If you want to make sure your parrot gets to live a happy and healthy life, you have to provide it with good food, proper attention, and a good environment for it to live in. In that regard, it is important for you to provide a really good home for your parrot to live in because of how its overall mood, happiness, health, and temperament can be tied in to its living conditions and to the immediate environment around it.
Parrot aviaries are now very popular in the avian community today as many people raising and taking care of parrots are realizing how beneficial aviaries are to the parrot’s overall health and mood. These types of homes seem to be growing in popularity and use nowadays, especially for those who are keeping more than one parrots.
So, if you want to get to know more about parrot aviaries and how to build one for your parrots, here are the things you need to know:
What is a parrot aviary?
If you want to know what this is in the simplest of ways, a parrot aviary is quite easy just a parrot cage that is made to be quite large to the point that it gives the parrots a big enough home to live in so that they can feel free to roam and fly around it. Parrot aviaries come in all sorts of sizes and designs, but they are essentially just large cages that are about more than five times the size of the usual cage you have at home.
A parrot aviary, unlike the conventional parrot cage, is quite simply too large to keep inside the house. That is why these aviaries were made for the purpose of keeping them outdoors instead of indoors. However, there are also aviaries that are small enough to keep inside the house but are still supposed to be kept outdoors, or else it essentially defeats the purpose of what an aviary is and what it should be.
What are the benefits of a parrot aviary?
Parrot aviaries have plenty of benefits that are so good that they have convinced many different people in the avian community that it might be better for them to switch to a parrot aviary rather than using the conventional parrot cage. If you want to be convinced as well, here are some of the benefits of a parrot aviary:
They will have a direct exposure to the sunlight
Since parrot aviaries were designed to be placed outdoors rather than indoors, your parrots will have a direct exposure to the sunlight as opposed to when they are kept indoors. The direct exposure to sunlight helps in allowing them to produce vitamin D3, which is important for calcium absorption. And if you do not know, calcium helps keep the parrot’s beak, bones, and feather healthy and strong. Sunlight is also good for supporting the parrot’s overall immune system and may also be able to help kill bacteria on the bird’s skin and toys.
The larger space will allow them to feel a sense of freedom
Parrot aviaries are huge compared to the usual cages that parrots are kept in. Most parrot aviaries are at least five times bigger than the usual parrot cage. As such, placing a single parrot in an aviary will allow it to feel a sense of freedom it probably does not feel when it is housed in an ordinary cage. This is still true even though there are more than one parrots in an aviary, as such parrots will still have enough space to roam and fly around.
Your parrot will be able to exercise and move around freely inside the aviary
The extra space given by the parrot aviary will allow the parrot to exercise and move around at will inside its home. In that sense, it does not need to be let out of its cage for it to have the space it requires to play, exercise, and flap its wings around. However, do take note that it is still important that you allow the parrots to spend some time outside of the aviary under your supervision because they still need to interact with you and the outside environment from time to time.
Your parrots will be able to live as a family
Parrot aviaries are so large that, depending on the species and size of the birds, you can possibly fit three or more parrots inside it. As such, you can definitely host an entire family of parrots in one single aviary. This will allow the parrots to freely interact, socialize, and play with another while learning how to live a life of interdependence with one another. After all, parrots are naturally social animals that require some sort of interaction with their fellow parrots and with their owner.
What You Need to Build Your Own Parrot Aviaries
Materials
When you are planning on building a parrot aviary, choose the materials wisely because these will serve as the backbone of the aviary’s structure and will also have a direct impact on your birds’ health as parrots are known to be chippers that will try to use their beak to break open the cage. And when your parrots try to chip their way, there is a chance that they will end up ingesting toxic substances coming from the materials you used for the aviary.
Weather
The weather conditions in your area are quite important when you are planning on building an aviary. That is because birds are supposed to live in a climate that is warm and humid. So, if you happen to stay in a region where the climate and weather conditions are usually too cold and dry for your bird, then you might want to reconsider building an aviary.
Predators
You have to be wary of the potential predators in your area if you want to build a parrot aviary. There will always be predators lurking somewhere in most residential areas and will probably try to open the aviary to get to your birds. Such predators include feral cats, larger birds of prey, and even escaped reptiles.
Constructing the parrot aviary
Parrot aviary construction is oddly pretty similar to constructing or putting up a cage for your parrots.
Step 1: Choosing the materials
In terms of materials used, we don’t really prefer using metals because of how they contain toxic substances and chemicals. Instead, wood might be your best option. The wood should serve as the base and the foundation of the entire cage. Meanwhile, you should use zoo mesh to serve as the panels that you will be used as the cage bars for the aviary. Placing a door that is big enough for a person might be a good idea so that you can freely enter and exit the aviary if you are cleaning it or if you are maintaining the furnishings inside.
Step 2: The Design
The design of the aviary, as well as its size, is all up to your standards and preferences. However, we prefer that you go for a rectangular design that has dimensions of at least 5 x 5 x 3 feet to provide the parrots with enough space to freely roam around. Of course, the entire structure should have a sturdy roof to protect the parrots from the elements. The roof should be able to withstand corrosion in case it rains and must be placed firmly on top of the aviary so that it won’t get blown away by strong winds.
Step 3: Putting things together
Build the base of the aviary first by using wood, which is non-toxic and safe for your birds. If you are planning on a 5 x 5 x 3 aviary, carefully measure the dimensions of the wood you are using and then put them all together using nails or bird-safe liquid nails. The posts should be made of wood as well due to how sturdy and safe it is for your birds.
The panels of the entire aviary should be placed around the wooden foundations and posts. Mesh might be a better option for you because of how it allows for more airflow. You can use metal wires for putting the mesh panels around the wooden posts, but make sure to cut off any excess wire so as to keep your birds safe from any possible danger.
When placing the roof, make sure that is about four inches wider and longer than the entire cage so as to make sure that the cage is protected well from the elements. To attach the roof, you should add wooden beams on top of the wooden posts to serve as the base for the roof. Attaching the roof is as simple as using nails or liquid nails to attach the roof on the wooden beams.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy our tutorial? Remember that aviaries are simply bigger and outdoor-safe cages that should be made to survive the elements and the dangers of the outdoors. That means that you should always go for the sturdiest and safest materials possible when building parrot aviaries.
