Breeds of birds for aviary

[Cmartini11]

Hello, I am new to the group. My question isn't directly health related, but in searching the forums, I wasn't able to find a better place to put my question (it's possible it does exist and I just missed it! Sorry!) I have a chicken coop I want to repurpose into an aviary. The coop is 8' x 10' x 6.5' tall. It also has a 4' X 5' wooden box for nesting/hiding out. I live in deep south Texas, where temps are frequently quite hot (over 95 F is not uncommon) and rarely ever below freezing. What breeds of birds could live happily (and healthily!) in this type of environment? I don't want anything too labor-intensive. Preferably something I could just watch and enjoy listening to. Something I could have more than one of would be best so that they can provide each other with company. Suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

 

[TikiMyn]

Welcome to the forum!
There are no breeds of birds only species I don’t think there are low maintainance birds. @finchly knows a lot about finches. They are lower maintainance then parrots, but they still need an appropriate diet, cleaning and a good environment. That is about all I know of finches! I don’t know how much time it takes to take care of them

 

[Lady Jane]

Thanks for joining us and seeking advise. Just one thought as I read your posting is that chicken coup wires are usually not stainless steel as an aviary wiring should be. Birds can easily get metal toxicity and get quite ill. Good luck.

 

[finchly]

Well of course I say Gouldian finches because that’s what I am into.

Seriously though, I’d go with Australian birds because they can handle your hotter temps. Your weather is about the same as mine, when I had mine outdoors the Gouldians were fine and the zebras and societies tended to suffer a little. I would spritz them with water when it was hot.

I moved mine in because of snakes, so one thing you’ll want to consider is whether predators can get in -rats, mice, snakes, etc.

Here are some Australian finches. Here’s some information about compatibility. Whatever you do, start small because they will multiply FAST.

And don’t forget to share photos! We love pictures!

 

[finchly]

The wire on the coop probably Will be ok because finches don’t put their beaks on it like bigger birds do.

Just FYI - you can put finch questions in the finch section of the board. Anything about finches and canaries is fair game there.

 

[Lady Jane]

OH that's nice to know Tanya. So the chicken wire will be ok?

 

[finchly]

OH that's nice to know Tanya. So the chicken wire will be ok?

It’s not the best choice but it will most likely be ok. I know a lot of people who use it and apparently there are not any problems. Finches don’t put their beaks on everything like other birds.

I’m being cautious in my wording because APPARENTLY means they say it is fine but what if one or two died here and there and they did not connect it to metal toxicity? So I ask myself, would I use it? I’d probably use it since it’s already there.

How big is the spacing on the chicken wire?

 

[JLcribber]

Hello, I am new to the group. My question isn't directly health related, but in searching the forums, I wasn't able to find a better place to put my question (it's possible it does exist and I just missed it! Sorry!) I have a chicken coop I want to repurpose into an aviary. The coop is 8' x 10' x 6.5' tall. It also has a 4' X 5' wooden box for nesting/hiding out. I live in deep south Texas, where temps are frequently quite hot (over 95 F is not uncommon) and rarely ever below freezing. What breeds of birds could live happily (and healthily!) in this type of environment? I don't want anything too labor-intensive. Preferably something I could just watch and enjoy listening to. Something I could have more than one of would be best so that they can provide each other with company. Suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

Show us a picture of this coop.

Dogs have breeds. Birds have species. This alone tells us that you have no bird experience whatsoever? You can't just plop a bunch of birds into an environment and be done with it. Permanent outside aviaries need many considerations. Heating if required. Cooling if required. It needs to be secure. Not just from birds getting out but from human predators (among others) from getting in.

Then there's the fact that putting a bunch of birds in one territory, they're going to want to breed. Breeding pairs of birds don't share territory. Offspring/siblings must be separated out to prevent fighting/inbreeding. That means more environments. Separate environments. None of this is as easy as you envision.

The best "species" of bird for that enclosure that meets your criteria is "chickens".

 

[JLcribber]

OH that's nice to know Tanya. So the chicken wire will be ok?

Chicken wire is very thin and heavily galvanized. A medium sized parrot could even chew through it if given enough time to work on a spot. They'd never get that far but die first from the toxicity. Then there's the spacing of the holes. They can be up to 2 inches. We need a picture of this coop.

 

[finchly]

Grasskeets would fit the bill for this aviary. Scroll down to Avicutulture on this link and those are the ones I’m thinking of. They are beautiful and charming to watch/listen to.

 

[finchly]

Chicken wire is very thin and heavily galvanized. A medium sized parrot could even chew through it if given enough time to work on a spot. They'd never get that far but die first from the toxicity. Then there's the spacing of the holes. They can be up to 2 inches. We need a picture of this coop.

Correct, if you would actually read the posts we were talking about finches. They don’t chew wire so some people use it and claim it is fine. It can also be scrubbed with vinegar first. I don’t speak with first hand knowledge on this.

