"Pop Up Tent" for free flight?

[Nerien]

Random passing thought led me to this:

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/pop- ... istIndex=2

since I have cats and so cannot let my birds out of their cages. Would this work? Finches wouldn't chew through the mesh, would they? Parakeets and parrotlets and such might, given enough time, or would they?

I would only use it in the house, and would secure a bottom to it to make sure a cat or the dog didn't get under and inside it. Would be easy enough to make some free-standing perches or branches or something for them during flight time.

Or am I just crazy?

[wilkifam]

That sounds brilliant.

[Nanajennie]

I love it! My questions would be:

~How big are the holes in the mesh?
~Are you thinking of it as an exercise tent or for permanent living?
~How could you clean it if poop gets on it?
I kinda want one too!

[Nerien]

Exercise tent, I would make/get a floor for it and probably attach it with velcro or snaps, to make sure my cats couldn't get in. Floor could then be detached and washed or hosed down, probably get some vinyl to make the floor. Tent itself could also be hosed down to wash it if necessary, since it is made to stay outside over your garden. Mesh must be small enough, since it is intended to keep birds out of your garden. Wonder if I can get an answer from them on the mesh size.

I can just picture me sitting on a plastic chair inside the really big one, playing with the parrotlets I hope to get, or with a lower one set up on the big table with the finches flying around.

Crazy Bird Lady.

[Ginene]

I love it...but then again, I'm a crazy bird lady too!!! Its like a portable aviary...Great Idea!!!

[Toddmin]

Finches might be one thing, but parrotlets would chew through it after a while.

If you need to clean the poop, you could probably turn it inside out and spray it with a hose.

[Toddmin]

Finches might be one thing, but parrotlets would chew through it after a while.

If you need to clean the poop, you could probably turn it inside out and spray it with a hose.

[30 Seconds to Bob]

I would think it would take a lot of "securing" around the bottom to make it escape proof, (may have to do some sewing) but otherwise I like it. Bob

[cindy]

Looks like fun but I would suggest that you do a bit of nail trimming before they go play. The nails might get caught in the netting. Trimming may help prevent this.

[bugaboo5]

I actually know someone who did something similar, but outside during the summer. She keeps her birds indoors, free flight, in her sun room. It's like a sun room aviary. She set up a bigger pop up tent than the one on the website and secured it to the ground with heavy duty nails. She opened the sun room door and connected it directly to the pop up tent in the morning and all throughout the day. She put up some branches outside in the tent and the birds LOVED IT! They were picking through the grass outside all day and by evening, herded back into the sun room, where she locked the door and repeated the process the next day.

[Nerien]

Twice this month I've had a hawk bounce off my front windows (lightly) hunting the small birds and squirrels out in my front bushes. So, as wonderful as it would be to have the birds outside in the sun & fresh air, not a good choice for me, given where I live.

I suspect this hawk is one of last year's young, given its poor judgement in hunting against my front windows. Every year for about 5 years now we have had a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks nest in the neighbor's trees across the road. But this is the first time any have decided to use my birdfeeder, which is about 10 feet from the house, as their hunting ground.

We have a screened porch on the back of the house, but the nylon screen is now about 13 years old, and has some (small) tears in it from hurricanes, blizzards, falling/flying branches, and I worry for the safety of the cats, who have free access to it via a cat door. I'm not entirely sure it would resist a hunting hawk. Think that screen replacement is on the menu for this summer. Or spring, if it ever gets here!

[lyzzyjayne]

That looks too cool!

[Lisa]

Very cool idea!

[Toddmin]

If you were out there with them, I don't think hawks or other animals would bother them much. I would also not want to leave them alone for fear one of their nails would get snagged in the cloth, leaving them hung up or something.

[Nerien]

My friend took her mini-yorkie pup out into the driveway, on a leash, at about 8:00 pm a couple of months ago, and felt something big whoosh past her, twice, feathers brushing her head!

It was an owl, trying to get her tiny dog, with her standing right there next to it!

I'm not trusting any of the wildlife around here. It seems to have lost all fear of us.

And yes, like you, I would stay right there when birds were inside, for fear of a snagging or other problem. Have sent a question in to the company asking the mesh size, will supposedly get an answer within 48 hours. Will post it here if I do.