JLcribber
@cockatoojohn
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The spacing on the panels I use is 1.5 inches so this only works for large parrots. Another great thing about the aviaries is that it provides a secure floor area. TOOs are natural ground foragers and they spend a lot of time down there.
Pictures --> My Indoor Aviaries
Both of our cockatoos have all their wing feathers. Neither one can fly. A lot of people have trouble making their birds stay put on their play stands while they do things. You will notice in "Tikas' Corner" that there are lots of places to climb or hang out but there is no way to climb down to the floor. They must jump or fly to get down which they dont do....... Yet.
You absolutely DO NOT need to be a carpenter to build a simple aviary. If you have a room with smooth finished walls, 3 of the walls and ceiling are done. Cover anything on the wall that the bird should not chew with plexi-glass.
I will tell you how simple it is to make. I use the pet exercise pens as raw material. Like these:
I separate the panels or use them in a line all linked together. Depends what i need to do. The panels are great to make all kinds of enclosures, shelves, gates, whatever. I've used them for years now and all medical tests have come back clean for metal toxicity. They don't chew the bars because there's no need to. Too much other stuff to do.
All you need is some lengths of "L" shaped steel angle with some holes in it. This can be purchased at any "Home Depot" or similar store. Some screws to anchor the steel angle to the ceiling and some steel tie wire with pliers to connect everything together. Use short lengths of wire like you would tie a wire around the top of a bag to hook panels together. It will even work like a hinge if needed.
The ceiling height in most homes are around 8 ft. So I use the 48 inch high play pens to get the biggest panels. Each pen has 8 panels. Each panel is 2ft x 4 ft. Stretched out in a straight line they form a wall 4 ft high and 16 ft long. I used 2 pens. 1 hangs from the steel angle on the ceiling and the other sits on the floor. They meet and overlap slightly in the middle. Tie them together every foot or so with the wire. The pens even come with good opening and locking doors built in. I don't attach anything to the floor.
After the cage wall was up I noticed it was rather wiggly and noisy as a result. I bought some cheep 3/4 inch conduit pipe. I wired them onto the cage from ceiling to floor at the panel edges to act as stiffeners for the wall.
Wide is the name of the game.
When building an aviary remember "Wide" is the name of the game. Birds do not live in a vertical world. They do go up and down of course but they live in a horizontal world. An aviary need only be 3ft or 4 ft high but very wide say 14 ft. They can actually fly in it. Another reason not to chew the bars.
Theoretically you could build your aviary from the ceiling down and have the bottom still 5 ft above the floor if you really had no space. You dont really lose floor space for storage or whatever and you can make the aviary larger than you would have also.
A cage that is 6 ft high and 2 ft wide is a 2 ft cage to a bird. A cage that is 2ft high and 6 ft wide is a 6 ft cage to a bird. That would be like you living in a 6 room house but all the rooms are stacked on top of each other. The only way to get to another room is to climb up or down. We all hate stairs right? It's way easier to just walk into the next room. That would be a hop and a flap if I was a bird.
Quick Easy Outdoor Aviary
A tip for quick outdoor aviaries for all you NON-CARPENTERS. Everyone seems to have those steel gazebos in a kit from places like Costco. A steel structure with a sloped roof covered in canvas or vinyl. Some have mosquito netting and curtains for walls.
Well thats a ready made, engineered to stay standing in the wind and the rain structure. The roof is done. Provides good protection from sun and rain. Wire the pet panels around all the sides and its done. 2 people can easily pick it up and move it around since it is free standing. Mine is 12ft x 12ft. The bottom is open to the ground so they can actually play in the dirt.
The largest cage in the world is still just a prison
It is my opinion that anyone who owns a cockatoo MUST make this kind of space for their bird. The longer you have your bird, the more you will realize this is a "must have". As well as a small secure sleep cage in a dark quiet spot in another area.
I have sacrificed a lot of "my" personal space so that the birds can have what i consider to be the minimum and necessary space to maintain a reasonably happy bird (as happy as possible anyway). If it means no workshop, or no garage for the car, or 1 less bedroom (the biggest 1 with the biggest window of course) so be it. IT IS NECESSARY.
