My partner and I built our walk-in (6' high) aviary earlier this year, consisting of individual panels screwed together, with roof panels over top. It's divided into two separate aviaries; one 3' x 6' long and one 3' x 3'. An airlock separates the two. It took us several weeks, as we only committed a couple of full weekends to it (one of which was dedicated solely to levelling the ground and setting the base down, and then assembling the panels). A lot was done on weeknight evenings (building the panels) - which was good because it could be done a bit at a time and felt slightly less overwhelming that way.
To keep it affordable we used coated galvanized hardware cloth (and we keep an eye on the bird most likely to chew on it out there!), stainless staples, and untreated wood (i.e. not pressure treated) on a base of pressure treated wood to keep it off the soil. Any cut mesh edges were covered with wood trim pieces, although most we managed to sandwich between panels. Cost of materials was approx. $650 USD ($900 CDN). Free labour
We included bird-safe plants, flagstone, birch branches, a climbing net, and hangers for a couple of toys or swings. There's also a plastic bird bath out there but (argh) because no-one is brave enough to use it, it's become where I put down the carriers to unload everyone. The 3' x 3' one was tricky to fit out as the left-hand side of it is almost entirely "door" so no perches could be connected to it. We ended up installing something we'd originally built to use indoors, that didn't require attaching to the mesh, but still allowed for lots of climbing around. If we'd had more space at the rear, the mesh "back wall" could have been another gate/door leading to a huge 9' long x 3' deep section - with no shared mesh walls for birds to access each other.
Having the two separate enclosures has been great to a) keep them from getting too bored, as I can swap them from one to another when needed and b) put two birds out at a time that don't play nicely together. They actually don't move around it as much as I thought they would: hardly anyone flies in it, they prefer to clamber around instead (even my conure who has never been clipped .. the Pi we're unsure if a past wing clipping has caused his reluctance to fly).
Important note: nobody lives in this permanently as it's not predator proof - it's only used periodically in the daytime when we're home and can bring them in quickly if needed.
Side view featuring the 3' x 6' enclosure (
Bonus points if you can spot the Pi butt):
To keep it affordable we used coated galvanized hardware cloth (and we keep an eye on the bird most likely to chew on it out there!), stainless staples, and untreated wood (i.e. not pressure treated) on a base of pressure treated wood to keep it off the soil. Any cut mesh edges were covered with wood trim pieces, although most we managed to sandwich between panels. Cost of materials was approx. $650 USD ($900 CDN). Free labour
We included bird-safe plants, flagstone, birch branches, a climbing net, and hangers for a couple of toys or swings. There's also a plastic bird bath out there but (argh) because no-one is brave enough to use it, it's become where I put down the carriers to unload everyone. The 3' x 3' one was tricky to fit out as the left-hand side of it is almost entirely "door" so no perches could be connected to it. We ended up installing something we'd originally built to use indoors, that didn't require attaching to the mesh, but still allowed for lots of climbing around. If we'd had more space at the rear, the mesh "back wall" could have been another gate/door leading to a huge 9' long x 3' deep section - with no shared mesh walls for birds to access each other.
Having the two separate enclosures has been great to a) keep them from getting too bored, as I can swap them from one to another when needed and b) put two birds out at a time that don't play nicely together. They actually don't move around it as much as I thought they would: hardly anyone flies in it, they prefer to clamber around instead (even my conure who has never been clipped .. the Pi we're unsure if a past wing clipping has caused his reluctance to fly).
Important note: nobody lives in this permanently as it's not predator proof - it's only used periodically in the daytime when we're home and can bring them in quickly if needed.
Side view featuring the 3' x 6' enclosure (
Bonus points if you can spot the Pi butt):
