Aviary Construction At Parrots-R-4Ever.

We have received so many requests for details on how we construct the outdoor aviaries, that we decided to just add a page to the website for those that are interested.

The first step in the construction of our outdoor aviary was to define where it would be located, how I wanted it to look and what materials would be used to construct it.

What I had in mind was an outdoor aviary structure large enough to permit flight, yet constructed with all “bird-safe” materials. I wanted a design that would present a low-visibility framework and mesh that would minimize the feeling of “enclosure” to the birds when outdoors. I also wanted a design that would minimize risk of escape during transport between the building and the aviary and take maximum advantage of existing features in order to minimize expense. For these reasons, I elected to build the aviary directly adjacent to the existing building so that we could exit the building directly into the aviary. Also, by doing so, I only had to construct 2 sides and a top which resulted in significantly less expense. Additionally, attaching directly to the existing structure provided added structural strength to the light-weight framework and provided some degree of protection from high winds. To date, this design has withstood 75 mile-per-hour straight-line winds with no damage whatsoever. It should be noted that PARS is located in the deep south where ½ inch of snow constitutes a “blizzard” so snow-load on the top of the enclosure was not a major consideration. However, if you live in an area where snow accumulation is significant, you should consider beefier construction that can support typical snow accumulations experienced in your area or perhaps forego the roof panels and using all mesh on the roof so snow can pass through to the ground.

Having decided where to put it, I next decided that we wanted as small a framework as possible constructed entirely of materials that presented no heavy-metal poisoning threat to the birds. So, I finally settled on a framework of 1” square anodized aluminum tubing enclosed in stainless steel mesh with a roof design offering varying degrees of sun and shade.

The first physical step was the pouring of a concrete pad upon which to assemble the aviary. I next sketched a working drawing of how the framework would be constructed. This was done to scale so that it could be used to calculate what lengths of tubing would be needed, what connectors would be necessary and quantities to order.

I used 8 foot lengths of tube for the vertical and horizontal members of the walls and 12 foot lengths of tube for the ceiling beams.

Using the 8 foot tube stock, I cut the vertical and horizontal frame members using a hacksaw with a 28 teeth per inch metal cutting blade and a cheap plastic miter-box to guide the saw blade during cutting in order to get as straight a 90 degree cut as possible.

The upper vertical as well as the horizontal top and center beams are cut to 46 inches in length. The lower vertical beams were cut to 47 ¼ inches length as shown in the picture below. The odd cut on the lower vertical beams allows for a 3/8 inch gap under the bottom of the lower course of mesh so that solid waste can be flushed out when washing the pad.

Once the vertical and side pieces are cut, assemble of the frame walls can begin.

A nylon flange piece, as shown below, is inserted into one end of each lower vertical beam.

A 4-way flat nylon connector, as shown below, is inserted into the other end of each lower vertical beam for all but the corner vertical members.

For the corner vertical members, a 6-way connector is modified by cutting 2 of the side fittings off to leave a right angle as shown below

                                      Before modification...                               

                                      After modification.

The upper vertical beam piece is then slipped down over the opposite (upper) side of the 4-way flat connector. A top 4-way connector, as shown below, is inserted into the top of the upper vertical beams on all but the corner vertical members. On corner vertical members, a top 3-way connector is used instead.

            4-Way used in the top of center members.                      3-Way used in top of corner members.

Once all vertical members are assembled, they are joined together by placing the 46 inch top and center horizontal posts on the side fittings of each vertical member as shown in the photos below.

              Typical center beam joint.                          Typical upper joint.                      Typical top upper corner joint.

The center beam of the end wall is attached in a similar fashion as shown below.

Once all vertical members are tied together with the upper and lower horizontal pieces, and to the structure by the ceiling beams, your framework should look something like below.

Once all beams are in place and trued, the vertical members are secured to the pad with concrete inserts and stainless steel screws as shown below…

The next step was to install aluminum angle braces between the ceiling beams to serve as support for the ceiling material and a place the material could be secured to. For this, I use ¾ inch by 1/8^th in thick aluminum angle stock obtained at a local hardware store. I cut the stock into 48 inch long pieces and then cut a 1 inch notch out of one side of the angle at each end so that the piece would straddle the ceiling beams yet drop down between the beams as shown in the picture below.

Three of these cross beam angle braced were placed at equal distance between each pair of ceiling beams so that they ran the full length of the enclosure. The cross members were secured in place by sheet metal screws driven down through the cross-member tab into the ceiling beam.

The next step involved creating a lip around the upper edge and down the ends of the enclosure for the mesh to secure to and for the part of the ceiling panels closest to the structure to rest on and be secured to. For this, I used 1 ½ inch by 1/8^th inch aluminum angle stock obtained at a local hardware store. To secure the ends of the wire mesh where it met the walls of the existing structure, I installed vertical pieces of angle screwed to the structure as shown below.

To provide a lip for the back edge of the ceiling to rest on and be secured to, I fastened 46 inch long pieces of aluminum angle stock to the structure between the ceiling beams as shown below.

Mesh installed on the top ran outward from the structure to the outer wall of the enclosure between the ceiling beams. The mesh was secured to the frame tubing using 5/16 x ¾ inch stainless steel self-tapping sheet metal screws and 1 1/8 inch washers as shown in the pictures below.

As you see in the picture above, I chose to use 3 different type of ceiling. Part is mesh and open to full sunlight. Part is covered with “smoked” panels that filter out UV but allow other light to pass and the balance is covered with plain white for defused light and partial shade. This picture also shows the relationship of the ceiling beams, cross members, and ceiling panels.

The final step was installation of a wood beam running down the center of the full length of the flight at ceiling level as shown above. This beam is ordinary oak stair rail stock available at any hardware store. It is secured to the ceiling beams only at the ends and is other wise supported entirely be 2 central columns that form an easily replaceable framework for the play areas. I took this approach because I did not want to weaken the ceiling beams by drilling more holes in them. Instead, all toys, boings, etc are suspended from the central beam or beams projecting off of the support columns as seen in the picture below.

From this point forward, the rest is strictly up to your imagination. Have fun!