 

[JLcribber]

Correct, if you would actually read the posts we were talking about finches. They don’t chew wire so some people use it and claim it is fine. It can also be scrubbed with vinegar first. I don’t speak with first hand knowledge on this.

A finch could almost "fly" through the holes in chicken wire. Yes they are big enough.

 

[finchly]

A finch could almost "fly" through the holes in chicken wire. Yes they are big enough.

Yep that’s why I asked how big the holes are. I think on a finch forum they talked about the various hole sizes from Home Depot.
A finch is unsafe with a 1” hole, and even a 5/8” hole if the wire is able to be bent. I haven’t seen chicken wire that small. That’s why I moved along to grasskeets, but I don’t know their wire requirements. Probably still too big if it is 2”.

 

[JLcribber]

It can also be scrubbed with vinegar first. I don’t speak with first hand knowledge on this.

Unless you're going to scrub it at least once a week. The first rainfall (any moisture) will cause the wire to start to corrode again immediately.

 

[Familyof12]

I have a chicken coop with chickens. I have a house with their own room for parrots. I don't know what part of the country you live but I live in a pretty mild climate. I too have an outdoor aviary. My outdoor aviary was built by my husband with an existing canopy. The screen, metal frames (no wood as things can chew through, including our parrots) are outside and inside. On top of that, I have heavy heavy plastic clear curtains that velcro in the exists plus a bird safety net. With this in mind my aviary is 12 x 12 with a 12 foot ceiling. This whole thing is covered. There isn't a centimeter loose and we must check it after every storm. We keep two professional heaters (think restaurant style) and two Stanley shop heaters to use during the winter and we live in mild temps (we go below freezing once or twice a winter). In the summer, my canopy sits under a tree and again due to the climate we get cool breezes from the ocean. On hot days, we have two coolers, one is a swamp cooler and the other is a portable cooler, plus we keep a large industrial fan to circulate the air.

My chicken coop is five feet tall. It can hold up to 10 chickens. I keep just three as pets. None of the coop is safe for any parrot that I own. If I wanted something other than chickens out there, I may do quail or some other outdoor wild bird that doesn't fly. Our coop is two stories, the bottom has their food and the top they sleep and lay. I give my chickens fresh veggies, dark greens and the same stuff I give my parrots sans citrus fruit, plus their mash, grit, oyster and scratch. I bake homemade bread for them to eat every day and I give them fresh corn on the cob no matter the price as the love it. If I have to I will buy frozen and give it to them.

No parrot I know would be okay with any of this. If you want a bird, buy a bird cage. It's safer for the parrot. Otherwise your parrot will become a very expensive tasty meal for any creature that lives outside, including cats, dogs, raccoons, possums, etc.

 

[finchly]

Unless you're going to scrub it at least once a week. The first rainfall (any moisture) will cause the wire to start to corrode again immediately.

Seriously?
Thanks for that. There is a particular large forum where that is their advice. I will certainly pass this along!

That’s why I keep saying I don’t have experience with it: no first hand knowledge. OR rather, I’m a musician, not someone in the know about things like galvanized wire.

 

[JLcribber]

Seriously?
Thanks for that. There is a particular large forum where that is their advice. I will certainly pass this along!

That’s why I keep saying I don’t have experience with it: no first hand knowledge. OR rather, I’m a musician, not someone in the know about things like galvanized wire.

The reason they use galvanized wire is because to use anything else (stainless steel) is prohibitively expensive. They are trading off the safety of their birds to save money. Bottom line.

 

[Familyof12]

The wire rusts terribly as do all the screws. We've replaced all of ours before putting it together. The dang screens have been replaced at least twice in the past 8 years (pain in the you know what) AND critters still dig under the coop. Now we've had to put concrete into the sides all around about 2 feet deep and about five inches wide so they can't dig under. That time, it was a possum and it killed my poor Oko who was trying to protect her sisters. Rust is poisonous!! Parrots love tasting everything!! No poisonous metals.

 

[TikiMyn]

And even crappy bird caged rust! I just want to mention that if you do decide to Let parrots live in this aviary, they Will need enrichment and as John mentioned you Will have to find a way to prevent breeding(like replacing the real eggs with fake ones, or have only males or females).

 

[finchly]

AND critters still dig under the coop. Now we've had to put concrete into the sides all around about 2 feet deep and about five inches wide so they can't dig under. That time, it was a possum and it killed my poor Oko.

This is a really good point, if we haven’t scared the OP off yet — there are all sorts of critters that can go through or under. Concrete dug down deep is the best protection.

And even crappy bird caged rust! I just want to mention that if you do decide to Let parrots live in this aviary, they Will need enrichment and as John mentioned you Will have to find a way to prevent breeding(like replacing the real eggs with fake ones, or have only males or females).

Having only males or only females is an easy way to deter breeding, and then you don’t have all the inevitable chasing and hormonal upsets involved with having both sexes in the same aviary. Even if you vow to ‘not provide nests’ and ‘remove all eggs’ it is way easier to just have one sex housed together.