Hello

[tigercars]

Hello

I have just signed up to this forum so thought I had better say "HELLO"

I am really new to all of this so am really trying to find some info on setting up and starting out, so any advice or good links are really appreciated!

At the moment I am assessing the room in my garden and if it is possible, can anyone tell me the minimum sort of size i should try to make my aviary and does it have to have an inside (wondered if just nest boxes are sufficiant?)

Thanks in advance for any advice
Tony

[chris]

Hi tony,

welcome to the forum:smile:

regarding your aviary plans, what species are you thinking about keeping? and how much space do you have available. it's usually a good idea to have a sheltered indoor area of the aviary so the birds have somewhere to shelter during bad weather, as many birds won't use nest boxes for either roosting or breeding.

i started off with a 6' x6' x6' outdoor aviary atached to my shed, with a bob hole on the side that led into a cage inside the shed. every night i'd round up the birds inside into the cage and shut them in, then let them out the following morning. at the time i only had a greenfinch, then decided on getting a canary for company.... then i ended up with another pair of canaries later that year and then a pair of quail which required another cage inside on the floor and another bob hole in the shed to let them in and out.

it's a very addictive hobby, especially when your birds breed for the first time. a good idea would be to make your aviary plans more than big enough for what you plan to keep, and then double that size to allow for expansion at a later date

let us know what you plan on keeping and we can give you an idea on aviary size etc.

Chris;-)

[tigercars]

Thanks for the info Chris really apreciated, my Garden isnt that big and I dont have a shed, with no experience what birds would be best to start with?

The only other thing I could do is build an outside aviary with roof, and then one inside the garage (obviously smaller) for night time or would catching and moving the birds be to stressfull for them?

I have managed to get permission! (from the Mrs) for a small patch of land behind my garage (facing the house) but it isnt that big and I will measure it when i get home tonight!

Thanks again
Tony

[chris]

Hi Tony,

if you've got to catch up the birds and move them every night then that's not really a feasable option, many birds will do well without the indoor area, all you'd need to do instead is to have solid panels covering part of the aviary so that there is a shelthered area that the wind doesn't come through. really the whole aviary should have a roof, we use corrogated plastic on ours.

surely you have some idea of what you want to keep? good starter birds inculde zebra finches, bengalese finches, canaries, budgies, cockatiels, japanese and chinese quail. the cockateils needing the most space out of the birds mentioned, the rest are quite happy in a 3 x 6 x 6 foot aviary provided you only have a few pairs per aviary (in the case of the quail, only one pair per aviary as the cocks fight usually although there are exceptions..)

depends if your interested in finches, parrots, quail and ground birds or whatever really as to what's best to start with. at the end of the day it's your choice to make not ours.

the birds mentioned can all be mixed in a large aviary, but for smaller aviaries it's best only to keep a few pairs

Chris:wink:

[tigercars]

Well I just got home and gret news on the end of the garage there is a window (i know it was there so no jokes!!) but it opens horah so I could do the following?

Outside 3.5ft x 6.2ft
Inside 4ft x 2.5ft

And at night put them inside and close the window

I have a book on order so I can do a little research on the differnt type of birds!

Thanks again:grin:
Tony

[chris]

Hi Tony,

you could do that, just make sure you mesh over the window on both sides as otherwise your birds will try to fly straight through it and snap their necks in the process. might be a better idea to take the glass out of the window and board it up so it's more like a hatch.

the aviary sounds fine for a few birds, as with most things though they're never quite big enough!

Chris

[hippocroc]

are you sure that budgies and canaries mix ? my experience is they attack each other viciously.
finches and canaries ok. cockatiels and diamond doves ok, and some finches, but never canaries and budgies.
my parents bred both but in seperate aviaries. and public aviaries keep both seperated too.
just my experience, for what it's worth.
sue

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Tony,

Welcome to the forum,:wink: as soon as you decide which birds you are interested in keeping let us know and we can advise which birds are suitable to start with and whether they will OK in a mixed aviary.

Sue,

I think Chris was just suggesting a list of suitable starter birds, but not that they would all mix well together.:grin:
Your input is as important as everyone elses, especially as Chris forgot to mention Diamond Doves as starter birds, nice one Sue.:wink:

Paul.:-D

[chris]

Hi Sue,

while i have heard of case of budgies and canaries not getting on, i've also heard of cases where they get along just fine.... must be dependant on the individual temperment of the bird.

best keep those on the individual list just to be safe anyway

nice one with the diamond doves i had a feeling something was missing, and probably still is

Chris