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We finished the Cockatoo side of the flight late last week and put Kona & Nikki in it. They spent the first hour or so vocalizing very loudly! They were like the Hyacinths, many new things to adjust to. They were little white statues most of the day, didn't hardly move from the initial perch I placed them on. Now, they are all over the flight and seem to look forward to each outing. We still have some rock to lay down on the inside perimeter of their flight, install the shade cloth and do some landscaping around the outside.

Here is a photo of Kona from a couple days ago. A few more photos of the flight were added as well. http://www.allforahorse.com/new_flight.htm
Connie

Hi Connie,
Wow that is beautiful. I hope soon to be able to build one in our yard. Congratulations on the new house/adventure !!! I laughed when I read that you said the Cockatoos were like statues when you first put them in. I wish Cockatoos were more like "statues" LOL.....just kidding for any new people. Cockatoos are such busy birds and with 5 of them it's hard to keep track.
Jeannie

I love your old aviary. We were going to build one except we couldn't find a costco frame. Are you by chance going to post detailed instructions on this one too? We would really like to build one but we aren't very handy or creative lol.

Great job !! Your fids are gorgeous.

Lowe's has a carport frame that's even a little heavier than the Costco frame...(I have both). If you have a Lowe's near you, you might check it out.

I sure do alexz. Looks like I have a mission this weekend

I desperately need to get one built before next spring.

Looks like the toos are liking the new play place. As for rocks, bottoms etc...what exactly are river rocks...are they the big rocks?...or pebbles...and how do you clean the bottom. I know you can't use anything that holds moisture...mulch..etc..Looks like everyone is getting aviary building fever...and I need to catch it...Alex...once a long time ago you posted to another group about a wire. I would need something smaller than what Connie used..for the smaller birds...any ideas??

In the past few years aviaries seem to be more the norm...which is really been great to see!

There are several how too books written about building aviaries as well and have been for a few years. I would guess if anyone did a search at Amazon.com for aviary that something would come up. There is also a new book out by Robert Young I haven't seen yet. I have a few of the older ones but not sure where they are at the moment.


Some mesh/wire suppliers

http://www.kwcages.com/
http://www.meshphoto.com/
http://www.valentineinc.com/

OR talk to your local farm or hardware store too. sometimes they can order what you need. If using galvanized wire just be sure that its galvanized AFTER welding. IT should say right on it..GAW.

The carport frames are fine but be sure to anchor them well and after you do you will lose some height. Other options can also be found at greenhouse suppliers. You can purchase the frame only in many cases and then add your own wire. You use fender washers and sheet metal screws.....its not that hard. The nicest doors I have found are greenhouse doors. They're light and nice and flat (not bulky) and easy to attach a latch to.

Shauna

Here's something that's been around for along time so some of you may have seen it before.......although the website has changed....where its located.

http://www.thetanygnathussociety.org/page17.html

Shauna

Some great ideas presented here...now to get Mr. Tooltime a new tool belt...I would definitely have to make it safe..we have so many coyotes here...they brought them in to control the deer population...I lost two geese this week..These are boys that I've had for more than 8 years...and something definitely got them...makes me so sad...so I know that there are critters out there...

Coyotes can be a problem....We fenced our geese and duck (was ducks) in with farm fence wire...2x3" I think which was fine but then the geese would stick their head out threw the wire so we put a second wire that's really small on the outside of that. No coyotes jumping the fence but our problem here has been raptors. We lost 3 ducks...without any sign of any conflict at all...such as, feathers dropped......absolutely nothing. My guess would be a large owl. All 3 times happened while we were away...and all were hens. The male duck is still (he's maybe a pound larger in size) here and he is pretty funny hanging around with the geese. Thinks he's a real big shot.....with the geese to back him up! LOL But the duck area is ..I don't know 1/2 an acre? and can't put a top on it. They do have a little house but they haven't used it in ages.

Building the aviary for the parrots ...the raptors were the biggest possible problem (we have a bunch of them..and why our first outdoor structure was cage bars and a roof) so wire is small enough on their aviaries that raptor legs and talons can't reach in. I've heard to many stories (one was even too many) of raptors doing just that...have watched them hunt and their very swift. Our aviary is also butted up to the house and one has a safe butted right up to a back door for even more protection.

Talking about raptors....side note. I had the opportunity to visit behind the scenes at two zoos while attending the International Avian Trainers conference this past winter and ...my gosh. Housing raptors is so much easier than a parrot! LOL I mean.....the structure can be wood, astro turf was used in parts...you can have pvc bars. It was really different!!! of course what was in the fridge for dinner was different too...

Shauna

more wire resources:

http://www.twpinc.com/ (they also have ss wire)
http://www.sierrawireandsteel.com/

Depending on where you are located, there may be local bird/animal related companies (those that build aviaries and animal enclosures) that you may be able to purchase the wire in rolls, or cut to your specific dimensions. If you can find one locally, you save on shipping, which can be prohibitive.

And Shauna's right about anchoring. What I did was dig 8" deep holes for each leg of the carport structure, I put concrete forms (they are cylindrical cardboard and can be bought at places like Home Depot and Lowes) and then set the legs in concrete. If you are placing this on existing concrete, you will probably want to bolt it in place.

for some reason it dawned on me that I told you the wrong author of the most recently written book on aviaries...the author is Robert *Black*...not Robert Young. I have books by both gentlemen.....and got them confused!

Some of you may remember this:

http://www.parrotchronicles.com/winter2001/index.htm

And I found this and posting because it shows the metals type bars we used and the fender washer and screw I mentioned.
http://firstflight.co.za/Aviary%20Construction.htm

And I'm a bit slow but finally found one of the pages that I was looking for. There are lots of great ideas, instructions etc on this page for building your own aviary.

http://www.naturalbird.com/forum/viewfo ... 056d0c6444

Shauna

Cyndie wrote:I lost two geese this week..These are boys that I've had for more than 8 years...and something definitely got them...makes me so sad...so I know that there are critters out there...

Oh, Cyndie, I'm so sorry about the geese! A friend of mine recently lost two swans to a neighbor's large dog. We were all so torn up; those birds were so beautiful and probably a little too tamed. I don't know if it would have helped if they were more wild, or not.

My birds have been in their outdoor aviary for about 3 years now. It can be seen at the site mentioned below on the natural bird forum which is
http://www.naturalbird.com/forum/viewfo ... 056d0c6444 I'm writer 2busy4a925 on there.

or it can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/user/2busy4a925. The birds seem to love it, but I have gone to work full time and I'm more in a "zookeeper" status with them now. They do get rain, sunshine, fresh air, and I tried to design it so no predators coud get to them. They stay out all day weather permitting and go back into the heated/airconditioned bird room for night. They always have access to the bird room even when they are in he aviary. I don't feed in the aviary, only in their cages inside the birdhouse.