Theme: About aviaries in an urban area

In the following, some ideas are given - as well as advice on - what you can and should consider in connection with the establishment of an aviary. In addition, a small insight is given into my own aviary system, as it looked while I lived in an urban area, i.e. from the time before I moved to a house in the country in 2017/18, where I realized a childhood dream and had a new birdhouse built with a large surrounding aviary.

The starting point is that when you keep birds in human care, you have the responsibility to look after and care for them in the best possible way, since they are, after all, living beings. You must therefore also offer the birds the best possible place to stay, which, all else being equal, is an aviary rather than a cage. The closer this place of residence is to the birds' natural living conditions, the better the birds will thrive. Therefore, a spacious outdoor aviary is the optimal place to stay for birds in human care, as here they can enjoy sun, wind and rain on an equal footing with fellow species that live in the natural biotope. Since Denmark, where I live, is located in the northern hemisphere and has a temperate coastal climate, it is generally not as hot in this country compared to many of the species' original homelands, and the number of hours of sunshine is less than in the tropical and subtropical regions. Therefore, in relation to the vast majority of parrot species, it will be necessary for them to have access to an indoor living room in an insulated house, which should preferably be able to be heated (depending on the species that you keep).

Through generations of residence under our skies, many parrot species have become acclimatized and thus considerably more robust. Therefore, some species can be kept without necessarily offering them indoor facilities during the winter. However, it is important to emphasize that you absolutely must not put the life and health of the birds at risk, and if you keep your birds outdoors all year round, they must of course also be protected from the weather, as prescribed in the Animal Welfare Act (as far as Denmark is concerned).

For my own part, I am privileged enough to keep birds in outdoor aviaries. Rather than having only one large combined aviary in one place in the garden, I have earlier chosen to divide the aviary into smaller units spread over different locations in the garden. It offers both advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that feeding is a little more time-consuming, but on the other hand, there are a number of advantages associated with such a physical division, including:

• It is better to avoid the unnecessary spread of any infectious diseases (by the way, I always feed my birds in one, fixed order, so that, if necessary, I am able to track possible routes of infection).
• You can keep different species without them bothering each other either visually or sound-wise.
• You can move the birds around if a certain species should bother your neighbors or behind neighbors.
• You can place selected parts of the facility in the places in the garden where you believe that you will be able to benefit best from the birds and at the same time ensure that they will thrive optimally, e.g. at the garden's natural resting places.

I name my 3 aviaries A, B, and C. Aviary A contains 3 open-air aviaries with associated box cages and indoor aviaries. It is reserved for those species that in winter need access to a dry and heated birdhouse. Aviary facility B is for the species that are most thrifty and that have no problems being kept outdoors all year round. However, these aviaries are built with fixed outer walls and - like the aviaries in the A facility - have a roof that covers the entire aviary to avoid frost on the perches. In the winter months, acrylic sheets are installed on the upper part of the front of the aviaries. Aviary system C is for those birds that can also be kept outdoors all year round, but which need extra protection in the form of a closed thermal roof over the aviary and extra shelter options. All birds in the aviaries B and C - regardless of species and size - also have access to special sleeping boxes that provide additional protection and security.

After keeping birds for many years, I continue to insist that the birds must be kept in orderly and hygienic conditions, so I have come to the realization that the way forward - to still be able to comply with this requirement - is to limit myself. Under the conditions at the time, where I had full-time work, I therefore put a "ceiling" on the number of feeding places that I could manage to take care of properly. I set a maximum of 15 feeding places in total, which allowed me to properly care for the birds and keep their aviaries, water and feed bowls, etc., neat and clean.

A little look at aviary A (the outdoor unit), smaller aviary made of square iron profiles that have been galvanized.

Outdoors or indoors?

