Hi im coming back to the hobby after 6 years .Im gonna build a outdoor aviary 24 x 12 feet with a indoor part. with it being big i was thinking of having a natural floor with a waterfall and planted do you think thats a good idea i live in UK .many thanks .
I would love to see your aviary when its done!! Few things to bare in mind & consider. Are you able to use a natural floor & still keep it clean? If the rain cant get to the floor (due to cover above) then it cant wash dirt & faeces away like it would in the wild. A natural floor is all good & well, but it offers very little protection from predators that can burrow. If using a natural floor, id suggest laying rodent proof mesh throughout all floor space & 3ft up all sides, with the bottom half of the sides smooth-covered so mice or rats cant climb it to get to the upper mesh (because they'll try). Look into sand covering for the floor. Much easier to clean & keep sanitary. Also, make sure you add your birds in spring time when it starts to get warm. This will give your birds ample time to acclimatize to the outdoor temps
@@FinchManDave Thanks for your reply .i had problems with mice in my last aviary . But this time yes i am gonna use 1/4 inch wire mesh in the ground .I was gonna put clear corrugated sheets on roof and just hose down to clean and turn soil over where i can . Would you not put a roof on im in two minds . I was going to build the aviary over the winter and add birds in spring .And would i need to put wire mesh over the whole of the floor and not just say 2 or 3 feet deep on outside .and yes when built i will post .
@@simonamos9468 You're welcome 🙂 I would roof half of it (plus the inside bit. Leave half uncovered so they can get full sun & rain if they choose. The half uncovered I would double mesh with a decent gap between each layer to stop cats, birds of prey etc being able to reach through. I would 100% rodent proof the entire floor & 3ft up every side, with a smooth layer covering the rodent proofed sides so mice & rats cant climb it. Check my video out in this link to see exactly how I built my bird room & predator proofed it th-cam.com/video/S5sHYf57eDQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=IGvQlUq7AvO9Czzw
ok many thanks yes ive seen your video it does make sense . i have been watching your videos on Australian, Africa ,India finches your knowledge is far greater than mine . I dont want to breed at first do i just remove eggs and not put nest boxes in .A part from Zebra finches what are the easiest finches to keep .@@FinchManDave
@@simonamos9468 you could avoid breeding all together & just keep cock birds for the time being, until you're ready that is. Zebras will breed like rabitts given the oportunity, so its gonna be hard to avoid. Remove nests, & they'll still find a way. Bengalese are super easy to keep. Hardy, & very sociable. I personally think Gouldians are easy to keep too. Dont believe all you read about em 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to make your videos. They sure are a lot of help. ❤❤❤
You're very welcome. And thank you for watching them 😊
Thank you 🙏
Video turned out great!
Hey Shelby! Hope you're well 😁
Thank you 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hi im coming back to the hobby after 6 years .Im gonna build a outdoor aviary 24 x 12 feet with a indoor part. with it being big i was thinking of having a natural floor with a waterfall and planted do you think thats a good idea i live in UK .many thanks .
I would love to see your aviary when its done!!
Few things to bare in mind & consider. Are you able to use a natural floor & still keep it clean? If the rain cant get to the floor (due to cover above) then it cant wash dirt & faeces away like it would in the wild. A natural floor is all good & well, but it offers very little protection from predators that can burrow. If using a natural floor, id suggest laying rodent proof mesh throughout all floor space & 3ft up all sides, with the bottom half of the sides smooth-covered so mice or rats cant climb it to get to the upper mesh (because they'll try).
Look into sand covering for the floor. Much easier to clean & keep sanitary.
Also, make sure you add your birds in spring time when it starts to get warm. This will give your birds ample time to acclimatize to the outdoor temps
@@FinchManDave Thanks for your reply .i had problems with mice in my last aviary . But this time yes i am gonna use 1/4 inch wire mesh in the ground .I was gonna put clear corrugated sheets on roof and just hose down to clean and turn soil over where i can . Would you not put a roof on im in two minds . I was going to build the aviary over the winter and add birds in spring .And would i need to put wire mesh over the whole of the floor and not just say 2 or 3 feet deep on outside .and yes when built i will post .
@@simonamos9468 You're welcome 🙂
I would roof half of it (plus the inside bit. Leave half uncovered so they can get full sun & rain if they choose. The half uncovered I would double mesh with a decent gap between each layer to stop cats, birds of prey etc being able to reach through.
I would 100% rodent proof the entire floor & 3ft up every side, with a smooth layer covering the rodent proofed sides so mice & rats cant climb it. Check my video out in this link to see exactly how I built my bird room & predator proofed it
th-cam.com/video/S5sHYf57eDQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=IGvQlUq7AvO9Czzw
ok many thanks yes ive seen your video it does make sense . i have been watching your videos on Australian, Africa ,India finches your knowledge is far greater than mine . I dont want to breed at first do i just remove eggs and not put nest boxes in .A part from Zebra finches what are the easiest finches to keep .@@FinchManDave
@@simonamos9468 you could avoid breeding all together & just keep cock birds for the time being, until you're ready that is.
Zebras will breed like rabitts given the oportunity, so its gonna be hard to avoid. Remove nests, & they'll still find a way.
Bengalese are super easy to keep. Hardy, & very sociable. I personally think Gouldians are easy to keep too. Dont believe all you read about em 🙂