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| Aviary Construction |
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This aviary was built to house Yellow-Face normals, Yellow-Face yellow-bodied and Black-Face White Breasted Gouldians. The intention is to keep the different face colours seperate, with minimal transportation to and from aviaries. This is the only aviary at this location, the rest being at my fathers home. It was built by us both and a little help with painting from the kids! It took some six months in all to construct and we can say that the final aviary works well after 4 years of use. A similar text description to that you see below can be found
when visiting the Featured Aviaries section of the My Gouldian Aviary web site.
Details Of This Aviaries Construction
SOME HISTORY: My father introduced me to Gouldian Finches. Dad had been breeding Budgerigars, Grass Parrots, Bourkes Parrots, Canaries, Princess Parrots, etc. for many years as a backyard hobby. Each time he needed a new aviary, well he just built one! Often we all helped in the construction. Everything was built from scratch, using basic materials. Dad was the boss - an experienced wood worker and cabinetmaker for 20 years and he knew all the timber tricks! Some years ago he began keeping Gouldian finches and has since bred these little birds with great success. I myself had been living overseas for 4 years and had not had the ability to keep birds until I returned.
THE LOCAL CLIMATE: The environment in Melbourne, Australia is quite a mild one. The winters rarely drop below freezing, even at night, while the summers are usually hot and dry, with low humidity. In summer it can often reach over 40 Celsius (104F) for a few days in a row. All in all it's a good temperate zone without the extremes to worry about. Good for Gouldians that are acclimatised to the lower, southern winter temperatures. Although this summer (2004/5) has shown that we can get very odd weather. In fact we had the wettest and coldest storm in 150 years - during summer! This can put pressure on any living creature...
DESIGN AND LAYOUT ASPECTS: Gouldians require as much sunlight and warmth as they can get. So after six separate aviary designs and my wifes approval, a suitable location was found and construction began. As it was only being built on weekends, it took six months to complete. The overall aviary dimensions are: 4.3m (14ft) long by 2m (6.5ft) deep by 2.4m (7.8ft) high. I used an area that faced North-North-West, which collected almost 100% low winter sun and nearly all summer sun. The rear of our block is bordered with a 1.2m (4ft) tall, brick retaining wall and I wanted to incorporate it into the aviary. This also meant a gain of some 0.35m (14in) in depth for flight space: a very nice bonus. The top of the retaining wall is also where I place the seed dishes, etc. This means no bending over is required when cleaning or changing seed and keeps the food off of the floor where it stays dry.
Another important point to remember in any aviary is the height. I wanted full size doors for my own easy access (again no bending down) but more importantly, the birds would not have to fly out of the way each time I entered. They have a clear flight path, including perches, above me at all times. They are used to me entering and will often sit while I move about underneath them. As for the main door, I had to have a safety door or double door design as my entry. There is no point risking the escape of such valuable birds. Of course this meant I lost some flight area inside the aviary, but this is a fair compromise. At least I can sleep nights!
The whole aviary, roof included, is lined with heavy gauge wire as well as a layer of 6mm (1/4in) wire. This is due to attacks from wild birds and it also stops mice getting in. All the wire is rectangular 25mm x 12mm (1in by .5in) and painted black. Another major design component of the aviary was an idea that I got from Paul from My Gouldian Aviary. It was his help and advice, with regards to the enclosed end, that really made it work. Many thanks Paul. The birds use it almost every night. I dont need to coax them in - they know where the warmth is. It is accessible via a 1.7m (5.6ft) door for my own access and a small 15cm by 22cm (6in by 9in) sliding door opening for the Gouldians. The small hatch is operable from outside the aviary.
SOME CONSTRUCTION DETAILS: I made the choice of using treated pine timber because it would not rot. I chose a solid size of 75mm by 50mm (2x3in) for all the major uprights. All of the outer frame uprights are concreted in to a depth of 45cm (18in). I also laid two concrete slabs, at the safety door entry and in the enclosed end, to allow sure footing and easy cleaning. The roof frame is made from 75mm by 35mm (2x1.4in) dressed pine. The roof is fully covered with light-smoke coloured, corrugated laserlite sheeting. The ceiling in the enclosed end, which is 1m (3.3ft) wide and 2m (6.6ft) deep, is completely sealed with timber in addition to the exterior clear roofing. It is very warm in winter and stops all drafts. I covered the internal walls, enclosed-end access door and external windows with clear, flat, Perspex sheet that I had cut to size. Depending on the heat during summer this may need modification (This has since proven to be fine). The only occasional thing I do is remove the single window pane to allow a breeze through, in extreme heat. They love the heat! The rear, brick wall is painted in a light and fresh mint colour, which really helps bring out the natural colours of birds and grasses, rocks, logs, etc.
FINISHING TOUCHES: The entire floor area used to be covered with 20mm white pebble, with a natural earth base below. This did allow me to wash it down without leaving mud and also allows the planting of real grasses and trees, of which there are a few. Now however the floor has no pebbles and is solely a dirt base. This is better for overall maintenance and cleaning. It is also better for the birds and they have more area to forage around in. Excess bird seed germinates everywhere and the birds love it. I have placed a couple of logs and large rocks on the ground for easy perching when they come down to drink. They sun themselves there regularly.
Directly over the water dish, 2.4m (7.9ft) above, I have a small PVC tube that protrudes through from the outer roof into just past the wire below. Every time it rains it drips nicely and evenly into the water below. They like to sit nearby and get a splash sometimes! Having the water dish close to the ground is a good idea because it forces the birds to fly straight up and down and gives them more exercise. Since the original idea I have raised the water dish somewhat. It now sits about 0.6m (2ft) atop a 150mm (6in) ceramic pipe, which is buried end-on into the ground. I've found they like to have the dish raised a little off the ground. They still fly vertically up and down to drink all the time. Even the young ones. This is great for building strong and competent fliers.
Thats the basic outline of how we built this aviary. We hope you like it. The pictures below show some of what we discussed above.
Grant & Graham.
1. Basic frame. (Note the concrete floor areas) 2. Basic frame
3. Painting with the kids. They are standing in the enclosed area. 4. The whole gang! Final painting touches.
5. Inside - looking to the east.
The safety door entrance is easily seen.6. The west end is sealed for the winter and
plenty of light gets in through the clear perspex sheeting.
7. The floor area as originally laid out.
It has grown and changed a bit since new.8. The Finished Aviary
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