The calendar says Spring, my backyard says Winter! (see picture below that I snapped this morning) If it ever stops snowing here, I'd like to think about accommodations for the birds to have outside time.

We had to treat one of the birds for Zinc Toxicity so I am really gun shy about using the GAW wire to build one. I can't afford the size I want for them if I use a Stainless Steel mesh, so I am still giving thought to the GAW wire, but could use some reassurance that it's safe. I did read about an aluminum chain link, but what little research I've done into that it appears that is about as pricey as Stainless Steel.

What is everyone's experiences with using the Galvanized wire. Does anyone have pictures to share of their outside aviaries or flights?

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Wow, Karen! Now I remember why I moved to the west coast! It is really spring here, no snow, BUT we have to mow the lawn now. We are looking into what makes a great outdoor aviary so am very interested in responses to this thread.

I have an outdoor aviary, I bought a 10x10 dog kennel...instead of the chain link, I went with the powder coated newer kennels. they have bars rather than the chain link. This will be our 3rd year with it. We did use GAW fencing wire for the "roof"...they say you can scrub the white powder (zinc residue) off with white vinager, so I do that every spring. I have been thinking about getting another kennel and hooking them together to make a huge cage. Here is a pic of it at the old house. We moved it with us to Ohio and it is set up under an apple tree now.:

Jodie how big is the spacing on the kennel? I was thinking about going that route for my birds but wary that the caiques could squeeze their way through the holes...

My B&G's handfeeder had some large outdoor aviaries that she kept macaws and cockatoos in during warm weather days. The bottom is made of loose stones that she said she and her husand hose down to clean. If you look closely, you can see the cockatoos at the end of the aviary. I have always admired her set up and long to have outdoor aviaries for my babies.

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How nice that is. I see a B&G also. I see the aviaries are made out of galvanized chain link. Do you know if she had any concerns or issues with using the galvanized mesh?

This is mine.... when I first put it up and before they destroyed all of the perches. lol. Actually I've added a lot to it, but it will give you the idea.

I bought it third hand for $60, painted it with kid-safe spray paint on the frame, and I wire brush the GAW to remove any "white". I've spoken with my vet about it and he says that a vinegar wash will SPEED UP the rusting and just provide MORE rust for your birds to find. He recommends the wire brush/elbow grease method. He also told me that if I keep up with it and inspect regularly, that zinc shouldn't be a problem as birds that big would have to ingest quite a bit of "rust" to get sick... over a period of time. So, I feel safe with mine, and inspect often. We don't have the weather here that y'all have either, so I don't know how fast it would rust there.

Mine is under a second floor deck so they get pleanty of sunshine, but the deck keeps the sun of the day off of them.... and the cool of the concrete below makes it a quite pleasant area on a hot cali day.

Those are some beautiful pictures of Red & Tiki!

So your vet feels 'no vinegar wash' and dry scrub the GAW with a wire brush?

Thank you! and yes... the reasoning explained to me, is that while the vinegar WILL remove the rust, it also freshly exposes a whole new layer to the elements, thus creating rust where it was holding up just fine.

I forgot to mention something VERY important though, please thuroughly wash and brush new wire as it may still have manufacturing substances loose on the surface.


Then again, I've been told by people that "know" people who run aviaries, that they have "been vinegar washing for years and years" with now ill effect on their birds. The view on vinegar that I have presented is NOT the most popular one.... so do some research! Talk to a chemist! (I did, well at least to someone with a degree in chemistry anyway) And my choice is wire brush and frequent inspection.

the spacing is way to wide for a caique... I think about 2 1/2 inches.