I am constantly looking for new ways to help my birds burn their energy. Car rides, indoor bird rooms and field trips are all excellent ways to keep our birds moving but sometimes it's still not enough. That's where outdoor aviaries come in. I strongly believe outdoor play rooms are the answer to many, many, bird problems.
The moment I sense my birds are getting a bit restless and before they get the chance to scream, I go and pick them up and start moving them. We may head outside for a walk or jump in the car to run a few errands, just as long as we are moving. But what about those days when I simply don't have time to take them for rides in the car or when my hands are way too full to handle them? This is where the aviary is most helpful. When my flock gets a bit wound up I can move them straight into the outdoor aviary where they are happy and safe. Meanwhile, I am free to get other things done.
Once inside the aviary, they will play in there for hours and hours. When they do finally come out, they're exhausted and hungry. There's no aggression, no fighting, no yelling, no biting, by the end of the day they are happy and exhausted. By evening they have just enough energy to eat dinner and then they want to go straight to bed. On days that I work I will put them outside in the early evening for an hour or so and that's still enough time to get them to wind down.
Even before I purchased the outdoor aviary I use to put my flock outside in the trees or on a jungle gym in the backyard. They loved climbing and playing around but since they were not in a secure setting I had to be right by their side.
Now, my birds are free to play all day long in a safe, fun and challenging environment. They're having so much fun playing in the aviary that they don't even realize they're burning their energy out. It reminds me of kids playing at the playground. They run from the swings to the monkey bars to the sliding board... running and running towards everything they see. Cold, heat, rain, nothing slows kids down when they are busy playing. The kids are even to busy to realize how exhausted they are until their mothers come to collect them.
Playgrounds are designed for kids to play and burn energy, basically allowing them to be kids. Outdoor aviaries provide our birds with the chance to be birds. They can climb, swing, chew, play and sometimes just enjoy the weather without me standing over them. They truly love it.
And, I'm not alone in my assessment. I have met several bird owners who have outdoor aviaries and they all report the same thing ... their birds give them no trouble because they clearly have an outlet to release their energy.
So, now that we understand the need for an aviary, how do we go about getting one? Nowadays you can find many different aviaries right on the Internet. Some have specific designs while others can be custom built. You can find prefabricated aviaries or instructions on how to build your own.
I did a lot of research before purchasing ours, I mean a lot of research. Finally, after seeing several aviaries in person, I purchased an eight foot aviary from Aviary Connections.
The aviary is spacious, well made and very decorative. At first, I didn't think my husband would agree to having this huge thing in our backyard but now that we have it even he admits that it looks great. It looks very much like a Gazebo and blends perfectly with our landscape. More importantly he likes the fact that the birds have another place to hang out. Words can't describe how happy my flock is.
As I mentioned, I visited the homes of a few different people who have aviaries and each of them have a wonderful and unique setup. I noticed the one thing they all have in common and that's the movement in the aviary. Everyone has swings, ropes and toys that are hanging and moving, which keeps our birds moving.
Outdoor aviaries are also a good option for bird owners who aren't able to provide their birds with an indoor playroom. And for bird owners who do have indoor bird rooms, the outdoor aviary is another avenue to expanding your bird's world.
