Walk-in Bird Aviary

Check out my Instructable.


Walk-in Bird Aviary

Well Done!!!! That little bird has no idea how lucky he/she is that you stumbled upon him. I can totally relate to never having given birds much thought. In fact I once believed that any bird in a cage was abusive! Now that I see just how much time outside of a cage is possible to keep our parrot and how happy she is being with us I have totally changed my mind. I wish you all the best with your new found love!
Shauna/Rick

I have a 4x8x8 aviary inside and a 4x4x8 aviary outside now. My two conures spend the summer days outside chatting to passers by. haha.

Very, very nice! Any concerns over the galvanized cloth?

no. the cloth is instantly oxidized and won't hurt then. My parrots have been in there for 6 years now and they are happy and fine.

Physicist said:

no. the cloth is instantly oxidized and won't hurt then. My parrots have been in there for 6 years now and they are happy and fine.

Click to expand...

Sorry, need to push the topic a bit further. From my readings, the danger is in the oxidation and heavy metal poisoning can take years to develop!
This is a quote from another thread, but seems to have good information.
http://www.parrotforums.com/cages/50389-homemade-bird-cage.html

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Re: Homemade Bird Cage
Welcome to the forums, hope you enjoy your stay.....

As to your query, I'm afraid that there is not a lot of suitable materials for self-building any type of parrot cage, however, since you cannot find a large cage locally, you might want to look for 16 gauge, 1/2"x1/2" or 1"x1" wire mesh that has been welded before galvanizing. Wires that are galvanized before welding have a tendency for the zinc galvanize to flake/chip off and non-galvanized wire tends to simply rust away, especially in tropical/humid climates. You may find some welded wires to be vinyl coated, but the vinyl coating can be dangerous to companion birds if they develop a taste for chewing on the vinyl coating.

Anytime you use galvanized wire, you want to wash the wire with vinegar to remove any oxidized zinc powder left on the wire and if this cage is to be left outdoors to the weather, regular washing with vinegar, maybe every six months, will keep the zinc oxidation to a minimum. Since vinegar is a mild acid, you'll want to just give the wire a mild washing as opposed to a strong scrubbing.

I hope this answers your questions.....


Added Info: As Psittaciformes has posted Jillian Willis' listing of heavy metals, there are a couple of errors in the listing, one, all chromes do not contain zinc and all anti-rust primer paints do not contain zinc chromate or other zinc products. As we read through the plethora of good for parrots - bad for parrots information proffered on the internet, we need to do so with open minds and look for other supporting/validating information by other sources.

And to the problem of galvanization and zinc, it is a conundrum and the lesser of two evils...controlled zinc oxidation or rust and rust particles that may lacerate a bird's digestive system, almost guaranteeing the bird's death. Where the choices of materials are more than just two dangerous products, common sense would dictate the use of neither, but when there are only those two choices, the owner has to make their own best judgement call, given the exigent circumstances.....

Also, there are stainless steel welded wire meshes available, but they are on the expensive side...and...in constructing a home made cage, you do not want to use woven wire materials as that type of mesh can subject companion birds to potential catching of the bird's claws/talons/nails and their probable loss/pulling out by a frightened bird flapping & twisting, trying to extract it.....
Last edited by weco; 12-28-2014 at 03:20 PM. Reason: Additional Information
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As a better of two evils, he meant to say galvanized after welding(GAW).

Another source often referred to is:
Heavy Metals are Poisonous to Birds

In our debate, if I am wrong, you will be saving me a boat load of $$$.
But if this information is correct, we can avoid a lot of heartache!
Remember, birds, like humans, vary in their tolerances and habits.

They are wrong. The parrots don't eat the wire, climb on it, or chew on it. There are plenty of hanging toys as well as cardboard boxes on the floor (their favorite toys are cardboard boxes) and there are ropes all around that they climb on and move around on. My parrots *fly* The person who is arguing against "homemade" cages is in effect arguing *for* store bought cages. While it may be true that in a tiny store bought cage a clipped wing bird has nothing to do but chew on the wire, my aviary parrots fly around, play with their toys, and with each other building forts, talking, and having fun. Find me a store bought cage that is 256 cubic feet that they can fly around in and I might consider it. Otherwise your vastly overstated fear of heavy metal poisoning is resulting in a drastically understated reduction in their standard of living. I feel sorry for birds whose wings are clipped and living in tiny cages. Summary: My birds don't ingest the cage and neither will yours.