If you visit certain leading aviculturists in Europe who keep some of the smaller parrot species, you can sometimes find that several of them have set up breeding systems for a number of parrot species. Here, the birds live either in small box cages that are built up and down the walls of a bird house or in smaller aviaries that almost have the character of being small "booths". These birds are sadly enough never exposed to direct daylight nor are they allowed to feel the sun, as they always live in artificial light, which means that they cannot form important vitamins via the sunlight's influence on the plumage. Bearing in mind that it is a hobby, I personally find it difficult to come to terms with the idea that the birds go under such "production-like" conditions, where they never feel the warmth and life-giving rays of the sun.

I am a supporter of all birds - as far as possible - being offered a spacious outdoor aviary. It must be emphasized that of course you should not "experiment" with keeping birds outdoors all year round, unless you are absolutely certain that these are species that are fully capable of living in such conditions, e.g. achieved through gradual habituation.

Should you build the aviary yourself "from scratch" or buy a prefabricated aviary in standard dimensions?

The answer to this question naturally depends on many factors, not least one's wallet, actual needs and personal prerequisites.

If you have "the right hands", you can choose to build your own aviaries in wood or metal. There are books which deal exclusively with aviary construction, e.g. the Danish book, "The Book of Aviaries", by P. O. Holm-Jørgensen, which was published as early as 1985 (ISBN 87-88455-85-8), which gives many excellent instructions on the easiest way to design and build your own aviary based on many years of experience. In this way, you can avoid making serious mistakes and thus unnecessary annoyances. A wooden aviary can be incredibly beautiful if the craftsmanship is in order, but partly it requires a lot of maintenance, partly wooden aviaries are not the best solution for parrots, at least not when it comes to species of a certain size, as the tree can quickly be damaged by the parrots' curved beaks, which they make extensive use of. Also, remember that wooden aviaries for parrots must never be built from pressure-treated wood, which contains many harmful toxins.

Prefabricated aviary systems

Today, as far as I know, you can no longer buy prefabricated aviary systems made of stained wood. On the other hand, over the years there has been a wide range of prefabricated aviary systems on the market, which are made of metal (of galvanized iron/steel or of aluminium). These aviary systems can either be purchased as modules in certain standard dimensions, or you can, for an extra payment, have the aviary designed in exactly the dimensions that suit your individual needs. Metal aviary systems can roughly be divided into 2 groups depending on the shape of the modules, which can either be round iron frames or square profiles to which wire mesh is attached. The latter is the one most often seen used by aviculturists, as an aviary system made of galvanized square profiles is simply more robust and stable, and the systems made of galvanized iron/steel are much more solid than aviary frames made of aluminium.

Some aviaries can contain many subtleties, e.g. can the doors of the aviaries be designed so that the door always closes itself when it is up to half open, in addition to which there is the possibility of locking the door from the inside, when e.g. must go in and catch a bird.

Planning of aviary facilities - dimensioning and configuration

When you design your aviary system, you must remember to take into account that your birds are breeding, which means that you must calculate to have excess capacity in the form of free aviaries for your future juvenile birds. This applies not least if you want to further breed the birds through targeted generational breeding. Having "excess" aviaries is probably one of the most difficult things an aviculturist can imagine, as you always want to acquire a few more birds, so here too the motto of being able to limit yourself applies.

Next, it must be possible to isolate your birds in quarantine and/or sick cages (aviaries), just as it can be a good idea to allocate space for the excess birds, including own offspring that you want to sell, i.e. an actual " sales aviaries”.

When designing the aviary, you must also consider whether you want to supplement this with an integrated feeding aisle, which can ensure that a bird never flies away if you are unlucky. At the same time, a feed aisle in front can also protect the birds against predatory bird attacks, which double wire mesh can of course also do. As far as the roof is concerned, I would - when we are talking about an aviary in an urban area - recommend that the entire net roof of the aviary is covered by a roofing e.g. in the form of PVC trapeze sheets or a transparent thermo roof. It protects in several ways, on the one hand it provides shelter and protects the birds from rain and winter hoarfrost, which can be very harmful to the birds' toes, on the other hand a roof covering protects against droppings from overflying wild birds with the problems that this can cause in connection with illness.

