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Outside aviary ideas

Anonymouse

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Jenna
Hello!
I've been wanting to build an outside aviary for my macaw, conure and african grey. I'm stuck on the meshing to use though. Every mesh I find is either galvanized or made of zinc, and I cant for the life of me find stainless steel. Being an outside aviary would it be okay to use one of those? Or is metal toxicity still a high risk? Is there any reputable website that sells stainless steel meshing?
 

conureluv

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I know there was a building thread of an outdoor aviary somewhere here...
@Aves @Macawnutz
 

expressmailtome

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Will you be outside with them whenever they are in the aviary? I am asking because if so, you use use an aviary similar to what @aooratrix uses.
 

Anonymouse

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I'll definitely be out with them. My yard is not fenced in and people use it to cross over to the park and pool in my neighborhood. I did find something besides metal. It's a net, do you think that could withstand a macaw?
 

MR. Mango

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JLcribber

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I'll definitely be out with them. My yard is not fenced in and people use it to cross over to the park and pool in my neighborhood. I did find something besides metal. It's a net, do you think that could withstand a macaw?
If it’s a supervised aviary you can make it pretty well out of anything because it’s “supervised”. It’s basically just a safety barrier at that point. I personally would use a plastic game farm type netting. Will out last and outperform any metal. lighter weight. Much easier to install and comes in much bigger sizes for a seamless installation.
 

Destiny

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Anonymouse

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Jenna
Ok, awesome, thank you for the ideas! This will definitely help out alot.
 

aooratrix

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I know of people, mainly in the UK, that use game bird netting and similar for outdoor aviaries with large birds. It depends on the bird. I've not heard of any chewing the netting, but I'd want to be very close by if that's the material I were using. I could see a parrot quickly snipping its way to freedom. My birds are NEVER in the aviary unless I'm supervising, which several people have suggested to you. I try not to leave safety to chance.
 

Anonymouse

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@aooratrix Absolutely! So far game netting is the only thing that may work at the moment. I'm just hoping the holes are small enough to prevent my conure from slipping through, she's a sneaky little thing! Hopefully it'll last long enough to be worth making my own aviary versus just buying one.
 

Toy

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I'm pretty sure JaKhu (B&G Macaw) would chew right thru game farm netting. So far she's destroyed every toy she's had, including bending heavy metal chain links open. If it were me I'd opt for stainless steel mesh wire. Even then I'd think a macaw would be able to bend it.

This site has rolls of SS wire mesh you could fashion into an aviary to start: Buy Stainless Steel Welded Wire Mesh Panels Online, SS Welded Wire Mesh Rolls For Sale You might be able to find it cheaper doing a search of the product on line. Depends on your location.

Your best option for a permanent aviary is powder coated heavy gauge wire (ours is 8g) with a lockable door/entrance. They aren't cheap, but so worth it. We had one custom made 18 years ago & shipped to PA from CA. Cost us around $5000.00, not counting the roof & footer. It's 12' long x 6' wide x 7.5' tall. It gets used every spring-summer. We take our birds outside every day, weather permitting, & bring them in before dark. The usually get an average of 6-8 hours outside. We added a angled metal roof to block full sun, rain, etc. We had a cement footer poured (sticks up about 4-5 inches above the ground) & set the aviary on the footer, then fastened it to the footer. We let the grass floor, so they can get down & walk in the grass or dig in the dirt. They love it. Sadly the business we got it from is closed (owner retired), but there are other companies that make similar aviaries.

Here's our aviary before we had the cement footer poured & changed the plastic roof to metal roof. We added a lot more perches, swings, toys, etc. There are 4 water dishes, but no food dishes. They get fed before going outside. I don't feed them outside due to it attracting bees. My macaw got stung & had to be rushed to the vet for a shot. Photos were taken right after we got it assembled. In spring we put all the perches, toys, etc. in & take it all back out at the end of summer.

113-1392_IMGAviary.jpg

113-1393_IMGAviary.jpg


Whatever you choose to do your birds will not only benefit from being outside they will love it.
 

Anonymouse

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@Toy That's a really cool aviary! I think I'll give the game netting a try and see how it holds up. otherwise, I think I'll just save up for a custom built aviary that will last me many years.
 

Toy

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@Toy That's a really cool aviary! I think I'll give the game netting a try and see how it holds up. otherwise, I think I'll just save up for a custom built aviary that will last me many years.
Yes it is. We really like it. We used to take it apart & store it every winter, but it got to be a bit much, as we're older now. Cost us an arm & both legs, LOL. The guy that was making them made enclosures for zoos. He's since retired. It was to have legs, but with our wet ground it'd sink, due to the weight. So we set it on a footer & added a roof. My husband built a angled wood frame to attach the roof. He made it that way so rain & snow would run off the back side. The wood roof frame is attached via thick wood dowels & screws inside the aviary. The top of the aviary is the same as the sides are with wire panels. The wood frame has a 2x4 in the middle for support & to attach the roofing to. The 2 doors have flip up latches, with holes to add pad locks. We only use pad locks if we need to leave for a short time. We put 4 water dishes in & lots of perches, a boing, orb, swing, cargo net & toys. We take them all out in fall to keep them from getting damaged over winter. I add new toys, etc. to change things up.

Whatever you end up with go with 8g wire, so it will hold up to a macaw & last for years.
 
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