Aviary Construction

12 Sep Aviary Construction

Outdoor aviaries can be extremely beneficial for birds, providing fresh air, natural sunlight and a large safe space for play. This blog discusses the aspects involved in designed an outdoor aviary that will provide a secure and safe environment for your parrot to play in.

In this article we will use the term “aviary” to describe a permanent home your bird lives in and “flight” for a play space which birds go in for a few hours at a time during good weather.

 

Legal Requirements

Before you start planning and buying the materials for your aviary check with your local council in regards to the legal requirements surrounding the building of a potentially large obstructive structure in your back garden.

• You may require a permit depending on whether the aviary is a permanent or temporary structure.
• If you are planning on building the aviary as an extension to your house you will be required to follow the building regulations of your local council.
• If you live in a rented property, it would be advisable to contact your landlord/landlady for permission prior to the construction. Even if the aviary is dismantlable, you may face a contract dispute if your tenancy states you cannot make any notable changes to the layout of the house and the outside spaces.
• Consult with your neighbours – when it comes to making significant changes to the display of your house your neighbours will usually be your biggest objectors, especially if it is obstructing their view. Also consider whether they may have an issue with the noise. A playful parrot can be a noisy parrot.

 

Considerations

When drawing up the initial planning of your aviary consider whether you need an aviary which the birds will live in all year round, or a flight to allow your indoor parrots fresh air on nice days.

• Materials – make sure the materials you use are safe (non-toxic) for your bird, and are hard wearing and will last against adverse weather and most importantly your parrot’s destructive behaviours. Check ropes are not fraying as strands can get tangled round legs, resulting in serious injuries and loss of limb.
• Construction – ensure that wire mesh is covering the aviary including the top. Plastic roof coverings can blow off in bad weather and birds need to be protected from escaping.
• Size – is the size of the aviary suitable for the number and/or species of parrots you intend to have.
• Location – where is your aviary going to be built? Is it obstructing anything? How close will the aviary be to your neighbours? Is it near toxic shrubs, or directly underneath the favourite roost of the local feral pigeon population.
• Design – your design should minimize maintenance and maximize cleanliness and safety. An easy to clean aviary will prevent the build-up of harmful bacteria.
• Essentials – what additional features will be added to the aviary to provide the essentials such as places to perch and source of food and water.
• Shelter – the ideal aviary has an indoor/covered space to allow your birds a place of shade and protection from adverse weather. Will it have a heat source for winter?
• Predators – the design should prevent access from predators both flighted and ground dwelling, such as hawks, cats, squirrels, rats.
• Escape – your aviary should have a double / safety door system to prevent escape, as even the most well-trained parrot can be spooked into a panicked flight.
• Enrichment – what else can you add to the aviary to make it fun for your parrots – such as parrot safe shrubs and trees, hanging baskets full of parrot edible flowers and herbs, ropes, swings etc.
• Security – are the construction and location secure? What can you do to deter theft of the birds – e.g., security lights, padlocks on aviary doors, a secure garden, plenty of privacy so people can’t see into the garden.
• Extreme heat – make sure the water is changed often and the aviary is kept cool by spraying with water.
• Bird baths – consider the depth of bird baths, so that birds cannot drown.
• Ground Food stations – should be covered to stop birds pooing in them.

 

Materials

Safe Materials include:

• Non pressure treated or stained lumbar e.g., plain pine, hard wood such as red grandis.
• Stainless steel and aluminium
• PVC piping
• U.V. protective debris nets (can help to cool aviary in hot weather).
• Untreated natural fibre ropes (cotton, sisal and hemp).
• Non- treated wood free from pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, moulds and fungus (pine, balsa, birch, basswood, poplar, maple, walnut, ash, apple, elm, cactus, manzanita, rose, ribbon, sycamore, willow, cork, bamboo, and palm tree).
• Leather

 

Toxic materials include:

• Non-stick coating (Teflon) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
• Lead, zinc, nickel, copper or anything galvanized.
• Insecticides, fungicides, pesticides and herbicides such as snail bait, rat poison and ant killer.

Size and location

Size

Ideally you want your aviary to be as big as possible to allow your bird to spread its wings and fly.  If more than one bird is housed in the aviary the length, depth and height should be increased accordingly.

Location

The aviary should be situated away from fences and overhanging trees to prevent ease of access from predators, your aviary becoming a litter box for wild birds, squirrels etc. or potentially becoming a battering ram for fallen branches/fences in heavy winds. If you have a population of wild birds constantly flying over, the roof of your aviary ought to be covered.

