Outdoor aviary help

[jmvb333]

I'm planning on building an outdoor aviary and need some help with the material. I've been researching online but there seems to be some conflicting information. I know everyone says that stainless steel is the best option. Obviously, it is expensive, but how fast does it rust? I read a post by someone saying their stainless steel aviary rusted pretty fast. Now, maybe that's because it was bought on Amazon and possibly wasn't really stainless steel.

If stainless steel was off the table, what would the next best option be? I've been looking up aluminum. I see that people say only anodized aluminum is safe. Is that because non-anodized aluminum is toxic in some way or just because it is not as hard as anodized aluminum? This aviary will be for Bourke's parakeets and/or possibly finch. I don't think climbing on the wire or chewing will be a big problem, but I want to keep them safe. I know that galvanized mesh is considered toxic because of the zinc.

How about PVC coated or powdered coated mesh? I know that comes in black and that would be nice. I've seen this mesh recommended on a vet website. Does anyone know if that coating is safe?
Thanks so much for any advice anyone can give me. The researching has been a little frustrating.

 

[Shezbug]

Galvanised mesh that’s been vinegar washed and left out in the weather is fine for an outdoor aviary.

I personally don’t know of anyone with an aviary made of anything other than galvanised mesh as it’s the only thing that will hold up to the weather and is cost efficient.

The kind of powder coating you’d need for an outdoor aviary would be so costly it wouldn’t be worth it- you’d need a much better standard than bird cages are sold with.

 

[orphansparrow]

This is the exact information I’m looking for. Thank you for the info @Shezbug ! I’m off to research vinegar washing galvanized steel. I’ll let you know what I find..