How to Make Part of a Room Into an Aviary
If your life is for the birds -- literally -- and you’re serious enough about your avocation to devote part of a room to house your winged pets, there are plenty of ways to create an attractive aviary. To avoid spending thousands of dollars to accomplish the project (see Resources), bring out your carpentry tools so your feathered friends can nest in a wonderful living space while you enjoy high-flying entertainment in the bargain. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Latex paint
- Tiles or linoleum
- Masking tape
- Carpentry tools
- Chicken fencing or nylon mesh
- Lumber or PVC piping
- Wire
- Tree branches
- Dowels
- Food/water dishes
Instructions
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Prepare the space. Paint walls with latex paint, so if your birds decide to picnic on wall chips, they don’t get sick. If there’s carpet in the room, pull it up and install easy-to-clean tiles or linoleum. Check the room’s ventilation. Sequestering your birds in a room with badly sealed windows that cause drafts can make birds sick or worse, but that doesn’t mean they won’t love a window with a view. Seal off electrical outlets, switches and phone outlets.
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Walk off the portion of the room you’ve allocated to the aviary and mark it with masking tape. Professionals suggest making your full flight structure at least 6 feet deep, 3 feet wide and ceiling height, but if you have the room to make a larger aviary -- or if your bird collection consists of big species like parrots and macaws -- make your aviary as big as room allows, particularly if you plan to construct a waterfall or nesting platforms within the cage.
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Frame up the area with untreated redwood lumber or use PVC piping to do the job so your aviary’s infrastructure survives beaks and claws. Your PVC or wood frame must be attached to walls and the ceiling so birds can't escape; some aviary builders attach framing to the floor, too, using appropriate hardware. Next, stretch chicken fencing, nylon mesh or an aviary-specific caging material across the expanse, securing it with sturdy, bird-proof wire and/or nails. You'll need access to the aviary for cleaning, so either create a flap in the screening that can be secured when it's not being used, or you can install a screen door to make your job easier.
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Furnish the interior of your aviary. Tall, natural tree branches and tree trunks seated in pails or pots and secured with cement give birds plenty of natural material to enjoy, and since you’re using natural branches, they probably haven’t been sprayed with pesticides. In addition to trees, install perches for your birds made of thick dowels. Every bird should have its own perch, and if you install them high up in corner sections of your aviary, your birds will hang out on them regularly.
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Place large dishes for food on the floor in the center of the cage. Oversized terracotta planter dishes make great food bowls, but pay attention to where they’re stationed. If you put the bowls below perches, your birds will inadvertently soil their food supply and things will get messy. Ditto water bowls. Since you’re creating a walk-in aviary, add a plastic birdbath to the interior so your birds don’t try to bathe in their drinking water.
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Check with a bird specialist or consult a textbook on bird behaviors before you fill your room-sized aviary with too much stuff or too many birds. If things get too crowded, you’ll witness aggressive bird behavior. Keep the room thermostat set at a comfortable temperature year-round, and use a fan if things get sticky. Now that you’ve accomplished this project, it’s time to sit back and enjoy your hard work.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure there's a water supply in close proximity to the aviary room. You can use a hose to clean the cage and refill water bowls.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
