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Kakariki, Care, Breeding, Ecology, and Conservation :: View topic - NEW BUILD AVIARY AND NEW TO KEEPING BIRDS
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NEW BUILD AVIARY AND NEW TO KEEPING BIRDS

 
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F3061
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Joined: Jul 19, 2006
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:38 am    Post subject: NEW BUILD AVIARY AND NEW TO KEEPING BIRDS

Hi to you all who subscribe to this great web site. I have recently got into keeping birds through a neighbour who keeps canaries. I originally set out to build an aviary to keep owls but due to cost and the noise I was gently persuaded by my wife to keep smaller birds and ended up looking at Kakarikies and the like. I started with a small hexagonal aviary with 4 Kakarikies and 2 ring necks and quickly saw that the cramped conditions were not suitable. A lot of wood later and 2 rolls of 1 inch wire and I now have what you see in the photos. The overall dimensions at approximately 18 foot ( 6 meters) long and 9 foot (3 meters ) high. I positioned a cut down cherry tree in the centre with the branches facing end to end so the birds have the total length of the aviary to fly in. I have added 4 nest boxes and a shelter in the corner for all to use. I now have 6 Kakakikies, 2 ring necks a painted chinese quail and a cockatiel and looking to add a breeding pair of conures or rosellas and maybe a couple of japanese quail.
This site was great to look up basics re keeping such bird but as like many others I still have many questions.
What would be the best trailing plants to use to grow up the back of the aviary ?
Is a natural floor with grass the best option or will I get problems later.
I already have excess seed thrown out of the hanging feeder starting to take root although I believe that germinating seed is better.
One female has laid 6 eggs but it saeems that the ring necks entered the box and ate the eggs. I have since added 3 other boxes and the female has laid another 6 eggs. Saying that one of the eggs was found today on the floor. Would she have taken it out and discarded it or have the ring necks been in again ?
I look forward to your comments and any suggestions you may have.
Regards for now - Frank



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Steptoe
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Joined: Oct 06, 2004
Posts: 4550

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:16 am    Post subject:

Quote:
I positioned a cut down cherry tree in the centre with the branches facing end to end so the birds have the total length

Have done similar in my flights..in retospec large branches hanging from the wire is a better option,..Varing in Dia from 1 to 4" These should be spead around the avary

Quote:
2 rolls of 1 inch wire
1: is generally too big. young birds can get out and rats in 17 or 19mm is better...many use 13mm
Also a kick board around the base, 250 to 300mm high, stops baby quail jumping thru the netting...This shoud also drop underground 300 to 400mm to stop rats/mice and other fermin burrowing in...off cuts of fibrolite is idea for this, underground.
Netting should be attached to the inside of the frame...keeps the birds from messing the frame and looks better.
I do not see a safety door?? absolutly necceassary, espec for kakariki/and parrots...they have intellegence and are very quick.

The avary appears very open..a roof, 1/3 clearlite 2/3 ply.
Also sides, they need there own (mixed avary) areas to get out of wind and rain. Sheltered partitons and or wall. Shetered partitions and nesting boxes in each will aalso help out with terroritoial issues in breeding season

Quote:
What would be the best trailing plants to use to grow up the back of the aviary ?
What ever u grow the birds will destory, A scrub garden would be best...hebe /pittosporeum/red gum/NZ native pepper tree.

Quote:
Is a natural floor with grass the best option or will I get problems later.
Wet /damp floors go with worming/fermin problems.
A mortar/concret floor with river sand, with drain buckets set into the ground and water trays over the top, as described in the section on building and avary. I mortared ours with the birds in the flights with no problems.

Quote:
I now have 6 Kakakikies, 2 ring necks a painted chinese quail and a cockatiel and looking to add a breeding pair of conures or rosellas and maybe a couple of japanese quail.

One hast to be very carefull as to what species is mixed...Roesella, love birds , red rumps are not an opition to mix...I believe u may also have problems mixing quail species...ring necks I do not know.
Kings, crimsons, burkes mix well, and not to noisy. It is temping to over populate and it seems u maybe heading that way...like a tropical fish tank u will get serious problems, in the case of parrots they are also expensive problems. Mixed breeding will also create problems.

Quote:
One female has laid 6 eggs but it saeems that the ring necks entered the box and ate the eggs

I would be suspecting fermin rather than the birds

Adding new birds to a established community is a no go...the birds already in there have established terrority and pecking order, any new birds could be very seriously damaged if introduced later.

It appears you are making the mistake of most newbies to avairiies, too small space for mixed avairy/breeding, over population, incorrect species.
The result of this is often stress on the keeper and birds, with the keeper getting disheatened.
Your best bet is to partition the avairy. We have flat roofs, with moveable partitions, hinged in the middle..one end being used as a door...the other end fixed with 4 or 5 small strips of ply and screwed between the partition and main frame.

