Build An Outdoor Bird Aviary
To build a simple floor-to-ceiling wire flight, start with the foundation. Texas aviculturist Mark Moore recommends concrete flooring for parrots. “Concrete floors can be hosed down, which makes them easy to clean,” he said.
For a more natural look, put a layer of sand, gravel or pine shavings over the concrete; then every couple days you scoop out the dirty sand or shavings. You may also want to leave “holes” in the concrete where to plant trees, shrubs or edible, nontoxic foliage for your pet birds to enjoy.
For softbills (lories, toucans, etc), a dirt floor aviary will also do, according to Moore. “Generally, I don’t recommend dirt floors for [parrots] because there’s a lot of parasites in the dirt, which can harm them,” he said. “The softbills, on the other hand, don’t tend to have as great of intensity of the health problems associated with the dirt that the hookbills do.”
After the frame is in place, use a galvanized, welded-wire cloth for the walls and roof. The wire spacing and gauge parameters depend on what size birds you are housing. “Finch aviaries would need small spacing between the wire, and a thinner gauge wire would be adequate,” McCawley said. “However, an aviary for a hyacinth macaw would require very heavy gage wire with larger spacing between the wire, so they do not get toes or beaks caught in a restrictive space.”
Choose a wire that’s a heavy enough gauge that the bird can’t break it apart. For large parrots such as macaws and cockatoos, Moore recommends using 10-gauge wire or heavier. Medium-size parrots, such as Amazons and African greys, should have at least 12 1/2-gauge wire. For smaller birds, such as cockatiels and budgerigars (budgies), you can probably get by with 16-gauge wire.
“I wouldn’t recommend going any thinner than 16 gauge,” Moore said. “If you go any thinner than that, you might have a problem where a branch falls out of a tree and hits the cage, and that can actually bend a wire and open up a seam on the cage and allow the birds to escape.”
Another important detail is the entrance to your aviary. You may want to use a pre-made, ready-to-hang door from a building supply store (even a shower door will do), or make your own. In most cases, double doors are recommended to prevent escapes.
