Photos! My outdoor aviary construction!

[Jen]

lovezebs
Thank you for the kind words. This aviary has been a dream of mine for YEARS... It has been a TON of work, mostly done in the Texas heat. My finches are acclimated to the heat before being introduced to the "great outdoors", but the heat in Texas in July and August is incredible. I found a gould hen dead today on the nest of 6 eggs. I know it is from the heat. I have fans and one is set up with a mister which really helps, but it is still July....August is worse when it comes to heat...so I'm worried....think I'm going to look into getting another fan/mister tomorrow morning!

I will post more photos soon. I have added a lot of palms and potted plants. I moved those eggs from the gould nest to another nest and praying they will be accepted and set on. I am just sick over losing my precious hen. It has been such a challenge with this aviary and I'm learning as I go....and so upsetting that I learn at the expense of my babies....

[lovezebs]

Jen

Oh Jenny, sorry to hear about your poor girl. Might have been the heat, but one never knows. These guys, originated in Australia, and it can get pretty darn hot down there as well, so genetically they should be ok with hot temperatures.

I hope the eggs will be accepted, incubated, and hatched by whomever is in that nest, and that you will have some lovely babies as a tribute to their Mom.

A fan/mister (?) How does It work? Sounds intriguing.

Elana

[finchmix22]

Jen
That is a great outdoor setup! Can't wait to see your pics when you finish all the "extras"! To resize your pics, you can crop them and when you crop them, you should have a choice of other ways to export the pic and then you can pick "large, medium or small. Choosing those sizes usually makes them post to the forum.

[Jen]

lovezebs
When I built my aviary I figured the same thing....these guys are from Australia and can handle the heat. But I have learned that when birds are in the wild, whether it is in Australia, South American or Texas, they have a VAST area to find shelter from the heat, in many shaded areas, around streams, underbrush, etc. But in a fenced in aviary, they are at the mercy of that area only, so you have to provide a lot of shade, something to cause air movement like fans, moisture, etc. I have tried to provide all those things, but since the aviary is new, not everything is "perfect". I need to plant more trees around the perimeter of the aviary to provide MORE shade. I thought that since the aviary was fully open all around, there would be plenty of air movement, but WRONG....not enough. Like I said, I'm learning as I go and this has been quite the experience. I just need to get my birds through August, and then maybe there will be a little relief for a while before I need to start worrying about the Cold!!!

[lovezebs]

Jen

How cold does it get in the Winter?
I know you mentioned something about heating, but how do you plan to add heat, or do you bring the crew indoors in the Winter?

Elana

[Colt]

The problem in Texas is the extremes... It can be well over 100 degrees in the summer and then drop into the teens sometimes in the winter. But it isn't consistent either. Our winters are more like a series of cold fronts so it can be 65 when you go into work and in the 30's when you get off. It makes it very hard for the birds to adjust.

I've debated pulling all my nest boxes during the summer as I to have lost hens in the box on eggs.

[Jen]

Colt
Agree 100%...the fluctuation in temperature in just one day is pretty incredible....only in Texas (and Louisiana). Many times I have left for work in short sleeved, dress for warm to hot temps and returned home to a cold front with the temps dropping alarmingly ! I can dress for the "occasion", but my poor feathered friends are at the mercy of me listening to the weather man in the morning...coming home on my lunch hour because I just heard about the "weather change" and trying to get the aviary prepared so the temps don't drop too rapidly inside...or get too hot by the end of the day. So right now I have fans set up to move air and keep them cool through the HOT spell. It is a challenge... I've been through my first winter...and now my first summer...and learned a lot...the hard way!

[Rox]

Jen you will soon find a pattern that works for the birds and you. The birds themselves will also cope better with the temp fluctuations the longer they remain outside. Especially any youngsters that you have bred outside and kept. So far you have done a superb job!!

I also had to learn the hard way with keeping the birds outside. We can have 4 seasons in one day here in Cape Town and being on the coast, the weather can be totally unpredictable. I now have permanent 'flaps' on the aviary that can come up or down as needed and going from winter into spring/summer is a guessing game as to what the weather will do. One day beautifully warm, the next day rain and icy wind. I have found though that the birds do cope much better with the heat than the cold. But it still upsets me when I see them sitting with their beaks open during a heat wave. I think I'm going to install a fan this summer for my one aviary. It's metal and goes from an ice box in winter to a furnace in summer...

[Jen]

Rox
I haven't thought about the "Flap" idea that you can drop down when needed. What is yours made of? Do you "roll" it up by hand and tie it up there? How is it fastened to the aviary?

I "wrapped" a section of my aviary last winter and stapled it in place. But I would have to pull some of it down when the temp warmed up during the day...then staple it back at night in places. Huge hassle! And I hated seeing staples, so I had to pull out the extras everywhere. Can you post a close up of your "flaps"?

Thanks for the idea! That sounds like it would work better. Can't wait to hear back from you!!!

[vienneparis]

Jen
I also have an outdoor aviary, which I wrapped with a large thick plastic sheet in the winter by stapling it to the top & bottom of the aviary. When the temperature heated up in the spring, I just pulled out the staples on the bottom and rolled up the plastic sheet to the top of the aviary & put some weights on top so the sheet wouldn't roll back down. This way I'll just have to roll the sheet down when it gets cold again.

Hope that helps

[Jen]

vienneparis
Thanks for the idea. I may try that this winter! I will definitely be more "creative" so it will be easier!

[Rox]

Jen I haven't used anything fancy. Clear plastic, a pole and zip ties to attach it to the aviary. Very basic but it works to block wind