Outdoor netting

Ravoz · Dec 21, 2018

Hi all,

I have three macaws ( 2 x B&G and a Catalina), cages are just not for me anymore, as I would rather have these birds out and about more often than I have in the past.

I was thinking of placing a bird netting to cover the entire backyard and to give the birds free roam - for periods of the day.

Has anyone used bird netting in this way? if so, what type of netting was used and how effective is it against the dreaded macaw bite?

Thank you.

ChristaNL · Dec 21, 2018

As far as I know (and that is not very far- I am no professional): no netting will keep a determined (large) macaw in.

I've read about a few people using nets to give their birds some space-- but always supervised!

There are some manifacturers (in china of course) who claim their zoo-proof metal nets will hold everything... and they might ...

(personally I would go with normal heavy-duty mesh. Just because that is what I see around in the parrot enclosures in zoo's etc. , the special netting is only used for the semi-big cats, and they do not gnaw...)

noodles123 · Dec 21, 2018

I am not sure if this is the same thing, but my mom covered a blackberry bush in "bird netting" to keep out birds and squirrels. Then, one day she went out and found a bird with its head caught in it. He was still alive so she freed him and freaked out. She immediately began removing the netting after freeing the bird, only to find another one that had not been so lucky.

Anyway, that's my dark contribution to the discussion. lol

Hopefully the stuff you are wanting is the stuff used in outdoor aviaries and not the stuff from the garden center.

chris-md · Dec 21, 2018

noodles123 said:
I am not sure if this is the same thing, but my mom covered a blackberry bush in "bird netting" to keep out birds and squirrels. Then, one day she went out and found a bird with its head caught in it. He was still alive so she freed him and freaked out. She immediately began removing the netting after freeing the bird, only to find another one that had not been lucky

This is why I don’t use any netting here. I bought some to keep birds out of our pond so we could keep koi - those we were buying disappeared in less than 2 days (we live in the woods on 2 acres). Same day I bought it our neighbor had two stories of SNAKES being caught in them around here.

Tossed immediately. I don’t do snakes.

Netting in the backyard anywhere not likely a good idea. Precisely because of what Christa points out, unsupervised netting will not hold any macaw. And because wildlife will very likely get caught.

SailBoat · Dec 21, 2018

Great advise provided above!

When one consider enclosures for Large Parrots and Birds (think Eagles here), Zoo's use stainless steel cable with concrete foundation and enclosure. The reality is that you have a two-way problem that you are faced with: Keeping Mac's in and everything else (including Humans) out.

When you begin considering enclosures, you need to remember that most communities consider them as structures that fall under its Building Codes. Verify!

Jottlebot · Dec 22, 2018

Maybe an outdoor flight cage could be the way to go? I have one that I attach to the side of the house over my living room window so my Alexandrine and Mynah can fly in and out through the window (which was terrifying the first time. Everything in my body was shouting at me to get my bird AWAY from the open window!) I didn't want to have to take my birds outside to put them in the aviary, so having it over the window works for me. It was made by a specialist aviary company and I explained to them that I wanted to add to it as time goes by so they've made it so I can! That means I can add a little to it whenever I can afford it! If you did something like that maybe you could cover more and more of your garden as you go? It's winter here now and I've dismantled it for storage.

EllenD · Dec 22, 2018

"Netting" of any kind is a no-go for Macaws...They will either chew through it or get caught in it, not to mention that any critters that want to can also chew right through netting, as well as digging right underneath it to kill the birds. As Sailboat mentioned, you would have to dig a trench around your entire yard perimeter that is at least a foot deep, and then fill it with concrete in order to keep the critters out, especially if you'd be feeding them inside in it...

Anyone I know who has built an outdoor aviary or larger enclosure, including myself, has used some type of "Hardware Cloth", which is not "netting", but rather like flexible, metal wire that they can't chew through, and then some type of base/foundation that is down in the ground to prevent burrowing animals...

Outdoor netting

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