Separating a bird room in half

[pawprintedheart]

Not sure if this is the right area on the forums to post this, so feel free to direct me elsewhere if I'm wrong.

But as the title suggests, we're looking for a way to separate the bird room in two. I have two green cheek conures and four parakeets. The two green cheeks slowly started spending more and more time out of their cages and now, essentially live cage free in one half of the room. The parakeets, have a flight cage on the other half of the room.

Right now, we have a huge King-sized sheet separating the room in half. (It's actually fastened to the wall all ceiling to floor on both sides, with weights along the bottom, that way the green cheeks can't get to the other side of the room. This works fairly well, (because there's a door on each half of the room leading to other rooms in the house), but I'd LOVE to find a solution that would preferably:

1. Let me be able to go from one side of the room to the other without having to go out the one door, around the whole upstairs, through a few other rooms, and then through the other door, just to get to the other side of the room.

2. Not even just me being able to go through the room, but it would be a wonderful bonus, if I could open it and so the birds could fly the length of the room when supervised and am in there with them. But then could close so that the greenies could still have their half of the room as their 'cage' without me having to worry about them harassing the keets in their cage.

3. Would allow light to pass from one side to the other. Obviously I have full spectrum lighting on both sides of the room for the birds, and there is a window on each side as well, but still, having a huge sheet blocking off half the room does make it darker.

Dad is thinking a mesh or net could work (which we could open and shut like curtains), but I keep running into a wall trying to find something that would be safe. I know he's thinking something like a tent style canvas, that he could secure to the ceiling/floor/walls, but with a zipper that I could open/shut to get through. But he's leaving it up to me to figure out the 'bird safe' part. I'd need something that is safe for the birds if they land on it, as all the birds are fully flighted and if it looks like they can fit, they'll land.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[JLcribber]

The easiest thing I can think of is a mesh curtain on a curtain rod track. If you go with a fine mosquito netting they can't land on it (just like the sheet) because there's nothing to grab onto. They can actually fly into it quite hard with no ill effects.

 

[lwis]

I am interested to see some of the suggestions here. I will likely have a bird room for our two conures next year, and I would like to be able to separate the space so they can be out of their cages but not under super close supervision. They don't always get along.
The mosquito mesh idea sounds good.

 

[pawprintedheart]

@JLcribber At the moment, they can land on the sheet. Though my guess is it's because its hung loosely. Originally dad had it set up so we could slide it open and closed for me to get back and forth, then Brae discovered how to land on the edge and swing himself around to the other side...so then the edges got attached to the wall, but we didn't pull it perfectly tight. I do like the idea of the mosquito mesh. Any idea how to attach it to the walls, so that at least one side could be opened to get through, but also able to 'shut' so a rather talented escape artist can't help himself as well?

Darn these parrots for being so clever! First Brae figured out how to 'open' the side, by landing on it and slowly wiggling his way around the edge of the sheet until he was on the other side before he'd fly over to visit the keets. Then we solved that by securing the sides so it wasn't possible for me to go through at all. But then smarty-feathers realized he could fly ot the ground, pick up the edge of the sheet and wiggle his way under. Considering there were several inches on the ground so he had to 'tunnel' for a few inches before getting to the other side *I* was rather astonished. We've got that solved now with some weights sitting on the bottom of the sheet that he can't move. I still will never forget sitting on the floor on the parakeet side waiting for Houdini to show me how he was managing to get over, only to see him worming his way through under the sheet.

 

[webchirp]

They can land on the netting. Jewel actually scales around on it like a rope net but so far she is the only bird to do so. Most of them do not want to touch it. And if spooked, they do fly into it and land. You also have to watch them when they are out because they can get their nails caught in the netting.

Here is how I did mine.

You may want to cut the flange down even more for less gap although they do have ceiling rods for curtains. Jewel climbs up and over the top of the net or pushes her face into the net looking for the gaps or little openings I have to scritch Rocco.

 

[webchirp]

Um, after reading your post completely, you may want to insert dowel rods on the sides and bottom to weight things. Top may be an issue as well...sounds like he is like Jewel.

 

[pawprintedheart]

@webchirp He's a naughty boy. I can seem him definitely scaling it like Jewel. When we originally put the sheet up we didn't think he'd be able to land on it. Took him a few days, but once he got the hang of it, he went to work on making us Braeburn proof every inch of it.

Thank you for the pictures! I'm not sure a netting will work for us, as the green cheeks are always out. They're not caged unless it's bedtime. So I'm looking for something that would be safe for them when I'm not in the room. I work from home in the room next to the bird room, but still I often venture to other parts of the house (for quiet... ) or run errands, and I'd hate to have them get caught and me not notice anything is wrong until its too late. Even in the room next to them, Mr. Sneaky Pants is silent when he manages to be successful, and the budgies don't rat him out. Normally the give away that he's been 'successful' is the open/shut of a cage door as he's struggling to get it unlocked enough to get inside.

Maybe pulled taut the net would work, but I'm not sure.

 

[Danita]

@birdlady has some fancy set up to do that.

