Materials for your
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Let's talk about materials.
So what does materials mean? By saying materials, I mean what type of wood,
what type of metal, what type of toys and nesting boxes. A larger parrot can and will chew threw
wood ; they can create a hole in the back of the aviary and escape,
therefore steel is the way to go. With small parrots/parakeets, woods
including apple wood and eucalyptus can be used. However, stainless
steel is the best choice for any bird. One way to prevent even smaller
birds from chewing, is to cover the wood with wire netting.
what type of metal, what type of toys and nesting boxes. A larger parrot can and will chew threw
wood ; they can create a hole in the back of the aviary and escape,
therefore steel is the way to go. With small parrots/parakeets, woods
including apple wood and eucalyptus can be used. However, stainless
steel is the best choice for any bird. One way to prevent even smaller
birds from chewing, is to cover the wood with wire netting.
Perches
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Wire/meshdifferent birds need different size mesh, smaller birds need smaller gaps between the wire, and larger birds can have larger gaps, for small birds like budgies and cockatiels, bars can be around 0.5 inches apart. For rather large parrots like macaws and large cockatoos, 1 to 1.5 inch wide bar spacing can be used.
Always make sure the gaps aren't too far apart because birds can get their head, wing and other parts stuck. You also need to make sure that the wire isn't too thin, birds have very strong beaks! they could easily bite through thin enough wire. Nesting boxesIf you plan on breeding two bonded birds in your new aviary, give it some time, birds can take a few days to one year to settle down and start breeding. Make sure you've got the nesting box all set up, if you've got nesting material like wood chips inside, she will move it around to suit her preference. Some birds, like lovebirds, prefer to collect their own nesting material ; all you have to do is provide those materials.
Make sure your nesting box is the right size for your bird, put it reasonably high up, but not all the way, this will make your birds more comfortable. To prevent larger bird from chewing the entrance hole, metal can be put around it, make sure the are no sharp corners though, your bird could cut its tongue. If you have more than one pair and more than one nest box, put them all at the same hight to prevent competition for the highest box. Once your female has chosen her box and settled, she will sit, and sit, then start laying. The amount of eggs depends on the individual bird and the breed, eg. budgies lay 4 to 6 eggs, and scarlet macaws lay 2 to 4 eggs. |