Making an indoor aviary?

[haylo]

Hey all.
I recently moved my birds around in an attempt to kitty-corner some of the mess and they currently are now in their own little corner of my room. I was considering it before, but I'm wondering if it would be worth it to screen in that area (by creating some kind of a frame) and essentially creating a small indoor aviary for them.

The space is 3.5 ft. deep (when looking at it) and 5ft long, so it would be more square than rectangular.
(which is also why most commercially available indoor aviarys are too large for my space.)

I know I would have to use some kind of stainless-steel chicken wire (or powder-coated?) and find some kind of bars capable of holding it up.

I'm just wondering if its worth the work. Between my two, only one gets out frequently and Benji would live in his cage inside this indoor aviary regardless due to his vision issues. So, it would be a space mostly for Bailey alone (unless I ever get another bird, which since Bailey can be territorial I'm not sure is feasible for us.) and right now, I let him out in my room under supervision. Most of the time, he chills in a 31x20x37 (LxWxH) Kaytee cage - I am a student so he gets a good couple hours in the afternoons (roughly 3-5 hours before bedtime) but otherwise he enjoys the small amount of flight space in his cage. Bigger is always better, I'm just wondering if this particular project is worth the possible costs, (the careful attention I would need to pay for their health) and if it would really have a significant positive impact on him.

sorry for the long post! TIA.

 

[onamom]

Have you heard of Flock Talks on YouTube? She has some cool videos of making her own bird room and it turned out amazing! I wonder if it could maybe inspire you.

 

[haylo]

Have you heard of Flock Talks on YouTube? She has some cool videos of making her own bird room and it turned out amazing! I wonder if it could maybe inspire you.

I have not! I'll totally check it out though, thank you!!

 

[wrench13]

DIY'ing a SAFE parrot cage is rarely going to be cost effective. Sourcing, buying and shipping safe materials to build is often the reason. Never mind your time and tools needed. For budgies, I'd find the largest comm'l one with the smallest bar spacing. Spend the time you would have done all the above with your birdies!

 

[Zilga]

We've done it, by which I mean my husband did while I was on vacation. It was definitely more expensive than a large flight cage, so I wouldn't consider it to be a financial bargain, but the birds like it a lot (the tiels and bourkes are in it full-time now). We used half inch stainless mesh on wood framing, and the panels are all hinged to make it sufficiently modular to move around perches and things. The bottom is a rubber stall mat to protect the floor, and we installed a bird light in the box above the window. My favorite part is having revolving pigeon feeders, which are easy to clean and make it a lot easier to feed everyone without having to go around their tree stand. We also put in a shower chair that's mounted to the wall, but we barely use it since we got their room set up with better tree stands and bead curtains to keep everyone contained - now we just open the door to hang out! The tree stand is on wheels so we can roll it back and forth to change their butcher paper. We've rotated toys and moved some perches since I took that picture, but it'll give you the idea.

Things to keep in mind:
- stainless rather than galvanized metal since it's inside and the elements won't remove the extra zinc
- wood that isn't treated with harmful chemicals, nontoxic paint if you decide to paint it
- checking every gap possible gap because they are small and tricksy
- expecting that they will chew if there is any exposed wood so it will need to be maintained (hasn't been a huge problem for us yet but give it time)

 

[bug_n_flock]

I was gonna say wood is fine for budgie aviary, just make sure it's bird safe wood and keep an eye on it. They nibble/eat wood, but with the wood on the outside rather than the inside, they shouldn't be able to actually destroy it before you notice and can repair.

Besides, it gives them something extra to do