An aviary must, unless the birds freely can search into a birdhouse, always be able to offer the birds shelter, either in the form of fixed plates mounted on the sides of typically several aviary frames or by the aviary being built up against a wall. In addition, free-standing aviaries (i.e. aviaries without access to a closed interior in the form of a birdhouse) must have at least part of the roof covered with fixed opaque sheets where the birds can seek shade on hot summer days when the sun is high in the sky. Naturally, the same roof also provides protection in the event of rain and in winter in the event of snow.

If you use aviaries with a fixed roof, e.g. trapeze steel roof, it is important that the aviary is positioned correctly in relation to the position of the sun in the sky (you get the most exposure to the sun with south- and west-facing aviaries) and that these aviaries do not become too deep and thus very dark.

Some avicultirusts are supporters of the birds going in aviaries that are more like horse stalls, as the aviaries have fixed, closed side walls, and the birds can thus only look out through the front of the aviary. The background for this design is that it i.e. compared to some parakeets gives more peace during the breeding season, as they do not provoke each other, but instead look after their brood. I am not a fan of this as it seems cold and too "factory oriented" to me. The birds also need something to happen in their everyday life and to experience something. After all, they are living beings, but you also don't need to put species that can directly be a nuisance to each other in aviaries next to each other. When I use fixed side walls, I therefore use it only on the back half of the aviary (where the nest box is hung), whereas the front part is covered with double wire mesh with the proper distance between the two sides, so that the birds cannot do damage by biting each other's toes, etc.

Photo of aviary facility B, which consists of outdoor aviaries for the most robust species or species that only have to stay here during the summer.

When choosing wire mesh, you must of course take into account whether you want to switch to other species in the long term than those that you currently keep. E.g. is it not useful to keep the large Cockatoos or Macaws in aviaries fitted with ordinary wire mesh, e.g. 1.45 mm thickness. Medium and large parrot species should use a minimum wire mesh thickness of 2.05 mm. The very large Macaws and Cockatoos, e.g. Green-Winged Macaw (Ara chloropterus) requires specially made aviary with very thick wire mesh. In general, the wire mesh must also be so solid that foxes and large birds of prey cannot destroy it.

Aviaries, including actual aviary systems, are typically built as rectangular structures, and they can be built up against a wall or an actual birdhouse. Detached aviaries, e.g. a 6-sided free-standing aviary can be decorative in the garden and can house the bird species that are fully acclimatized to the local climate, and which can therefore be kept outside all year round. However, a 6-sided aviary is not very practical in everyday life and does not give the birds the same development opportunities as a rectangular aviary.

Regardless of the type of aviary that you build, you must make sure that you do things right from the start and preferably have a concrete slab foundation cast on which the aviary can be mounted, so that no pests, including mice and rats, can enter the construction. Mice can crawl through wire mesh with even a very small mesh size, which is why it is recommended that the lower part of the aviary, which is attached to the concrete slab foundation, for approximately 40 - 50 cm high, instead made up of steel plate around the entire perimeter of the aviary.

If you do not create a proper and pest-proof foundation from the start, sooner or later you will regret it, as there is a great risk of being visited by pests that can either kill the birds in the aviary or expose the birds to infectious diseases via the vermin's faeces.

Here a 6-sided aviary with 3 fixed wall panel modules on the back, and which on the 3 front net modules above are provided with transparent acrylic sheets to create additional shelter and shelter from wind and weather. The roof itself is made of solid steel sheets, which in addition to shelter and bedding also provide shade for birds during the summer months, when the sun is at its peak.

Birdhouse

When planning to build a bird house, the most important thing is of course to provide the birds with spacious box cages/indoor aviaries, but in addition it is important to focus on two other very crucial points, namely:

• that the birdhouse should be bright inside, and
• that it must be easy to clean.

