Constructing a bird aviary

In March 2007 Tony swayed to our children's idea of building a bird aviary so they could try to breed Budgies. There was an ideal space under the treehouse, and can I say that I so much enjoyed my part in this project? Yes. I was really quite relaxed sitting outdoors and watching as Tony, Sarah & Daniel measured up, drew plans and then went about the business of construction! Every now and again I would read out loud excerpts from a few books about Budgerigars that we had borrowed from the Library, but mostly I just sat and watched them as they worked and interacted together - and thanked God a number of times for blessing me so much through them.



Sarah & Daniel learnt a lot through this project. Tony taught them how to draw up their own floor plan with measurements and angles and he helped them use a jigsaw to cut holes in the breeding boxes and to drill and screw them into place. Then it was attaching wire, and putting in some perches using real tree branches of various sizes. We wanted it to be as natural as possible, while still able to keep it clean and disease free. The project took 2 days, but by far the most exciting part was going to buy the budgies! Our first birds were named Ella, Feathers, Bunty, Snowflake, Sunshine and Peacock. Sarah really wanted to add a couple of white doves to the mix, but the fellow at the aviary business did not recommend putting doves & budgies together. We have since added some King quails, which do a fantastic job of keeping the floor of the aviary clean - though for tiny little birds, they make a lot of noise - which surprised us all!

All this led us into further study of Birds in general, especially identifying the ones that visit our backyard and learning about them, but Budgerigars in particular. Sarah & Daniel collated all their information, drawings, and photos into a lovely display folder. There has been no breeding of the Budgies so far, but we are hopeful! The singing and chirping of these birds is bright, cheerful and happy. A welcome addition to our backyard.

Here is a photo of the treehouse with the completed aviary underneath.