Hey everyone,
So sorry for the “Hit and Run”. I’ve been so swamped at work that I haven’t had time to send a reply till now….
Thanks so much for the compliments on my kids. All five were rescue’s with challenging past (that’s a story for another post) and it’s taken us a number of years to get to such a happy place, so I’m very proud of them.
Regarding the Aviary, I wish I could take credit for the structure but I didn’t build from scratch, it was a rehab. Here’s the story:
Found it:
I came across an advert on Craig’s list advertising what looked like a bird house for FREE to anyone who could figure out how to move it. It was built on site and the home was sold. The home owner had a week to remove it or tear it down prior to closing and hadn’t had any takers. When I went to see it I understood why.
The structure weighs apx 3K pounds and was built in an area that was very difficult to access. It needed a lot of rehab but the structure was sound so I started making calls. The first 3 movers that went to see it “politely” declined (after they stopped laughing). I called one more mover and explained that no one thought it was moveable. I think he took that as a personal challenge, lol.
On moving day he arrived with a tractor trailer, massive flatbed trailer and 2 fork lifts. God bless him 3 hours later it was delivered in one peace.
Condition:
The structure was very solid and well-built but it needed a complete over haul, as it was built for small birds. It was divided into 4 enclosures with sheet rock and the homeowner was apparently remodeling his kitchen at the same time as there were 8 kitchen cabinet nest boxes nailed to the outside and the cabinet doors where repurposed as aviary doors. I think your starting to get the picture that it wasn’t to pretty.
Rehab:
I’ll try to give a description of what I did as this could really be done with any commercially made Gazebo for anyone interested but I’m not exactly a builder and winged it.
1. I started with demo and ripped it down to the studs, than started from the floor up. I removed the plywood floor exposing the support beams, went to Home Depot and found thin sheet metal that could be easily molded and cut with tin snips. I wrapped the floor joist with metal to protect from water and rot.
2. The structure is all wood, which my guys would make quick work of so I repeated the above process bottom to top, covering the wall joist. The ceiling was a bit harder so I took brown painter paper, traced out a pattern and cut the triangle pieces of sheet metal and attached with screws, basically protecting all wood surfaces from chewing.
3. I purchased a roll of GAW when the cage first arrived and left it outside to weather, so now cut and attached 4 pieces to divide the structure into 4 habitats. I secured it to floor and ceiling joist with a heavy duty staple gun.
4. Wrapping the outside of the cage was the hardest part as the structure is 12’ wide, 14. High. It was a real challenge to get the GAW tight enough. In the end I attached one end of the GAW to the structure, made a long 4 by 4 come along (thank you google) and attached it to a chain. I’m a city guy with no tractor as suggested, so I attached the free end of the chain to the bumper of my 2 seater convertible, pulled it tight and secured with screws.
5. Doors: This was quite a project considering I’m no handy man, but I cut out door openings, built frames out of wood and attached GAW to the inside. It’s taken a few design tries to protect the wood as my kids demolished the doors twice, lol.
6. Last step: I had one large support pole in the center of the aviary that needed to be protected and I needed to reinforce the GAW at the top and bottom of each habitat, so I used bamboo that I scored from someone cutting down a massive tree a few months ago. It was an afterthought but has become my favorite feature as it really softens the look of the GAW and lends a natural look.
7. It took quite a bit of time but I’m most proud of the interior spaces. I built out each habitat to match the needs of the bird it would house. My greenwing loves to climb, so her enclosure is filled top to bottom with a series of ladders that I made from bamboo, dragon wood and manazita. My B & G loves swings so he got a ton, my Catalina loves water so she got her very own “swimming pool” etc.
Again, I can assure you I am no carpenter or handy man so it really was a trial by error project. I started out with a screw driver, staple gun and fabric tape measure and just jumped in. Trust me, anyone can do it. I’m so happy with the result I’ve already picked my next project. I found a wooden kids jungle gym that I’m about to start. It’s one of those two story forts with a small balcony, slide and swing (another Craig’s list freebee). It is going to be an awesome Aviary for my Military!!