 

[sodakat]

You can buy wooden framed screen doors in widths from 28" to 36" at most home improvement warehouse stores for around twenty bucks. Hinge them together where you want them to open, or use "L" or "T" brackets where you want them to remain stationary. We built our original dividing wall between our living room and sun room like this to create a bird room. Above the doors we used transom windows purchased at the same place because our ceilings are high. We used brackets to hold the transom windows together. But there are lots of things you could put above the screen doors depending on your ceiling height and how creative you want to get. We used 1x2 wood above and below the transom windows. Because I have Eclectus, the screen didn't last too long so now the door frames are covered with wire mesh. I'll find an old picture of when it first went up and post it below.

 

[webchirp]

I would not recommend the patio netting taught or otherwise if they have access unattended. Def a hazard if they get tangled. There is a more plastic type of screen mesh you can get from the hardware store Pet-Resistant Charcoal Screen 36" x 84" at Menards Although this too can be eaten. If you have the money, panels made with stainless steel wire...as beaky as greencheeks are, I do not recommend GAW wire. You might be able to use plexi with decorations for stopping flight crashes...

1 inch x 1/2 inch Mesh Welded Stainless .063 inch Wire Diameter. Rectangular openings provide visibility. Used for small cages and consumer product grills. Welded stainless steel wire mesh and welded stainless steel screen photos, technical weave information, and prices. Welded stainless steel wire cloth is used for mesh baskets, guards, cages, catalyst suppport, filter discs, screen discs and industrial wire cloth applications. ISO 9002 ANSI/AWCI-01-1992, ASTM E 2016-99, RRW 360, tele metalliche discs, slitting, filter discsTWP Inc.

Greenies get into so much trouble... :x3:

 

[pawprintedheart]

Thank you everyone! This is so why I came here for help!

@sodakat I LOVE that! It's beautiful!

@webchirp Thanks Chandra. And I know him too well by know. He WOULD be on it, so it'd only be a matter of time before he got tangled... I do like that plastic Pet-Resistant screen you showed. That would be easy enough to hang up and for dad to make a 'screen door' that I could open and shut to get into the budgie area.

And I've thought of stainless steel wire, but sadly that kills my budget.

Haha! Yes they DO!!! And yet, they have me completely wrapped around their little toes and I find myself spoiling them rotten.


Now what about aluminum screen? Would that work as well? Or is that galvanized?

 

[Monica]

To piggyback off of Kathy's idea (not really, had this idea before reading her post!), make wire mesh folding sliding doors. Add a door in the center so when it's closed you can step through the door without having to move the 'room divider'. To open the room up, you just fold it up against one wall, or even have it separate in the center that way both sides can fold back to the walls.

You would have something like Kathy's wire mesh doors but they'd be similar to these doors

http://www.irepairhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/49-folding-sliding-patio-doors.jpg
http://www.homedeco2u.com/images_content/PB290278.JPG


After that, you'd only need one (or two) of these to keep it closed (making sure the hardware itself is bird safe!)

http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/200993712517_1_0_1/1000x1000.jpg
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzYyWDEwMDA=/z/qUAAAOxydB1SixfU/$_57.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTU1OFgxNjAw/z/9wMAAMXQDrJRzbux/$T2eC16RHJFsFFR1Vkv4tBRzbu),s4!~~60_57.JPG
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31UVTkO-feL._SY300_.jpg
http://s7.cdn.hardwareandtools.net/is/image/HardwareandTools/044074429428?wid=300&hei=300

 

[pawprintedheart]

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions! I believe we're definitely doing the screen doors and adding the Pet Resistant screen Chandra linked me to on the outside, so my naughty greenies can land on it and mouth it safely without me having to worry about the metals.

Thanks everyone so much

 

[lwis]

@Monica Those folding sliding doors look like an amazing idea! I would really love to do something like that when we get our house!! I wonder how difficult/pricey it would be to build something like that.... So cool!

 

[Monica]

I'm not sure how expensive it would be, but Kathy's doors would probably be the cheapest option, then, with the right hardware, you could make them folding yourself. I know it's got me thinking of doing some things myself!

 

[JLcribber]

@Monica Those folding sliding doors look like an amazing idea! I would really love to do something like that when we get our house!! I wonder how difficult/pricey it would be to build something like that.... So cool!

If your handy with tools you could easily do it yourself. Crudely it's done like this.

 

[sodakat]

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions! I believe we're definitely doing the screen doors and adding the Pet Resistant screen Chandra linked me to on the outside, so my naughty greenies can land on it and mouth it safely without me having to worry about the metals.

Thanks everyone so much

There are no metals on the wooden-framed screen doors.

 

[pawprintedheart]

There are no metals on the wooden-framed screen doors.

I wasn't sure what the screens themselves were made of?

 

[sodakat]

I wasn't sure what the screens themselves were made of?

Fiberglass or polyester, depending on the manufacturer.

 

[pawprintedheart]

Thanks Kathy! I'd always thought screens had a metallic feel to them, but to be honest, had never actually, uh really looked at one.