Oh Welcome to the community here LoL

Expect teething problems, you are serious in the project and been very wise in asking advice...many bird keepers are hesidant to pass on 'tricks of the trade' that is not the case with the ppl here.
I hope this helps to piont u in the right direction.
Steps

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debbie
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Joined: Jul 31, 2006
Posts: 71

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:40 pm    Post subject: full avairy

wellcome to the site, more the merrier but not so with your avairy,you are playing a dangerous game ,you will end up with dead birds and loosing lots of money. housing ringnecks with kaks is not a good idea, the ringnecks will throw your kakarikis eggs out of the bor without a second thought they also can get quite nasty in the breeding season ,personaly i wont own ring necks because even with double wire between flights they still seem to agravate other birds. rosellas and ringnecks will end in blood shed, rosellas are best housed separatly 1 pair per flight as with your ringnecks and make sure you allways have double wire between every flight you build if you dont want to start loosing toes. the mesh you have used in my opinion is to big kakas will sqeeze there head through it. in one case i heard of a kak put his head through one square and back through another and thats were he stayed till the owner found him the next morning dead of course. why dont you try deviding your avairy into say 3 separate flights to avoid all these problems and mabey save some lives (dont forget the double wire between them)
or one other thing you could try if you didnt want to breed your birds is just have males ,no hens and no boxes. a friend of mine has done this with a variety of hand reared birds. 1 eastern king,1 twenty eight,1 port linken,1 scalie breast lorry and 2 male kakas with no dramas.
best of luck
debbie
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F3061
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Joined: Jul 19, 2006
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:38 pm    Post subject:

Just when I though things were going great !!!! No seriously though its good to get others opinion. I will leave buying any new quail as this seems good advice. I originally bough one as the aviary was to be on concrete and I didnt appreciate the Kaks would peck seed off the floor.
When I bought the birds to start with the pet shop suggested that the ring necks would go OK and as they were this years birds seemed to settle in OK but now I am thinking of taking them out due to problems highlighted here.
Vermin has never been a problem where we live and with a cat I am hoping it wont be but take on board the suggestions re boarding and concreting the floor.
I keep marine fish so appreciate the comments re the overcrowding. I think I shall keep the flight as it is for now.
Didnt think about the youg kaks escaping through the wire, another task to look at, assuming they hatch of course. The wire itself seems ok with no problems with the birds poking their heads through. The wire is on the inside of the wood to stop mess and them pecking the wood.
I do not have an inner gate but I have a length of netting on the inside weighted down with fish weights. I am able to open the door outwards and pull the netting to one side when I am sure the birds are away at the other end. Due to the weights it drops back very quickly. Perhaps in time I will build an inner door if there are perceived problems.
I wont be planting any climbers then and a scrub floor sounds good, allowing for the fact I keep it as it is of course.
Thanks again for all your helpfull comments, we learn from our mistakes but it is also good to learn from the mistakes of others
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Steptoe
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Joined: Oct 06, 2004
Posts: 4550

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:24 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
Just when I though things were going great !!!!


They are...look at it this way, all of us started out like u, most of us have fallen into what you are heading for.... and u will be one of the fortunate who doesnt signlol....damn good advice above.

If u want to mix...and I do/have done succesful
pair kings, pr crimsons, burkes, quail, yellow crown kakarki will mix
Red crown will intimidate all the others come mating season...the others will not breed due to stress of other birds around
yellows will breed but not intimindate. again the rest will not breed as above.
A mix of any of the above will not breed as above.

None of the above need double wire, I have never lost a toe with single 17mm.

You will have a friendly stress fee avairy.

A avairy like that is to be enjoyed from the inside, sit watch, tempt, and the rewards are cool.

OR divide into flights, thu again dont expect breeding for anything but the kakariki,burkes, quail.

OR as many of use progressed to..several more avairies...and if your birds breed u WILL NEED them...These are in the form of several banks of flights.
So we still have our 'enjoyment' avairy as u have now.

So dont think all is lost...it is not...

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F3061
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Joined: Jul 19, 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the updates. Things are looking good and I am now looking at keeping this aviary as it is but adding rocks etc to make it more of a feature than just a cage. I dont intend to add any more birds, just keep an eye on the ringnecks. Apparently they wont breed for another year as they are so young so should be ok for the short term. We have a sparrow hawk turned up in the area looking at the birds so maybe first priority is to net the aviary to prevent the raptor getting at the birds I already have.
Father lives in Tauranga NZ and keeps many birds including Gouldions, Cockatooes, Macaw, Parakeets, Parrots and breeds them. His flights are very long and narrow but are all single netted and he doesnt get any problems. - just for info
Thanks again , regards as ever - Frank
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:29 am    Post subject:

Rocks are good...we have them... a few 1 to 2 feet high...The birds love to sit on them , even chew/scratch at them..maybe something to do with keeping beak/ claws in good condition.

Quote:
Father lives in Tauranga NZ

u a ex pat m8?

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Kaka-riki
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Joined: May 30, 2005
Posts: 363

PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 5:50 pm    Post subject:

Double wired partitions between flights is very much determined by the individual birds themselves. I am part owner in several pairs of Amazons and Macaws. These birds are kept at a friends place and all of his aviaries are only single wired. He has never had any problems.

We have rows of suspended aviaries that ARE double wired. We only keep and breed Kakariki. But, even with the double wire I have several cock birds that are now without toes. Due to the length of their toes a Kakariki can take a toe from a neighbouring bird without any problems even when you have double wire. I guess keeping birds is all about the birds you keep and the personality those birds have. Size really doesn't matter.
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Peanut93
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Joined: May 18, 2009
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:54 am    Post subject: what trees can i put in there

w3c
i have looked evrywhere but jus cant find an answer

does any one know if i can put privit push in with the kakarkis i also have 5 zebra finches . 2 rice birds , and sereval canarys in there i just want to make the anviry look greenier as there are no bushs or shubbry in there any idea
? ? ??

:?: :?: :?:
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:50 am    Post subject:

Privy is pionious....If you put it or tobacco weed in they do not touch it, which is piontless to putting in.
Privit and tobacco weed should be have its existance in NZ banned..period.

Both of these have been covered in old posts

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