Very large aviary?

[Familyof12]

I can imagine how cold it gets in Ohio and the the Atlantic Canadian winters! I was in Minneapolis in 2003 and it was so cold my earrings froze in my ears and it was the worst pain when I got somewhere warm! I learned to be cold proof and that's hard for me! I'm a west coast person, growing up in Hawaii and California. Mild temperatures are what I know unless I'm traveling. I just found this online. It is an empty room/garage with trees in it. Most look like they are DYI projects that could be done with a few trips to Home Depot or Lowes. I'm still working on mine. I'm almost done and so excited! We've got the screens cut and ready to staple to the wood frames that will enclose the canopy on the two sides there are openings. We are also double screening it so make sure that if one gets through one screen there will be another to go through. So one screen nailed to the inside of the canopy and another screen on the outside, plus the mosquito netting and clear shower curtains. I've got my heaters and we've tried it out without the screens and shower curtains and it was cozy!! Hubby just got the two tall outdoor heaters (range is 500 feet) and a smaller one for the lower parts. We will be circulating the air with a small outdoor humidifier that has a fan in it.

indoor outdoor aviaries for winter
outdoor aviaries for cold climates
outdoor aviaries for cold climates

I too am hoping if I get the outdoor aviary right, they will be able to hang out there all winter and still get some sun. Next year, I will work on the bird room. Too many projects but so much fun!

@cosmolove, thank you so much for starting this thread! I'll be watching it closely!

 

[HolliDaze]

The zoo I volunteered at had a budgie/cockatiel/princess parrot aviary. They had their own building and outdoor area. Guests were given popsicle sticks with millet glued on the end (non toxic hot glue) and got to feed the birds. They are not tame, and would at most land on your hand to get the millet. There Were 100+ budgies, 30 or so cockatiels, and 3 or 4 princess parrots. Most of the available perches were out of reach of guests, so the birds could choose if they interacted with them. I've sat on the floor when no guests are around, the little guys get curious and climb all over me if im still. The building was heated, so it was open year round .

 

[cosmolove]

With the amount of animals we have I should start charging admission like a zoo The joys of living on a farm I guess!

These are all some good ideas, our garage doesn't exactly have a heat vent in the room but due to the laundry room and bathroom that share the wall it actually stays relatively warm in there in the winter as it is now. We planned to add a heat source to the room tho. Last winter for example even when it got really cold outside to where the wind was burning your face the garage stayed pretty warm to the point the water bottles and bowls never froze for the few animals we had living in there last winter.

I'm hoping the heat source doesn't blow the project out of the water Late last winter we also got chicks and had two little heat lamps in there and man just with those two lamps it stayed super nice in there, I'm hoping a small heat source for the garage itself and then some heat panels would do the trick.

@HolliDaze was the inside of the building those birds have air conditioned or just fans with the choice of going outside? Did they make them come inside at night in the summers or did the birds have the choice.

 

[HolliDaze]

I'm not sure about night, as the zoo closes at 5 and all staff are gone around 7. It is airconditioned, as there is no area in the building (with the exception of the short, double-doored halls so guests don't accidentally let the birds out) where the birds don't have access. However, it rarely gets too hot for them, as the zoo is in the mountains (highest altitude zoo in the US). During the winter, guests aren't allowed access into the same room as the birds, but are able to feed them through a barred door. I had to move cross country, but I'll ask a friend who still visits weekly to ask the keeper who works the millet cart.

 

[cosmolove]

I wanted to post a follow up question for this thread.

What about toys? I don't think I'd need them in the outside section as they likely would just get destroyed from the weather but I was thinking some would be good on the indoor portion. For the outside portion do you think maybe a couple bird safe plants would be a good idea?

 

[javi]

That is a great point. I actually don't have toys in there and I cannot figure out why. I have tons of toys I could put. Now I feel neglectful. They do get lots of branches and limbs to destroy. And I have sisal rope strewn from one end to another for perching/swinging. I should add some sisal just hanging from the top of aviary for hanging on. Guess Im working on aviary this weekend.

 

[Familyof12]

You guys are so great! I love it how we all help each other with this! I've been trying out spider plants and other types of branches they can tear up into the house. I'm thinking of doing the same in the covered canopy we have for the birds.

I read that if we can put branches with leaves that they can tear up (our leaves are big and birds small) so I thought if I hid food among the branches and in leaves where they are acting as if they were really in the wild, they would have all kinds of fun that is different than the fun inside.

That way none of the indoor toys get destroyed by weather. The outdoor stuff will be branches and sticks with leaves or paper you can hang with food hidden. Just a thought.

 

[javi]

Little birds can tear big leaves with no issue. I am tempted to put the dead palm leaves in aviary for shredding. My part of texas is known as the Palm Valley as there are millions of them.

 

[rockybird]

I have three male budgies in a double flight. One that I found on cl was kept in a tiny cage in a smoke filled apartment and another was found outside. I am always watchful to make sure that they are getting along. I also have two big food bowls and two water dishes always. I would hate for one bird to guard a food dish so another cannot eat. There are definitely dynamics going on with them. Unfortunatley, I'm at work and dont get to view it much. I do wish they had a bigger cage. They are incredibly active little birds.