It is important that the birdhouse is bright inside, so that the daylight that shines in through windows/skylight windows is reflected as best as possible. In addition, a bright birdhouse seems more welcoming, which is also important, since as an aviculturist you always spend a lot of hours here. If you keep species that thrive best in darker conditions, you can e.g. paint the colours of the interior with a darker paint or set up natural branches with leaves in the front wire mesh. At the same time, the birdhouse must be constructed with as few cracks and crevices as possible, so that you can avoid - or easily get rid of - possible vermin (red blood mites - Dermanyssus gallinae) that are very annoying to the birds. Red blood mites hide during the day in gaps, cracks and crevices, and from there attack the birds when it gets dark.

It is important that both the aviaries and the birdhouse itself are built on a concrete slab foundation that is pest-proof.

In the birdhouse, you must also take into account having access to good, ergonomic facilities for cleaning water and feed bowls as well as for preparing feed, etc. Cleaning these things must be completely separate from one's own household. In practice, this means that there must be a table or base cabinet with access to running water, where you can stand and clean feed and water bowls as well as arrange the day's feed plan. Alternatively, in the summer you can use a dedicated outdoor kitchen and waste water from this can be used to irrigate certain parts of your ornamental garden. At the serving table, it is also important to have the necessary shelf and cupboard space for feed, extra water and feed bowls, etc.

Since access to daylight will be limited at least during the winter months, the birdhouse should also be illuminated with the sufficient number of lumens in the form of daylight-corrected lighting. The length of the light periods must of course depend on the season (longest in winter), and it is important that the birds can move into a lighted birdhouse from late in the afternoon when it is dark outside in the winter. The birds do not move into a darkened birdhouse. If you only keep the birds indoors, this naturally places other, high demands on the lighting, including the possible use of ultraviolet light to be able to compensate for the sun's rays, but only for a few minutes at a time(!), as otherwise serious damage can occur. Ultraviolet light affects the birds' skin and vitamin and mineral metabolism. In any case, night lighting must be provided via a wake-up lamp, which can be made up of a coloured light bulb. Both day and night lighting can be controlled via on/off timers with a certain transition period between day and night, unless you have a solution where daylight gradually fades into night lighting.

If you insulate your birdhouse, you achieve a much greater utility value from it, as it will then be able to be heated. On the one hand, you can keep even more species that are sensitive to cold, and on the other hand, as an aviculturist, you will also benefit more from it, as you can simply stay for a longer time in a heated birdhouse during the winter.

As water and feed bowls, I prefer to use stainless steel bowls, as they are the easiest to clean. Birds with access to indoor spaces are always fed indoors in the box cage/aviary. Outdoor feeding is not recommended, as it can attract vermin, as it is a problem in times of Avian Influenza, so water and feed bowls must always be covered and typically raised from ground level.

Theft protection of birdhouses and aviaries is a separate chapter which will not be covered here.

Aviary facility C is a super nice aviary facility with a thermo roof, which provides extra protection in the winter. The facility contains many finesses, i.a. the aviary is designed in such a way that the door always closes itself when it is up to half open, and it is possible to lock the door from the inside. Also note how the wire mesh is nicely stretched out on the net frames, as the manufacturer uses extra transverse posts in the aviary frames to attach this.

Indoor living space

In the birdhouse itself, living spaces for the birds can be arranged either in the form of box cages or indoor aviaries - alternatively both - depending on the birds' needs. You can build the birds' living space completely according to your own measurements, whereby even the most individual needs can be met. I have e.g. built box cages, where intermediate walls can be taken down, so that the individual box cage can be larger.

Rather than making front frames from wood attached to wire mesh, I have also chosen to use individually adapted square profiles for this purpose, but from aluminium, which I think fits better indoors. In addition to being much easier to clean, it also has the advantage that the parrots (apart from the very large species) will not be able to bite this material, and it is not much more expensive.

