which plants to choose?

[wildheart]

I am going to use my iguana as an example here, before you freak out, iguanas take up to a year to socialize (never tame), 1 + hours - hands on - every single day.

I had Forest (my iguana) since he was only 5 days old and I kept him in a cage until he was completely socialized. It is a huge problem to try and catch a tiny little monster that is as fast as lightning and as big as your thumb. Forest moved over to his room when he was 1 year and 2 months old and did not run away anymore. He sat with me every night and watched how Craig turned the room into a forest. It is VERY stressful for any animal or bird when they are chased and the only way to overcome this problem is by keeping them in a smaller cage until they are 'tame'.

Based on that Josh?, and as Barbara say, if I was you then I would first keep both birds in a smaller cage inside the house until they are completely tame. You can do the outdoor area while they are in your house and they can watch you do it. This will also insure that the transition from the small cage to the big living space will not be stressful on them.

In winter months you can also cover the ceiling so that cold air does not come in and the heater will keep it nice and warm. Or, you can even keep them in their cages inside the house when its freezing cold.

 

[wildheart]

I can see you building / creating this area while you have a parrot on each shoulder watching and telling you what to do.

I will NOT forgive you if you do this without documenting it with photos and showing us step by step!

 

[bogo1]

Josh
Ben has more background than I and you should definitely give more weight to his words than mine on this issue. We need more input from the folks with big walk in type aviaries.

I am feeling a bit sorry for you right now..not about your wonderful space ---on that issue I am green with jealousy ---but am sorry that I angled your "best plants " question into a " socialization of two parrots to new owner without a contained space" question. I promise to focus now as I think you have heard enough of our thoughts on the plus/minus of your overall plan and try to rethread your thread. My gals love our Gardenia. You would think that they would destroy it but while the man size plant has more nicks from them than a hot house plant, in general it looks great, is non toxic and the flowers look and smell heavenly.

 

[wildheart]

Barbara, I think you are seeing something very big, well a walk in aviary to me is VERY BIG. It is actually not that big at all, it is just 3x3 meters. Do you work with inches, I've got a converter on my phone..... it is 118 inches x 118 inches.

 

[bogo1]

Hi Jessica ...here I am trying to get Josh 's thread back on track and you ask me a space question! I think in feet in daily life and metric at medical center and when working overseas. 3 meters is about six feet by my reckoning. I think I am seeing it okay. Lots of space for plants and birds ....see Josh, I am trying !

 

[wildheart]

Hi Jessica ...

Who is Jessica?:54:

Josh himself started asking about heat + + +, I think he started realizing that there are a lot more factors to consider and I am sure there are still much more that we haven't even thought about yet.

In SA 6 feet is 1.8 meters. This place is getting bigger and bigger!

 

[josh011]

aha Barbara, thats not a problem at all as i dont have very much experience with birds and any input on any topic regarding this project is productive for me and extremely welcomed.

I used to have a budgie for quite a few years that was kept in my lounge area and created quite a lot of indoor seed and feather mess which drove my mother crazy.
I've loved birds since I was a young child and always wanted to buy another one however my mum was never in on the idea (for the record I'm 18 years old, if anyone happens to be curious)

And for that reason I was hoping this could be a strictly outdoor project. However, the idea of purchasing a cage and keeping the birds indoors and caged till they are tame enough and ready to be introduced to the light-court sounds like an extremely wise idea which i will very much consider.

(And also Barbara, 3 metres is a bit more like 9 or 10 feet )
-
although i just measured for the first time and its actually 2.5 x 2.5 metres or just over 8ft

And Ben, your optimism is great
and you should definitely take yourself up on the back room idea, sounds like it could be very successful.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Josh
Ben has more background than I and you should definitely give more weight to his words than mine on this issue.

LOL I SERIOUSLY doubt that, I just love the idea. When I was a kid I had a dream of having a giant net over my backyard and having a small tropical rain forest all to myself and the birds LOL. So I just get excited about these little projects. I know this is not a HUGE space, but it is bigger than most cages and you could definitely make something awesome of it

Also, I don't provide a sleep cage, not because I don't want to (I do want to), but because I don't have the space, or a spare room (this house is very busy). It would be better for my birds if I had one, because their sleep sometimes gets disturbed.

I am starting to lean towards your guys thinking about how a smaller cage may be a better idea (at least to start with) so that bonding is more successful. However, apart from the height of Josh's little courtyard, it really is just like a bird room, which many people have and have plenty of success with. Although, people with bird-rooms often provide a cage that the birds can call their own. Maybe the cages could actually be IN the 'aviary'??? When the weather is poor, they could just be wheeled in ??? (thinking as I type here LOL)

 

[bogo1]

Hi
Yep ...trying to move wildheart gradually to just how big ...wonderfully big...your space is an had a middle of night brain infarction and added my meters instead of multiplying.
A smaller sleeping cage with a play top placed on plastic runner for sleeping and foul weather and your semi weatherized glass room plus a "parronts" who is willing and able to create an amazing space. Sounds like parrot Paradise to me. With plants. Of course.

 

[bogo1]

Hey Josh,
Did you see Ben's idea ...small cage on wheels which can tuck unobtrusively into outside space, hold food, water be place for them to come back to at night to sleep covered and safe. Then you can roll the thing in when the weather really stinks.