxic" on this site: Safe and Toxic Plants for BirdsSo be sure to check the type of wood before you put it in your aviary. Not having a green thumb myself, I'd stick to silk. If you have a Wal-mart near you they have really good prices on silk plants. Michael's (art & craft store) also has a great selection, but is a bit more pricey.