Outside Aviary

[Kaush]

I have a 10 foot square piece of land in my garden which I am considering creating an aviary in. Are there an commonly avaolable birds or animals that I could keep outside. I live in Croydon, South London and the coldest it gets around here in the winter is about -6 degrees celcius, but I would build a house type thing for the animals to go in if it was too cold. If there are no commonly available animals, are there any that are a bit harder to come across?

 

[bae1994]

i am near peterborough and someone i no used to have cockatiels and budgies and they where happy, with a box type house in the corner at the roof you might get away with it however depending where you are there could be a lot of rats or even a fair few as some one i no also had previous experiences where rats had some how got in and had frightened the birds to death and had bit them and he had a lot of dead birds and some rats in his avery.

 

[chesterscot]

the list of birds you could keep is infinate really finches canaries budgies cockateils golden mantles bourkes splendids lovebirds etc pm me if ya have any questions id be happy to help
scot

 

[Davo86]

Hi Kaush

provided the species you choose to keep has a secure area free from draft then it can be easy to achieve a successful aviary,
a draft flowing through cracks in a poorly built birdhouse will kill more birds than simply keeping them outside in the cold IME.

Also provide you have a solid base to the aviary and keep the living quarters well maintained then the issues of mice and rats shouldn't be a problem

I have grown up around aviary birds as both my grandad and dad kept/keep cockatiels, love birds, fantail pigeons, budgies, rarer finches and canaries.
we currently have about 15-20 canaries in an outside aviary

Do you have a particular species in mind that you would like to keep?

 

[betta fish]

Don't forget quail! I have 8 living outdoors, lovely and easy to keep and not too noisy especially if you are in close proximity to other people, I hatched mine from eggs bought from Ebay but I have seen them for sale in a few shops, although they may not be as easy to come by as cockateils/budgies, they also lay some very tasty eggs

 

[Kaush]

Well I would quite like a species with colour and personality that can maybe be kept in a group. I dont have rats or mice, but I do have a couple of foxes roaming around the place. Preferably a species that does not make a whole lot of noise would be nice because of the neigbours. Also, I am not restricted just to birds, I am very open to keeping some form of mammal as well, and even though I am pretty sure there are not many, reptiles. Could anyone post some pictures of enclosures they have made please.

 

[Davo86]

Well I would quite like a species with colour and personality that can maybe be kept in a group. I dont have rats or mice, but I do have a couple of foxes roaming around the place. Preferably a species that does not make a whole lot of noise would be nice because of the neigbours. Also, I am not restricted just to birds, I am very open to keeping some form of mammal as well, and even though I am pretty sure there are not many, reptiles. Could anyone post some pictures of enclosures they have made please.

I don't have any pics on hand but i can take one tomorrow,
some people keep rabbits or guinea pigs in aviaries with birds but it isn't really ideal IMO I doubt there are any reptiles or other mammals that would be suitable

 

[Kaush]

If I put a large piece of plastic on top of it, could I keep chipmunks or chinchillas? Has anyone kept either of these in an outside aviary? I know chinchillas are friendly and can be handled, but are chipmunks? Any pictures of aviaries or large enclosures would be very helpfull.

 

[simonas]

an owl harris hawk? and you could fly them as well making it far more interesting

 

[drewry]

hi kaush
heres the link ov my topic on tff ov the aivary i started last year iv still got the out side flight to finish off in the next month or so when it warms up. i have no heating in my aivary houseing as the birds are hardy just make sure like stated theres no drafts as thats what will kill your birds
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=246906&hl=

 

[Kaush]

Thanks for the link drew, that looks amazing. But the one I was thining of was more natural in a way i guess as I cant really use concrete or bricks like you and I was trying to make it out of wood and mesh mostly, something like this but not the same design.Wooden aviary I have considered something like an owl or some type of raptor, but I cannot find a lot of info on them. Does anyone have any experience with any bird of prey, and are there any that could fit in an enclosure the size of mine?