# Cockatiels - anyone built an outdoor aviary?



## catembi (17 April 2016)

If so, could you post pictures?  We are about to start building one.  Any advice re materials appreciated, especially re sleeping area & the wire to use.

All suggestions appreciated!

T x


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## Overread (17 April 2016)

We have a modest outdoor avery with Cockatiels  in it and they've generally done well. 

It's built attached to a wooden wendyhouse so that there is an indoor sheltered area for them. The indoor area also houses the feed and water and has a 2 door system - one door to get into the house and change feed/water through hatches and a second door that opens into the pen itself to clean it out. 

The outdoor area is linked through a small hatch which can be closed so that you can move the birds into one half to clean the other and vis versa; it also lets you lock them in if you know its going to be a very cold night; although with the mild winters we've not had a problem. I think there's a small heater in the wendy house too for very cold nights; but otherwise they've done well. 


The outdoor section is two-door again and wired with ferret wire on the inside. The wire has done well and lasted and even kept out rats (they instead chewed a hole into the wendyhouse..)


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## Karran (17 April 2016)

This is for mine!
I had 6 indoors and then we extended the kitchen so to remove the risk of them breathing in dust and mess I had one built in the garden!







Def get a small porch bit built, it reduces risks of one escaping and is a good place to keep space perches, feed, broom, feeders.

I had a clear corregated plastic roof but I took that off as it just grew too hot in there for them, it currently has a flat roof with roofing felt on it but thats now well on the way out and starting to leak and I have some space roofing tiles to build a small sloping roof on the top when I get a chance. (not very DIY minded either!)
I used chicken wire all along the sides and roof and that's been fine, the base is about 6 inches of concrete and wood bolted onto the top, if I were to do it again I'd extend the wire into the concrete as mice have found their way in.

I kept the corregated plastic and I built a bit of a lean-to against the front when we had snow a few years back but other than that they have fended for themselves pretty well!
Plenty of nestboxes for them to huddle up in if needed for cold weather and I put them outside around this time and they adapted to being outside birds really quickly and I now have 13! (plus one rosella and one grey ring neck parakeet)


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## catembi (17 April 2016)

Hi there,

Wow, that looks really good!

I am back up to 4 cockatiels...I had 4 for ages, then one flew away, one died & so it was 2 for years, then I lost one last week.  She was 12 & the vet said she had a tumour so her food/water wouldn't go down, so it was down to 1.  Then the people we got the puppy from wanted to rehome their pair of cockatiels, so I had them yest & then picked up another hen today, so back to 4.

Just need to get o/h started on the aviary now as I hate them being inside when the weather's nice.  They usually live in a huge cage on wheels in the doorway to a spare stable so they can get wheeled in & out dep on weather, but we've had trouble with mice, so they came in yesterday.

T x


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