Best way to go about Building an Aviary?

Adrianno28

Im looking for supplies wire etc at cheap prices and wondering if now is a bad time of year to start it and get birds. Its October now and I know its late.. any ideas?:)

Sigma Force

If the birds you get are indoor birds then it's too late to put them out it wouldn't be fair on them best time is around late April or May depending on what kind of weather we have.

The building of the aviary depends on what type of birds you plan to have, this will determine the type of wire, generally the larger the bird the stronger the wire you'll need. The minimum wire you would need e.g. for budgies/cockatiels would be 1/4 inch aviary wire don't get anything that's got a larger gap than 1/4 inch or it will allow small rodents in.

Then it depends on the size you want but a double door system is a must, then there's no excuse for any birds ever escaping. A concrete floor or patio slabs is the cleanest but they'd need access to a warm fully insulated (ideally)shed and depending on the birds some might need heating. You'd need to go out before dark every evening and make sure they are all back in the shed and close it up.

If it's just a couple of birds that you want and if you have room in your house Zooplus do a range of larger bird aviary type enclosures.

One thing I didn't think of when building was drainage, we used patio slabs so it wasn't too bad but when cleaning it was a bit of a pain. We no longer use it but it's not really possible to take it all down either so if building one maybe build it in individual panels so you can take it apart if needed.

If it's for larger parrots then you'd need a steel type construction rather than timber and wire.
Will post some pics of our set up these are pics of when it was just being finished as said we no longer use it and kind of kicking myself for spending so much on it as there was probably a cheaper way I think buying steel panels would of worked out cheaper in the long run would of saved any labour costs. But if you are good at DIY then go for it.

One pic is of it when it was nearly finished we hadn't put the second door on it at that stage. Scuse the state of the place on the second one, we were in the middle of building on the house at the time. But you can see how great it is to watch a bird flying around in such a space, this guy was a rescue and had had his wing clipped by the previous owner so he was delighted because we allowed the feathers to grow back and he loved to fly freely.

..I found the wire expensive it's pricey no matter where you go. At the moment I think it's around the €36.00 mark and you don't get much with it but then it depends on the size you want to build.

Adrianno28

Wow thamks for your help and pics... so informative. The double door system is something that I would never have thought about. Iv had all sorts of birds before but all indoors. It be for finches and canaries... not sure about budgies or that yet... mainly finches Im thinking. It looks like a cool aviary... How much would it cost roughly to have one the same as your with the same materials about 6ft wide by 10feet long? Im not great at DIY etc so ill have to get it built Im thinking. If I had one like yours at the end of it all id be very happy!

Sigma Force

The one we got cost a lot (lot more than I'd planned lol) the shed alone I think was around the €350 mark but you could get a cheaper shed like a potting shed and insulated it yourself it might work out cheaper but the shed we have is shiplap so there's no gaps and there's a pop hole for birds to fly in and out of and a regular door then for cleaning. It's on a raised platform so the shed itself is about 3 foot high.

In the end I can't remember but it cost I'd say around 1.5 to 2 grand in the end because we had to get patio slabs put down. Between the shed, labour, slabs, wire, lots of timber and bits of steel it was a lot.

For smaller birds like finches etc. I'd go with the same wire that's on my aviary, a harder wire could hurt them if they fly against it but a flimsier wire would rip easily.

It might be cheaper to get pre-built panels I think I saw pre-built aviary panels online but that was ages ago

Lemon_Drop

Its the best time to get into Canaries or Native Finches if that's the type of birds you want to keep.
Though those birds wont breed until next year.

All the birds are just after molting now, and most of the breeders will have surplus stock to sell. So you wont have much trouble getting birds.

Go to breeders if you can, and stay away from the Pet Shops, some of the birds that did not breed this year or were problem birds will be off loaded there.

If you can, but unflighted birds, that is birds bred this year, especially hens, because they have not bred before and you will have a better start with them.
Very few people will sell you hens that breed without any problems, unless your a good friend of his.

Cocks don't really matter that much if they are a year or two old.

I would not mix budgies with Canaries or finches....For one reason they have different diets and their breeding season is different also.
Plus the fact they can be a bit nippy with the other birds.

Intensive Care Bear

Another option would be to buy a pre made Aviary, lots of examples out there
http://www.riversideaviaries.co.uk/aviaries.htm