Help! Indoor bird to outdoor aviary

[Love4tiels]

Hello everyone! I have a 3 year old male cockatiel. He's currently inside in a cage and if I'm home he's out of his cage. He's full flight and I want to transfer him to an outdoor aviary as well as get a few more cockatiels so he has a flock. Any suggestions on companies who have outdoor aviaries? How should I go about moving him? How do I introduce him to new birds? Thanks!

 

[AviaryByTheSea]

I keep my Macaws outdoors during the day and I bring them in at night. There are several factors for bringing them in at night, primarily predators. A raccoon or possum can wreck havoc on a flock of birds in no time. I have a good friend in Georgia who lost a colony of 200+ red-bellied conures in 1 night to raccoons. It took him a decade to build....

If you are planning on keeping your birds outside 24/7 then you really need to consider a double walled cage with at least 6 inches of space between the wire. You also, need to consider having a roof so they can come out of the sun, and shelter... essentially what amounts to nest boxes. Also, you need to consider do you want it raised or have solid walls about the first 3 feet.

Where are you located?

 

[Love4tiels]

Thank yo for responding! I'm in so cal. I am planning on a roof as well as sun shades for the side. I'm planning on attaching it to my greenhouse so perhaps at night I'll bring them inside in a cage in the greenhouse for safety. Thank you for the suggestions. How did you indroduce your birds together?

 

[AviaryByTheSea]

Slowly! and with lots positive reinforcement for sitting side by side without fighting, before they are let loose with the flock. They "KNOW" what I want and what is expected of them, but they are birds and have instincts.... A stern voice or a shout "Knock it off" is all that is required from me to split them apart if they do bicker, that tends to be pretty rare.... they play a lot, they talk a lot, and they have an amazing amount of fun together... and when they are perching and relaxing they tend to all stay in their respective pairs and sometimes in separate areas.... They were all socialized with other birds when they were young, so it is actually pretty easy with my guys. It really depends on the birds... Zero one of my B/G's thinks he is King of the Flock and will sometimes "flex his wings" and drive the others away from a toy or feeding station.... It's kinda funny to watch because zero is smaller than the other guys... and they all have deferred to him!! LOL You need to set up multiple feeding and water stations. Dealing with a flock of birds is much different than dealing with 1 or 2 birds, they have a different mentality.....

My Hyacinth Mason can get highly protective of his GW "mate" Sophie. I can not leave him unattended with the other birds... he could kill the rest of the flock. I usually put them in a separate Aviary to err on the side of caution.

You want to use 1/2 x 1 wire... I think a greenhouse could kill them with the heat....

 

[AviaryByTheSea]

All of the pairs fight and get jealous of each other's reaction to my presence if I am paying attention to one or the other. For instance... when I get the birds in the morning, I go to Butter and Zero's cage - when I am unlocking the door they will bicker with each other... (they need a padlock because zero is a master mechanic) I actually had to change their cage to a 48 x 36 SS freedom cage with a freedom feeder because he kept taking the cages apart. I came downstairs once to find the cage door literally on the floor and 12 of 18 bolts removed from the cage. Butter and Zero were happily perched on top of Storm and Echo's Cage working on their cage's bolts.... I am not kidding. That was the last straw.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Also you will need to either bury the bottom wire in the dirt - probably 12". Especially in So CA there are gobs of coyotes and they will dig under to get to prey. If you have it off the ground you will still need a solid floor so critters can't bite toes and legs off.

 

[Love4tiels]

His is great info. Thank you! The greenhouse is actually more of a shed with some windows. Not to "greeny". I was planning on building an aviary off to the side of it so that way the greenhouse works as a safety door. And I'm planning on having the aviary on a slab on concrete. I only have one tiel so I was thinking of getting another one so he has a friend. When I got him I worked from home but now I don't and plus I have a 2 month old so he doesn't get as much attention as he deserves. I have him out as much as possible but I'd love for him to have a friend in the day. He's obsessed with his mirror and he "grew up" with other tiels so I think he would love another bird. I have a nice indoor cage that I'll keep them in at night. Too funny about your BG thinking he's king of the hill. I knew a BG exactly like that even though he was way smaller than the green wing he bossed around!

 

[Love4tiels]

THis is great info. Thank you! The greenhouse is actually more of a shed with some windows. Not to "greeny". I was planning on building an aviary off to the side of it so that way the greenhouse works as a safety door. And I'm planning on having the aviary on a slab on concrete. I only have one tiel so I was thinking of getting another one so he has a friend. When I got him I worked from home but now I don't and plus I have a 2 month old so he doesn't get as much attention as he deserves. I have him out as much as possible but I'd love for him to have a friend in the day. He's obsessed with his mirror and he "grew up" with other tiels so I think he would love another bird. I have a nice indoor cage that I'll keep them in at night. Too funny about your BG thinking he's king of the hill. I knew a BG exactly like that even though he was way smaller than the green wing he bossed around!

 

[Monica]

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[Love4tiels]

Thank you Monica!!!!!