Aviary Winterizing

[CandoAviary]

Well we got the plastic up and I took the live plants out and started stocking the place with an assortment of bamboo clippings from my yard. The birds are going nuts over the seed heads. Though I think I made a mistake.... I forgot about the corner purple martin house and the weavers have built in one side and now the zebras are cramming bamboo leaves, seed plums and waht ever else they can get up to the purple martin house...LOL

[Domenic]

That looks great. I love well planted aviaries. It's my dream to have an indoor one like that. I want it to look like a chunk of the wild in the middle of my house. Your aviary is definitely good inspiration.

[lovemyfinch]

Once again comfy cozy Candace.

[nixity]

What are you using on the floor of this particular space? It looks like shavings of some sort? I love this look.. almost looks sort of like beach sand dunes environment

I am hoping Eric can build me a couple grow-out/walk-in flights in our new home. I'm so excited about having the opportunity to expand..

[CandoAviary]

Tiffany, Actually these are concrete floors. Converted carport space at the "crazy bird house'. Those are cypress mulch pieces. The big live Pittaspora plants and spider plants had a thick layer of mulch on top of the dirt to keep the birds out of the dirt. Those crazy Zebras tried to carry the pieces around looking for a place to build a nest....lol..they were funny to watch. Some could carry pieces bigger than themselves... most ended up on the floor. I just haven't swept yet.
Normally in the summer I use the shop vac and then blast with the hose. I also ocaisionally spray pool chlorine on the concrete when it is empty. I will not wet it for the entire winter...just sweeping and vacuuming. The plastic cover makes it take way to long to dry and I don't want a mold/mildew problem. I have to open the front and back doors during the day, It will reach 95% in there no problem once the sun is up. The day time temps have been in the mid 70's lately and 50's at night. On cool mornings I simply open the door and let all the heat go up the stairs to the indoor aviaries. I am going to plastic the balcony aviary this weekend and putting thick linoleum on the decking to cover the crack. I won't be keeping birds out there for the winter as it is facing north. Lot's of cold north winds blow across the lagoon there. But the plasticing should insulate the room I have my gouldians growing out in. The other morning the glass doors were bery cool, The birds were comfy as I have a heater in there but I don't want to spend a fortune on electric bills so I am capturing the sun's heat
This is the balcony and the gould chicks project.
Chilly Chicks ... the room to the right is the redheads colony. (chicks in nest already) They love sitting in front of the sliding glass doors and look out.

I will plastic the inside of the wire..... no ladder in the sand for me


I will cover the cracks. This will not only keep wind/cold out but the mosquitoes nest spring

[FeatherHarp]

Looks great Candace! As always I love seeing your photos of what you are doing with your bird house. It is nice to get ideas from what others here do!

The hard part is having to wait till I get my bird room before I can try out some of these new ideas....I hate having to wait!

[CandoAviary]

Deborah, Good things come to those who wait

[L in Ontario]

Beautifully done Candace! Can you tell me the name of the tall grass like plants with the HUGE plumes on top?

[franny]

One thing I love about all your aviaries Candice, is how clean they are! (I know, Poohbear thinks some of us are a bit anal about what we put on the bottom of our cages... but really!)

Just looking at your wonderful setup and the huge numbers of birds you have, it's so nice to see that you can have large numbers of birds, keep it clean, and have it look beautiful as well, not just functional! Very nice.

[CandoAviary]

Liz, It is Arunda Donax, giant reed grass
Here is a post I made and have a picture of one of the plantings....Much had already been cut out. I am drying the canes(just like baboo) to sell/give at the bird fair for perches. They work well, a little slick but so easy to wash. Also the birds love to peck at the remaining husk on the ones not stripped.
I had planted this for shade behind the gouldian breeding building on the west side to keep the building from heating up so much. Worked so well I didn't even use the air conditioner. Of course on the side and front I have doors and ventilation fans. This stuff grew up to 20+ feet. It isn't a great source as a seed eating plant but the birds have a blast playing, stripping, building and munching it.
http://finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6957

[CandoAviary]

Thanks Franny,
You are an artist so you understand the desire to create things that are appealing to the eye. I'm not a painter but with my aviaries, fish aquariums, gardens and koi ponds is wher my creativity comes out. My canvases of living things

Of course by mid winter I am sure this aviary will be far from clean.... simply because I can not blast the floor with water.....fortunately spring comes early here in Florida