DIY Aviary for Parrots

Our birds needed a walk-in, outdoor aviary for the summer.

We looked at many available options available, but there was always a shortcoming. It's hard to find something suitable for cockatiels as while as the larger grey parrot. In addition, a double, safety, entrance is a must-have. And we don't have much room.

The only way to get everything we needed in an aviary was to build one.

The aviary is constructed of panels made of simple 1x1 pine, primed and painted. The steel mesh is by far the most expensive part. It is 1" by 1/2", 16 gauge, "galvanized after weld" (GAW). It was a special order, shipped, from a US manufacturer. 16 gauge is just heavy enough for a medium size bird, like Harlan. The wire spacing is small enough to be safe for Ed and Olive. The GAW construction assures a strong bond with no loose zinc. It was hard to find this stuff.

The use of any galvanized mesh may be controversial. The alternative would be stainless steel, which would have doubled the cost easily, and that would be prohibitive for an aviary of this size.

Zinc is poisonous for bird in quantities. But to be harmed, they have to actually ingest it. And this is unlikely. After a lot of research on the materials others have used, I believe that this high quality GAW mesh is safe, if carefully prepared.

We scrubbed (and I mean scrubbed) each section with a solution of water, vinegar and a small amount of non-toxic soap, and after construction went over the entire thing with a heavy wire brush attached to a power drill.

The aviary is designed using separate panels. These go together using hanging bolts and nuts. The idea is that the entire thing can be disassembled and brought indoors in the winter.

It was a lot of extra work, and materials, to build it this way, but it was worth it. It has the additional advantage in that the panels are arranged to that the edges of the mesh are secured inside where the panels come together; away from the birds.

I should also mention that the mesh is inside each frame (bird-side as it were). The birds can not get to the wood.

The ariary is 7 feet tall, setup on a new pad of level pavers. Under the pavers is sand, gravel and a layer of weed barrier. In retrospect, that was the easy part.

It took a solid two weekends, and a few other days to complete all the parts.

This picture shows the double door.

We used one large and expensive java wood perch, and several other smaller perches here and there.

One nice thing about the wood frame is that (stainless) hanger bolts can be placed anywhere, the support perches and toys as needed.

Here's Ed trying out the great outdoors on opening day.

Olive loves to get some sun on her wings.

Harlan approved...

From now on, it's just not summer without parrots eating blackberries outside in the sun on a nice day.