Box cages – self-build versus prefabricated

Free-standing box cages or breeding racks (i.e. built-in box cages) can be used as a temporary place of residence for small bird species, e.g. during a breeding season. Box cages are often used by breeders who want to raise their birds under strictly controlled conditions.

If you have “the right hands”, you can make your own box cages. Alternatively, you can buy prefabricated box cages, which are usually delivered in kits. There are up to several excellent manufacturers of box cage systems on the market, e.g. the Dutch company, GEHU.

After further investigation of a number of these different manufacturers, I myself have chosen to purchase the Dutch GEHU box cage system. This is primarily related to 2 factors, on the one hand it maintains a very high level of craftsmanship and has a nice finish, and on the other hand the design of this system has thought about even the smallest detail. E.g. standard nest boxes can be installed in the cages, which can easily be pulled out via a rail system through the front part of the cage when nest box inspections are to be carried out. Metal doors are also included, which you can use for the front part when you are not using the nest boxes.

The GEHU box cage system is intended for bird breeders who want a substantial and practical place to live for breeding Budgerigars, Parrotlets and Lovebirds as well as small Grass Parakeets. It is easy to assemble, just as it is easy to clean with a wrung-out cloth containing soapy water.

An extra drawer bottom is included for when you need to change the bottom layer, so that the replacement can take place as smoothly as possible, which is also a smart idea.

You can buy various spare parts for the system, just as you can buy a number of additional products, e.g. a metal base, alternatively a base cabinet with sliding doors and various drinking machines, feed bowls, flight cages, transport cages, sick cages, etc.

In addition to the GEHU box cage system being very functional and practical, it also looks great in a birdhouse, BUT AS MENTIONED, IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS A TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION FOR THE BIRDS. The GEHU box cage system is available in 2 different heights and 3 different lengths, and for the sake of the birds, I have always chosen to acquire the largest model to ensure the most space possible, BUT SUCH A CAGE MUST NEVER BECOME A PERMANENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE FOR THE BIRDS, BECAUSE IT SIMPLY IS TOO SMALL.

Example of a GEHU breeding rack after it has been partially put into use.

Stimulation of natural behavior

Over the past decades, the leading Zoos worldwide have increasingly focused on the value of not only offering wild animals, including birds, biotopes in human care that resemble the individual species' living conditions in nature as best as possible. There has also been an increasing focus on the value of stimulating the various animal species, including birds, during their stay in captivity. Therefore, I believe that aviculturists must also do their part to stimulate parrots and parakeets in human care. Such stimulation of course depends on the individual species, its behaviour pattern, etc., as there is a big difference in the requirements, which e.g. a Grey-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus) and a Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) pose to thrive optimally in human care.

The Grey-headed Lovebird is a very shy bird, and therefore a secluded aviary filled with natural branches bearing leaves is absolutely optimal for this species. The Scarlet Macaw will thrive if one wall of the aviary consists of pieces of rock that it can move around in, which is part of its natural environment and which, among other things, can be seen in Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands. A common denominator for the stimulation of the two very different species will, however, sometimes be to "hide" seeds and other treats just under the surface of the bottom layer, as it is natural for many parrot species to forage on the ground (but only in limited portions that must be able to be absorbed on daily basis) and you must be aware of the risk of intestinal worms. To create variety, treats and seeds must of course be placed in different places, and of course not under the perches.

Frequent replacement of natural branches will also be appreciated by the birds. It is pure pleasure to see almost all species pounce on new natural branches. To create variety, these branches can be placed in different places in the aviary. You can also set up a bundle of hay, which the birds can spend many hours tearing into pieces. A large natural stone on the bottom of the aviary can also help to create variety.

A large water bowl that allows the birds to bathe is indispensable in any outdoor aviary, almost regardless of species, but the water must be replaced on a daily basis.