It should be positioned at a suitable distance away from your neighbour’s property to prevent any noise or obstruction complaints occurring and not in close contact with drainage pipes to prevent water overflowing into the aviary, or, close to exhaust vents to prevent hot air burns and inhalation of harmful gases.

Consider how the weather will affect your bird with the aviary in your chosen location. Be aware that drafts can kill birds. In times where daily temperatures soar will this area become too hot? Even with shelter from direct sunlight your bird can become seriously ill if left in an area of sweltering heat for long periods of time. Therefore, the aviary should be placed in an area where air circulates to prevent overheating and placed away from areas that are in direct sunlight. What about in the winter? How will you protect the birds from the cold and wind? Polycarb insulated sheets can be affixed to the outside to provide protection from the elements.

 

 

Design

So, you’ve decided on the size and location and have made sure the materials used in construction are 100% safe for you beloved birds. It is now time to begin planning the overall design. Not only should the aviary be safe and durable, but it should be tailored to the species of bird housed.

Exterior

The mesh used in the wall sections of an aviary should be in two layers with the internal wire mesh being located a minimum of 5cm from the external wire mesh,

Many daytime play areas (flights) may not be double wired. If so, birds should be supervised in the flights at all times. Flights should have a safety porch to stop birds escaping and they should be transported to the flight in a carrier.

The mesh should be the appropriate thickness and size for the species of parrot housed. If you are housing a larger species of bird with a smaller species of bird the area of the wire mesh squares should be suitable to prevent the escape of the smaller bird however the thickness of the mesh should be durable enough to prevent the escape of the larger bird. Do not mix different species of birds outside, if you do not do it indoors. Remember, birds can act very differently outdoors to how they behave inside, mixing small and large birds in a flight or aviary can be hazardous. Large birds can easily kill or maim a smaller bird.

The frame can be made from thick lumbar or non-toxic metals, however please note that lumbar frames will have a shorter lifespan due to it being an easy material to chew and more prone to weather damage as the wood must be untreated.

The aviary should have a solid construction roof, or a double meshed roof with a debris net on top. This is to prevent predator attack, and to protect from the presence of avian influenza in wild birds.

Ground

The ideal flooring for a flight or aviary is paving slabs or cement because they are:

• Longer lasting
• Help to prevent predators easily accessing the aviary
• Easy to disinfect. The use of a jet wash or hose and F10 disinfectant is ideal.

Other flooring materials

• If using soft ground floors, wire mesh must be installed underneath to prevent predators digging under and gaining access to the aviary.
• Soft ground floors can be difficult to maintain as the ground may become waterlogged leading to bacterial build-up and potentially making the frame unstable. If used they should be replaced often.
• Ideally Pebbles/gravel should not be used as birds can ingest them.

Please note:

• Cracks must be maintained as they will become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.
• Concrete flooring must have an adequate drainage system.
• The ground should be suitably dried, as many parrots like to explore the ground, especially African Greys, and
• Particular attention must be paid to clearing food debris, so that birds do not ingest contaminated / mouldy food. This debris can also attract rodents.

 

Security

Your aviary / flight should have a double door system to prevent your birds from escaping, with at least one metre between the internal and external door. Aviaries should have an indoor or enclosed area to allow your bird to seek shelter from the scorching sun, torrential downpour and heavy winds, hail and snow. Even flights should have a covered area to provide shade.

 

Interior of Aviary

Please do not provide a nesting box as this will encourage breeding behaviours.

The aviary may be heated with the appropriate lamp or heater (covered with wire mesh) when the weather turns cold.

If the aviary is entirely indoors, it should still have access to natural daylight as well as full spectrum lighting to prevent vitamin D deficiency. In the wild different species are exposed to different UVB strengths nevertheless a lamp with 2.4% UVB and a 12% UVA output will be sufficient in replicating natural sunlight. When artificial light is provided it should only be turned on for eight to twelve hours of the day and fixed to the outside of the aviary to prevent the birds chewing on the wires.

Food and water points should be covered to prevent contamination from faeces (particularly wild birds!) and debris. A separate drinking water point should be made available if there is also a bird bath in the enclosure, as although some parrots like to drink their own bath water it is always ideal to provide an alternative fresh source of water.

If you are housing a flock of birds in the aviary there should be multiple perching points and points of food and water to allow all birds access to the provisions.

 

Remember!

Don’t rush out and begin buying materials for your aviary, plan first as unexpected setbacks will occur.

It does not matter whether your bird only spends two hours of its day in the outdoor aviary or its entire day, the aviary should be safe and species specific.

Please take into consideration the species of birds and their individual personalities. When putting birds in an aviary together ensure they will be compatible with each other. For instance, a budgie is not going to be safe in an aviary with macaws.