Cat, Dog, & Pet Supplies

A bird aviary is the most important piece of equipment you’ll need to purchase for your new bird. A suitable aviary can assist in keeping your bird safe and healthy. There are a lot of aviaries to select from on the market which can be difficult for the new bird keeper.. The big question is how to choose the right one?

To start with, study the species of bird you are intending to keep. If you are housing a parakeet, cockatiel or some other long tailed bird species, you will need a long aviary to ensure your bird is getting adequate exercise. Ideally, the bird aviary will be adequately long enough so the bird can actually fly from one side to the other. Any birds that have a heavyset body, such as a lovebird or a Senegal parrot, gets a good deal of exercise by climbing around in the aviary. These birds require an aviary that is taller rather than it is wide.

You should then consider the size of the aviary. Generally it is a good idea to purchas the biggest aviary you can afford for your bird, a newly weaned handfed baby bird may feel lost and terrified in a large aviary. A young bird also may have difficulty locating food and water dishes. If it is affordable, buying a smaller aviary while your bird is a baby and them moving onto a bigger aviary when it is older would be a good idea.

When choosing your bird aviary, keep in mind the spacing between the bars. A good looking $400 bird aviary will not be very successful if it can fit through the bars! When considering using an aviary with wire mesh it will be important to compare the sizing of the hole in the mesh to the size of your birds head. A bird aviary constructed using one inch mesh is just the right size for a cockatiel to stick a head through. It has been know for cockatiels to instead of taking their heas out through the same hole, to bend their neck into ‘U’ shape and put it into another hole.

When you have determined the aviary size and bar spacing, look at a few other facets of bird aviary design. Look at the cage tray. When you are removing it to clean it, is there a grate in the aviary to prevent the bird from escaping? Will the tray be adequately deep to catch the mess of your bird? If the aviary has a deep tray, then you may still find that your bird scatters a lot of seed hulls and feathers on the floor if there’s no cage apron. While you can place your bird aviary in a plastic apron base or cover the bottom of the aviary with a cloth apron, a built in metal apron is a good characteristic.

Finally, do not forget to have a look at the aviary cups. You should be able to access the cups without having to enter through the main door of your bird aviary. If you are buying a bird aviary for a larger bird, the cups should actually bolt to the aviary unless you want to spend every morning and afternoon for the next 50 years reaching for cups that your bird has flung onto the bottom of the bird aviary

If you a replacing a bird aviary for an older parrot type bird, some owners have told me it’s crucial to get a bird cage of the same colour. It is assumed that a bird that has been accustomed to a white painted aviary, it won’t adapt easily to a metal coloured aviary.

 

Filed under: 01-Articles on May 14th, 2009