That is an incredible aviary. Well done with the rescue.

Thanks! I just realised that my previous reply above sounded ornery. I didn't mean it that way. Sorry! All I meant was flying birds don't have to climb on the mesh, and lots of toys prevents them from chewing the mesh.

I don't see why you can't have both, safe materials that is home built, doesn't have to be store bought. Just because a bird has lots of room and plenty of things to play/chew on does not mean they won't chew on the wire.

It's great that they have all that space.

Let me know if you find an alternate material that one can use.

Physicist said:

Let me know if you find an alternate material that one can use.

Click to expand...

Stainless steel mesh would probably be my first choice.

Well, where can I get 234 square feet of it in 32 square foot pieces? I don't think you can. I would also like a link to any instance of parrot heavy metal poisoning. I hear a lot of talk about it whenever the topic of aviaries is mentioned, but I have never heard of a single instance. It seems to be pure hypothetical. Like keeping your child locked in a closet "for they're protection" because you are afraid of the ebola virus. Yes, they could get ebola if they go out in the world, but I think the odds are too small to warrant confining them to a life locked in a closet. If someone shows me cases of a bird (even a chicken in a wire coup!) with heavy metal poisoning I will reconsider. Like I said, my birds have been living in their aviary for 6 years and they are completely healthy. I am sure that the same 6 years spent in a small cage would show up like night and day in terms of their mental health and personality.

Here are a few:
Http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/5699-its-metal-poisoning.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/48740-zilla-s-prognosis-maybe-good-maybe-bad.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/50047-plz-help-me-my-jenday-conure-eating-less.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/51344-emergencies.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...agnosed-chronic-lead-toxicosis-long-post.html
Heavy Metal Poisoning in Birds: Symptoms and treatment and prevention
http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/7364-mealy-bubbling-eyes-congestion.html

notice how it is all clipped birds in small cages? nothing to do but chew the cage.

Anyway how can I delete this thread?

Here is a quote from your links:

"Can heavy metal be prevented from recurring?
Yes. By providing good levels of minerals and by scrubbing new wire with a vinegar solution to accelerate the oxidisation process which renders the zinc non toxic. New cages can be left to weather for 3 months of longer before birds are introduced to the aviary."

Now. What does it say about oxidization?

Please read my first posts at the very top in reply to the first person who mentioned metal poisoning. If you build an aviary like I show in my Instructable it will be quickly oxidized and rendered non-toxic.

I understand that most bird owners don't have the time or the space to build your birds a large aviary, it can't be helped and I know your birds are still happy and healthy. However please don't scare others out of building aviaries. They are extremely cheap, long lasting, and birds love them. If you have the space and the time you should build one.

it is funny how some of your links claim oxidization is bad and some claim it is good (renders the zinc non-toxic). When birds eat little metal splatter droplets on the wire (which happens when the cloth is made via automated spot welding) they can get poisoning. This is exactly the same as when a child swallows a lead fishing weight. It happens. The best way to prevent it is to remove the lead sinkers so they don't swallow them - not to stop taking your kid fishing. On your aviary you do the same thing. You remove the weld splatters so your bird won't eat them.

(it is frustrating that I have to have this argument so often. I'm sorry if I sound know-it-all-ish or short tempered. If you are honestly worried about zinc and lead, just don't build an aviary, problem solved. I don't care either way. I am not invested in it either way except that I like to see parrots either left in the wild, or if they come from domesticated stock, I like to see them allowed to fly, bathe in large baths, and build nests. They love that.)

Here are my birds 5 minutes ago outside on my porch talking to passers by, cats, squirrels, and the wild birds feeding at my outside bird feeders.

and here they are 1 minute ago after I brought them in for the night. Note for scale that in each picture the door is 6 feet high and the cage us 8 feet high.