Treating Your Pet bird Avairy Framework
May 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Keeping Pet Birds
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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.