I house my birds in both suspended and conventional aviaries on concrete floors; which I believe is critical in controlling pests and diseases. This allows for it to be cleaned easily with a broom, shovel and a hose, preferably every week removing the build up of faeces and discarded seed etc... I appreciate that in some hotter climates the use of other substrates can be used, i.e. blue metal rocks. However, they must have a good deep rat wall around the boundary.
The benefits of suspended aviary designs are numerous. You do not have the same build up of faeces and seed, making it easier to clean. A cleaner environment lessens the threat of illness and breaks the lifecycle of worms. . One disadvantage of suspended aviaries that I have observed is you deprive your Cockatiels the opportunity to get down on the floor of the aviary and forage through grit, soil and leaves. This is an essential part of a Cockatiel’s daily routine. I overcame this issue by placing clods of Panicum grassroots into the suspendeds and also a large flat container of soil. At times, I will hide bits of greens, sunflower seeds in the soil as well.
I have drawn below a rough outline of my bank of flight aviaries, which I use for both breeding King Parrots and keeping Cockatiels during the off-season. These aviaries are about 6 metres in length, 1.2 square (conventional flight aviary is 2 metres wide) and 2.1 - 2.4 metres in height. I find that my birds can build strength and endurance during the off-season because of these long flights; which also helps to shed those extra grams which they gain during the breeding season, particularly the hens. Cockatiels are a sleek, fast moving bird which loves the space to fly around and keep fit. There are also benefits to having a high roof for allowing birds to easily fly over your head when you enter the aviary and to reduce the inside temperate. Their fast flying also makes it critical to have a safety flight area, which I’ve found doubles well as a storage area.
Another disadvantage of suspended aviaries is the ability to easily catch birds. I overcame this problem by incorporating a conventional section at the front of each suspended flight, allowing me to stand inside the cage, providing easy moveability with my catching net and ensuring no possibilities of escape.
I insulated the roof of the aviary complex cheaply by using polystyrene sheets, which you can get for about a $1 a square metre. This is sandwiched between a sheet of sheet metal and corrugated iron. This is a lot cheaper than buying similar prefabricated roofing products.
I do not breed Cockatiels in these aviaries. I only breed them in single pairs in separate smaller suspended aviaries, either 1.8 or 2.4 metres long.
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| These are some of my suspended breeding flights. They are made from aluminum, using the plastic joiners. A safety flight is provided at the back of the cages for nest boxes, making nest inspections quick and easy. |
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| Here is my holding flight aviaries during the off-season. The breeding cages in the front are for budgies. Note the perforated sheeting over one third of the front of the aviaries. These allows natural light to penetrate through the roof, allowing the birds access to some much needed morning sun. All my aviairies face a north-east or east direction. |
