Indoor flight finally completed!

subersibo · Post by **subersibo** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:36 pm

Sorry, haven't been to this forum in a while.
Franny, thanks for the suggestion on how to elevate the flight, might look into that in the near future.
Bill D., I use a wild bird feeder from Lowe's w/c cost me just under $3 and it can hold a lot of seed so going in to replace the seed doesn't have to be done too often. I use a small clay pot for the water and i can use the long door on the bottom to get my hand in and replace it.
Lynn: Yes, I did use the 1X2 pine for most of the cage but also used whitewood (very2 cheap) for some parts. I found that some pieces of pine that were over 4 ft long to bend in the middle and the whitewood was more straight. Good luck on your project!
rfn1 - thanks a lot! I'm kinda new to keeping finches but I do want to add some birds to my pair of zebras. I was thinking of getting some orange cheek waxbills (there are some on sale here for just $10) but I learned that they are quite sensitive to cold so I need to find a way to provide heat for the birds first before aquiring any more. The temp in the house now drops to as low as 58 degrees! I'm looking for an economical way to provide heat, maybe buy a bulb that gives off heat or something similar.

Here's an update: I now use aspen wood shavings and timothy hay to cover the floor w/c makes it look nicer and cleaning won't have to be done too often. I installed a nest where my zebra pair sleeps in. They did put some hay in there to keep them warm but no eggs so far w/c isn't really a big deal for me since I'm not really too interested in breeding. I think it's kinda weird since I keep reading that zebs would always produce babies. Maybe they're just friends? I am certain that 1 is a boy and the other a girl.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:40 pm

Check out these links for a heat source just got both they work good just hang on cage front or top ,make sure they can move away when they get to hot . the ceramic needs a special type holder [walmart]
http://www.justbirdstuff.com/Ceramic-He ... 16333.html
http://www.justbirdstuff.com/60W-Red-He ... 16334.html

subersibo · Post by **subersibo** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:27 pm

Thanks, B Camp!
I did go to Petsmart this afternoon and bought the Fluker's clamp lamp 150 watt. Is the red heat light powerful enough (60W) to heat my 5 ft flight? If so, then I'll go out and buy it since it costs way less than the ceramic heat emitter. Also, I may have to go w/ the 75w clamp lamp if the 60 watt is sufficient..

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:02 am

I think the red bulb will keep them warm if it don't get any colder than what you said they will get as close as they want to the heat.I think walmart is a lot cheaper than pet smart on the clamp on light they have one with the porcelain base also.
I really can't feel any difference in the red or the ceramic heat emmiter only the red glow but it don't seem to bother my birds at all.
I keep my birds on the porch and it gets colder than that where i live and they are doing fine ,when it gets real cold I do cover the cage and put light under the cover

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:24 am

why not use the light socket, with lead and plug already connected, from a lamp. place that inside two terracotta plant pots. when fitted together the light globe sits in the centre of the pots. join the two pots together with electrical or duct tape. the pots warm up quite a large area, depending on the size of the light globe you use. best of all the birds dont get burnt if they happen to land on the pots.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:43 am

Thats a great idea mick! And as for the red lights, they should be warm enough, but like was already stated, walmart will be way cheaper for the actual housing if you wanted to go that route. Are you going to mount the light outside of the aviary? The light fixtures get really hot and I know I have seen tons of burns on ball pythons from owners not preventing them from being able to touch the light and fixture.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:46 am

wish I could take credit for it, but alas not my idea. I saw it in a friends bird hospital cages

sean · Post by **sean** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:44 am

i have revisited this post several times and each time I am blown away by that aviary.

Do you think that you could possibly post a how-to-guide sometime so that those of us who wanted to could emulate your awesome design?

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:37 pm

I agree with Sean. I'm a big fan of that aviary.

I picked up the light fixtures, 10 full spectrum bulbs
(they were on sale) and the 'egg crate' grills and hardware to place beneath them.

Lowe's had a big sale on floor tile ($6.24 for 24 sq ft). Went with the green marble color since I thought the beige would hide the seed hulls on the floor..

Haven't found the 6'x3' plexiglass sheets yet, but they would be ideal for what i'm planning.. I'll keep looking.

Appreciate what yall have posted.. I'll post pics of my aviary construction when I can..

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:57 am

BillD wrote:Appreciate what yall have posted.. I'll post pics of my aviary construction when I can..

I hope you're putting the Maybach Landaulet to good use by transporting all your aviary materials and necessary tools in it from the store to your home! $\:D/$

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:33 pm

L in Ontario wrote:
BillD wrote:Appreciate what yall have posted.. I'll post pics of my aviary construction when I can..
I hope you're putting the Maybach Landaulet to good use by transporting all your aviary materials and necessary tools in it from the store to your home! $\:D/$

hehe

.. I just have the driver put the top down and then place all the materials on the reclining back seats, carefully, so it doesn't rip the leather. Surprising how much I can get in it.

The people at the store are a little scared when I ask them to load everything in though. Don't know why.

You are fun Liz..

subersibo · Post by **subersibo** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:47 pm

Hi! I am actually thinking of building a bigger one (12 ft long and 6-7 ft high and 3 ft wide would be nice if I can get my wife to agree,

) as I wanna get more finches!

The one I have can only hold 6-8 birds comfortably. I currently have 2 societies and 4 orange cheek waxbills. I didn't go thru with providing heat for the cage since the birds I got were well acclimated to the cold weather and they are all doing well. Indoor temp goes as low as 55 degrees here on the coldest days.

If I could do it over I would not have provided theose ventilation panels on the front since it only leads to having poop on the glass, there is enought ventilation on top anyway.

Sean: For a "how to", the pics at the link might give you an idea of how I went about building it. I made A LOT of mistakes while making it (a lot of it had to do with screwing the pieces of wood together and measurements). I got some ideas from this site: http://www.finchaviary.com/Construction ... uction.htm and combined that idea from other aviaries on the net.

If I do make a bigger one I'll make sure to document it and share it with everyone.

To BillD: you might have some luck looking for the plexiglas at Home Depot although Lowe's definitely sells for less. Also, you might wanna check other branches of Lowe's since they might not have it in every location. I found it in the glass cutting section.

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:20 pm

Thanks subersibo...

Found the 6' x 3' plexiglass at Lowe's today ($43 as you said) when I was picking up some other things. Purchased 3 of them and realized they didn't fit in my car

. Luckily they bend a bit and I was finally able to get them in without cracking them. Eyes bigger than my stomach syndrome.. hehe..

Thanks for the tips on what you would do over. Look forward to your construction of a larger one.

subersibo · Post by **subersibo** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:23 pm

well, the misus said "no". i'll ask again next month!hehe

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:52 pm

If you want her to say "Yes" you must wine "not whine" and dine her.....and help her with her own projects...THEN....you ask again....down on your knees begging with big teary eyes.