Treating Your Pet bird Avairy Framework

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To keep your aviary in good shape and to ensure the safety and well being of your birds, it is important to carry out regular inspections and a programme of general maintenance.

Once a year, or at least every other year, you should retreat any wood on the aviary. Some of the new wood preservatives are produced in a range of colours, which can make your aviary look very attractive if it is coated on a regular basis. There is no reason why a wooden-framed aviary cannot last for over 20 years if it is regularly painted with a wood preservative.

Before you begin to treat your aviary, you have to make sure that the weather has been dry for 24 hours, otherwise the preservative will not soak into the wood completely. Lock away all your birds and do not let them back into the aviary until at least 24 hours after you have finished using a wood preservative.

Many people also like to paint the wire of their aviary with a black bituminous paint, as it is much easier to see into an aviary through black wire than through galvanized wire. A good coating of bituminous paint is only required once every three or four years; after that, it will slowly start to peel off. Again, it is very important to make sure that all your birds are safely locked away before you begin painting; if the birds come into contact with the paint, it will make a terrible mess of their feathers. If the weather is dry and bright, you can let your birds back into the bird aviary after 24 hours, but if it is a little damp, it is safer to wait 48 hours.

If you treat a wooden aviary regularly with a suitable preservative, its lifespan will extend its life to 20 years or more. If the wooden aviary is left untreated, the wood will rot away in about five years, depending on the weather conditions. The wooden framework of this aviary has been stained with black preservative and is matched by the black painted mesh.

Umbrella Cockatoo

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The Umbrella Cockatoo is also known as the White Cockatoo and has the scientific name of Cacatua alba. It can be found mostly in Indonesia.

These birds grow to around 24 inches in length from the beak to the tail feathers.

Their lifespan is sometimes even 80 years old or more. It depends on how well it was taken care of.

Umbrella Cockatoo is a sweet tempered bid, very docile and gentle. They make great companions because they are almost never aggressive and they are very loyal to their owners. They also form strong connections with all the family members and consider them as part of the

Blue and Gold Macaws

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Known under the scientific name of Ara ararauna, the Gold and Blue Macaws are also known as Blue and Gold or Blue and Yellow Macaw. They can usually be found in forest or swamp areas from South America. They can reach a length of 80cm (33 inches), from the tail to the beak. Their lifespan can reach 60 years.

These large birds are very intelligent and sociable but very capable of extremely loud vocalizations. This is why the owners must be well informed, dedicated, and very responsible. Breeders don

Lovebirds

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Lovebirds range in size from 13 to 15cm (4.5-6in), and for such comparatively small birds, they do have a relatively long lifespan of 10-15 years. As members of the parrot family, they are intelligent and have an inquisitive personality.

Housing lovebirds presents no problems, for a typical aviary used for accommodating parakeets is more than suitable, providing they have easy access to an inside enclosure and that a third of the roof is covered with plastic sheeting to offer shelter from heavy rain. It is possible to keep lovebirds in relatively small cages, although the minimum size should be 90x60x60cm(3x2x2ft); anything smaller is not acceptable. Once acclimatized, most lovebirds are hardy birds and will live very happily in an outdoor environment. More delicate species, such as the Madagascar, or grey-headed, lovebird, however, will be happier if accommodated inside.

The disadvantage of keeping lovebirds is that they can be particularly aggressive with any species other than their own. Never house lovebirds in a mixed aviary. It is possible to keep them on a colony basis, but this requires some experience and cannot be recommended to beginners. At the outset, it would be advisable to keep lovebirds in pairs.

It is vital to provide and regularly renew supplies of chewing material, as lovebirds adore to chew. Also try to create an interesting environment for the birds; if they become bored they may seek amusement in plucking each other’s feathers.

As with housing, feeding lovebirds should present little complications. They will thrive on a simple seed mixture consisting of canary seed, millet, rape seed, sesame seed and oats, supplemented with milo (small round seeds also known as red dari), sunflower seed, safflower seed and greenfood, although, as with all parrot species, cuttlefish bone is often welcome.

There are no external differences between the sexes in most lovebirds, so they must be scientifically sexed. (The exceptions are the Abyssinian and Madagascar lovebirds, in which the females are basically green but the males have coloured heads.) The breeding behaviour of this group is known to be rather unusual, for not only do they build their nests within the actual nesting chamber, but many species also transport the nesting material.in a very bizarre way – by carrying it in the plumage of the rump rather than in the beak. They like to strip bark from branches for nesting – especially willow – so provide a supply of fresh branches.

Lovebirds are quite capable of interbreeding with other species, and this is another good reason why they should only be housed with their own species. The peach-faced and Fischer’s lovebird will breed readily if kept in pairs with sufficient nesting materials. Rarer species tend to be more difficult to breed, but with experience you should succeed. An average lovebird clutch consists of three to seven whitish eggs, usually laid twice a year. The incubation period is 18-24 days and fledging should occur 42-56 days later.