Outdoor aviary questions

[goalerjones]

I know this would be a cages post but I wanted a better viewing so I posted here.

My vet suggested an outdoor aviary for Hahnzel to help him become more "bulletproof" anxiety-wise. Allowing him to get acclimated to life's sights and sounds to help his skittishness and resulting overgrooming. And to keep him from being bored inside all day while I'm at work.

To keep him safe, as a Hahns macaw, what bar spacing should it have?

Does an aviary dissipate heat? I live in Southern California and it can get hot.

How do I put him in/take him out safely?

Insect management? Ants, mites, mice, etc?

 

[MonicaMc]

You might try contacting Nyla Copp with My Birdie Buddy. She has quite a bit of experience dealing with birds that have FDB and creating outside aviaries for them.


You could always build the aviary onto your home, attached to a back door or window, thus no need to worry about transferring between inside and out. You could also use a harness or a carrying cage to transfer.

You may want to consider a sprinkler system that turns on when it gets to a certain temperature, plus shade in some form. (tree, roofing, etc)

You can double wire an aviary for extra safety - with 1" or more between the wires (or even walking space between the wires!)



Shouldn't need to worry about bugs *too* much... well, they can potentially be their own enrichment as some parrots do enjoy chasing bugs and even eating them! (eeeeewwww!)




If he's not comfortable going outside though, it may potentially cause more harm than good.... so if you go that route, you'll probably want a lot of aviary safe plants for hiding!

 

[goalerjones]

You might try contacting Nyla Copp with My Birdie Buddy...



If he's not comfortable going outside though, it may potentially cause more harm than good.... so if you go that route, you'll probably want a lot of aviary safe plants for hiding!

I saw her link on the cages thread.

He used to be okay, but because I hate our backyard, should I say our dust bowl, I don't go out there very much. As a result he became more fearful of the noises and movements out there.