Building Indoor and Outdoor Aviaries & Aviary Environments

From smaller walk-in flights for indoor environments to larger outdoor aviaries and flights, ideas from parrot owners and breeders are sampled here. Their input is appreciated and dedicated to the welfare of cage birds. A great forum for this subject is the Yahoo "NATURALBIRD" group.

This is an easy, inexpensive and quick-to-setup aviary to give your indoor birds the benefit of fresh air, sunshine and exercise while being supervised by you. It is by no means a secure enclosure meant for the birds to be in without a close eye on them. This is a very sturdy 2-inch game bird netting by J. Sissal. This makeshift aviary is sort of a wrap around with potted blueberries and a few bricks holding the netting down. The netting was stapled to the existing grape arbor. It can be rolled up or removed easily. It was a 20 minute install costing only $75.

The birds are all eating spearmint from my organic garden here. That's chamomile from my garden. I grow the birds safe flowers to play with and herbs to rips to shreds. I constantly give them chew toys from out of my garden - rosemary, roses, fruit tree trimmings, herbs etc. This is also a great place for them to get mist baths and easy to sweep out. My goal is to build a playpen over my almond tree. This outdoor area is very calming for them. We even had a hummingbird nest make their home in here through the open roof*. We all enjoyed watching the babies. *PLANNED PARROTHOOD® suggests having the top netted or enclosed somehow too or doing this over a solid roofed porch or deck. This can also be made more critter-proof by attaching the netting to a wooden frame on the bottom.

Tony Silva is a long term expert bird breeder and author of several books including his latest most comprehensive book for pet owners and breeders alike: "PSITTACULTURE". These are front views of the aviaries, showing the covered part and the tropical foliage all around. The sidewalk is a well as we are putting in irrigation for the plants and planting an area for bromeliads. So much more has been done since these photos were entered. You can find Tony on FaceBook.

  
  

Angela Herschel shows a fully garden planted aviary kept interesting with lots of perches. View more photos and information on safe plants at NATURAL BIRD site. Angela credits the "NATURALBIRD" list for all she's learned about aviaries.

  

Karen Wingrove shares her aviary from conception art on a napkin to the finished product. Thank you, Karen. The following are detailed notes from Karen on each construction phase.

Cement footer all the way around with cement slab on the southwest - to store lawn mower. Redwood and Hardiplank, safety door onto long patio slab. Hardiplank to break wind/rain/sun on west and southwest side. Wire is Galvanized After Welding (GAW) 1'x1'. Had to have it shipped from Florida. Did we decide to make the sides 8 feet? Maybe. This is my handyman - used to be a teacher and an investment counselor, and his son. The father is now my shaman. He's studied with shamans in Peru. He terraced my whole back yard himself - removing railroad ties, moving dirt around building retaining walls.

Interior planted with grass. Two roof sections darkened with Hardiplank, two more with shade cloth. Balance open (east, north and northwest). Weathervane is a macaw (from neat site online). Apple tree on Southwest corner. Have added mulberry bushes inside and out, a Pistache tree on the southeast side, a New Mexico olive on the south, a patio cover on the west side of the patio. It needs painting again - or staining or whatever you do to redwood and Hardiplank. Probably both.