You can't keep a child in a cage. A parrot is no different.
Pictures --> My Indoor Aviaries
Both of our cockatoos have all their wing feathers. Neither one can fly. A lot of people have trouble making their birds stay put on their play stands while they do things. You will notice in "Tikas' Corner" that there are lots of places to climb or hang out but there is no way to climb down to the floor. They must jump or fly to get down which they dont do....... Yet.
You absolutely DO NOT need to be a carpenter to build a simple aviary. If you have a room with smooth finished walls, 3 of the walls and ceiling are done. Cover anything on the wall that the bird should not chew with plexi-glass.
I will tell you how simple it is to make. I use the pet exercise pens as raw material. Like these:
I separate the panels or use them in a line all linked together. Depends what i need to do. The panels are great to make all kinds of enclosures, shelves, gates, whatever. I've used them for years now and all medical tests have come back clean for metal toxicity. They don't chew the bars because there's no need to. Too much other stuff to do.
All you need is some lengths of "L" shaped steel angle with some holes in it. This can be purchased at any "Home Depot" or similar store. Some screws to anchor the steel angle to the ceiling and some steel tie wire with pliers to connect everything together. Use short lengths of wire like you would tie a wire around the top of a bag to hook panels together. It will even work like a hinge if needed.
The ceiling height in most homes are around 8 ft. So I use the 48 inch high play pens to get the biggest panels. Each pen has 8 panels. Each panel is 2ft x 4 ft. Stretched out in a straight line they form a wall 4 ft high and 16 ft long. I used 2 pens. 1 hangs from the steel angle on the ceiling and the other sits on the floor. They meet and overlap slightly in the middle. Tie them together every foot or so with the wire. The pens even come with good opening and locking doors built in. I don't attach anything to the floor.
After the cage wall was up I noticed it was rather wiggly and noisy as a result. I bought some cheep 3/4 inch conduit pipe. I wired them onto the cage from ceiling to floor at the panel edges to act as stiffeners for the wall.
Wide is the name of the game.
When building an aviary remember "Wide" is the name of the game. Birds do not live in a vertical world. They do go up and down of course but they live in a horizontal world. An aviary need only be 3ft or 4 ft high but very wide say 14 ft. They can actually fly in it. Another reason not to chew the bars.
Theoretically you could build your aviary from the ceiling down and have the bottom still 5 ft above the floor if you really had no space. You dont really lose floor space for storage or whatever and you can make the aviary larger than you would have also.
A cage that is 6 ft high and 2 ft wide is a 2 ft cage to a bird. A cage that is 2ft high and 6 ft wide is a 6 ft cage to a bird. That would be like you living in a 6 room house but all the rooms are stacked on top of each other. The only way to get to another room is to climb up or down. We all hate stairs right? It's way easier to just walk into the next room. That would be a hop and a flap if I was a bird.
Quick Easy Outdoor Aviary
A tip for quick outdoor aviaries for all you NON-CARPENTERS. Everyone seems to have those steel gazebos in a kit from places like Costco. A steel structure with a sloped roof covered in canvas or vinyl. Some have mosquito netting and curtains for walls.
Well thats a ready made, engineered to stay standing in the wind and the rain structure. The roof is done. Provides good protection from sun and rain. Wire the pet panels around all the sides and its done. 2 people can easily pick it up and move it around since it is free standing. Mine is 12ft x 12ft. The bottom is open to the ground so they can actually play in the dirt.
The largest cage in the world is still just a prison
It is my opinion that anyone who owns a cockatoo MUST make this kind of space for their bird. The longer you have your bird, the more you will realize this is a "must have". As well as a small secure sleep cage in a dark quiet spot in another area.
I have sacrificed a lot of "my" personal space so that the birds can have what i consider to be the minimum and necessary space to maintain a reasonably happy bird (as happy as possible anyway). If it means no workshop, or no garage for the car, or 1 less bedroom (the biggest 1 with the biggest window of course) so be it. IT IS NECESSARY.
You can't keep a child in a cage. A parrot is no different.
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