In conclusion, it must be stated that of course you should not constantly go and make changes to the birds’ aviaries during the breeding season, especially not if it is a question of shy species.

Furnishing of the aviary

You have to start from what kind of species you have, and let the aviary be arranged accordingly. If you keep Eclectus parrots (genus Eclectus) the aviary must offer good and varied opportunities to crawl, whereas e.g. Superb Parrot (genus Polytelis) must have the most optimal flight options. However, you must be aware that the young birds of certain parrot species are so shy after flying out of the nest box that - if they are startled - without thinking about anything else, they take off from the perch at one end of the aviary and fly at full speed towards the end wall with high risk of breaking the neck. The length of the aviary must therefore be adapted to this fact, so that the birds do not achieve too high a speed through the aviary.

When setting up the aviary itself, I use galvanized antenna tubes placed in the ground to place fresh natural branches in, in addition to which I use either round perches with different diameter sizes (to avoid the birds' musculature in the feet being fixed) or natural branches at both ends of the aviaries to provide the birds with the most optimal flight opportunities. Natural "swings" in the form of natural branches suspended from a hook in the wire mesh roof are very popular resting places for many parrot species.

I also use a system for hanging nest boxes on an aluminum profile rail, so that - depending on the number of birds and needs - there can be fewer or more nest boxes. The nest boxes can also easily be taken down when nest box inspections are to be carried out. I devised this system myself and I can have either large, medium or small nest boxes hanging on the same metal rail as needed.

Of course, you must also pay attention to where you place the perches in relation to water and feed bowls, so that the birds cannot sit from resting places and make them dirty.

As a base material I use 0.4 mm hill gravel. This bottom material is easy to disinfect with a weed burner at the end of a deworming treatment for the birds. Some aviculturists use wood chips at the bottom of their outdoor aviaries, which I would strongly advise against, as fungal spores can form, which are harmful to the health of the birds. In addition, you cannot disinfect the bottom in connection with a worming treatment, which means that the birds can quickly risk being infected again with endoderm parasites.

Planting can usually be ignored when it comes to parrots and parakeets, as this usually does not last very long. For certain species, however, it is possible to plant the aviary, and here you can e.g. use elephant grass, pampas plants and different types of bamboo. You must be very careful not to use plants that are toxic to the birds, and note that what is not toxic to humans may be toxic to the birds. You cannot therefore, unless it is a question of very large aviaries, have actual ornamental planting in the aviaries, as is the case, for example known from Tropical birds like Finches.

To the extent that you use logs, natural branches, twigs, you should of course never use it from places that have been exposed to pesticides or have been subjected to any kind of pollution, it can be life-threatening for the parrots, who love to gnaw on these natural materials. Never bring natural branches into the aviary from areas where there has been an Avian Influenza outbreak and only use fresh branches, not branches that have been lying on the forest floor. If possible, make sure to rinse natural branches before setting them up and never set up branches on which there are visible droppings from wild birds.

Aviary facility C as it looks after birds have been moved in.

Establishment versus maintenance

It is always easiest to establish an aviary, as it is a new and exciting project in itself. It becomes more difficult when the aviary is first completed together with the birdhouse, as it has to be maintained in daily life - year after year. The maintenance consists of:

• Building maintenance, which is however limited to the birdhouse itself if the aviaries themselves are made of metal.
• Aviaries and the birdhouse must be regularly cleaned, i.e. kept neat and clean, partly for health reasons, but also for visual reasons.
• Make sure you always maintain a high level of cleaning hygiene and be diligent about subsequently disinfecting materials, etc.

In conclusion, it must be mentioned that of course you can only offer the birds the best conditions based on your own conditions and prerequisites, therefore it is also important to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others in the area, so that you can get the greatest possible value from your investment in the aviary.

Jorgen Petersen

Conceived/Updated: 20.06.2010 / 16.01.2024

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