Wire source

[SRSeedBurners]

Looking for a local source (North Texas) for GAW wire. I've been sitting on my talons too long on this and Greycie and her momma are conspiring to put pressure on me to get the aviary done! If you know of a source - would appreciate it. Putting my feelers out in several internets locations...

[Muse]

Hubby said he would look for the info but wasn't home long (due to the family emergency that ran into a business trip which kept him out for a couple of weeks). I am going to go through some files and see if I cannot find the place.

[murfchck]

Here is where we got ours. You will have to call them though, i didn't see it on the website but i know they have it. When we got ours it was like 147.00 for 4' X 100' roll. They will have all you need, the clips and the tool, clips were like 3 bucks and the tool for the clips was $10.

http://www.mcdonnellfeed.com/

[SRSeedBurners]

Thx Murfchck! Preferably I'd like 6' as thats the size of the structure. I'll call and see if they can get that and see what Muse comes up with.

[Talon]

wish I was closer..I have 2 1/2 brand new rolls...I bought mine off of amazon

[SRSeedBurners]

wish I was closer..I have 2 1/2 brand new rolls...I bought mine off of amazon

 

Do you have a link? I never thought to look on Amazon. Also maybe shipping from you to me isn't that bad - I priced something off of twpinc.com and it came out to ~$60 for two rolls of 6ft 16 gauge 1x1. I was scared shipping was going to cost more than the wire.

[Talon]

IN my case it cost a lot for shipping.. You are in Texas?

 

Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OWDKJW/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Muse]

I managed to find an IM where hubby mentioned price and ordering but did not say from where. I am going to corner him when he gets home (looks like possibly tomorrow night late or Friday) and make him hunt for the info. I am sure he's probably got an email receipt or something.

[SRSeedBurners]

Thanks for looking Muse. We're now arguing about where to put the aviary now that we've decided where we're going to put it (yes, cart before the horse sort of thing here). This thing may never get built!

[Muse]

Thanks for looking Muse. We're now arguing about where to put the aviary now that we've decided where we're going to put it (yes, cart before the horse sort of thing here). This thing may never get built!

 

My advice on where is to make sure it is close enough to hear and within line of sight to see so that if you have to step inside or run in and out (like when making snacks) you can keep an eye on what is going on, especially if you have mixed sizes in there at the same time.

 

Okay:

 

The site was http://www.thechickenhutch.com/ and we ordered the wire in 6' (72") wide by 100 ft rolls. I think he had to call them to order it. We originally ordered a thicker gauge but they ended up not having what we wanted and making us a nice deal on the thinner wire. I never noticed the birds molesting the wire, though Mar did take out a pretty good amount of the plastic zip ties.

 

The folks at that site were really nice and easy to work with. The rolls were very heavy and came by truck.

 

He was looking at the SS 1/2" x 1/2" mesh (which is what we will be using for the permanent aviary) and it was significantly more expensive ($1K per roll) but then again, it is for a long-term facility and is better than spending less and having to replace frequently.

 

We loved ours most of the time, but one whole summer I did not use it because of the West Nile outbreak. I think if I were doing another aviary in TX I would be using 2 layers and the outside one would be screen.

[SRSeedBurners]

What gauge did you use and what was your best biting bird? I have a Grey a Caique and a soon to be Jardines. Greycie doesn't really chew on wire so I'm not too worried about having a destroy proof gauge. I priced SS from another source and it was crazy outrageous. Around $1500 for two 6'x???' rolls. We can afford it but I really don't see the point when aviaries all over the place have been using GAW forever and no issues. As you say, my biggest concern is West Nile, not zinc heavy metal poisoning. We've had really good luck with some anti-mosquito plants along with the citronella.

 

I notice they have a military discount

[Talon]

I too looked into SS wiring, but in all the research I did, everyone used the GAW as was stated, they aren't living in it and don't usually hang and chew on wire. I have so many perches and hanging things, that my birds prefer to perch with comfort, not hang on wire....and they don't spend a long time out there, and it's only when I am home.

[Talon]

My advice is not to go too thin on the gauge I have 16 and am quite happy with the strength of it. I would not have wanted thinner as my amazon occassionally will climb it and it's quite sturdy .

[Muse]

Wow... $1500 for two 6' x rolls? Best we saw was 1K per roll! We *never* had any wire chewing. Mar did pop many of the plastic zip ties, but then again, we were making straw bundles with these so I am sure he readily identified them as toys. Had this been a permanent structure, we would not have used the zip ties but we did it to make it easy to tear down since we knew it would have to be moved. I washed the entire aviary with a spray bottle and vinegar water and a wire brush, as recommended.

 

Our best biting birds were the Greys. All the others pale in comparison to sheer strength and ability to destroy. We did not have the budgies during the time we used the aviary, however we did have a cockatiel, sun conure and the green-cheeked conures - none of which pose a threat to wire. I believe he ordered a 14 and ended up getting a 16, but I will check with him to be sure. I know it was not real thick.

 

Here are some pictures to give an idea what it looked like:

 

Megan on a perch about 8" or so from the wire.

 

Megan hanging upside down from the wire

 

Conner and Aunalese foraging in a wreath attached to the wire. They are normal size green-cheeked conures.

 

This is the aviary just after he finished building it. You can see the ladder, step stool, spray bottle of vinegar and wire brush. I had done the main cage and took this before starting on the safety cage. A safety cage is something I would highly recommend. It makes it much easier to safely get in and out of the aviary without risk of escape. Just make sure the two doors are never opened at the same time when birds are in there and it's pretty fool-proof!

 

This is just a closer view. I hated how the doors were hinged. It worked but they were awkward and often fell off their 'hinges,' however since we knew from the outset it was a temporary structure, we simply tolerated it. We later furnished it with a round expanded metal patio table with the center support going through the hole where an umbrella might be. It worked GREAT! It gave me a place to set their snacks, as well was bowls of water (big, for bathing) and toys. The aviary is built on a piece of outdoor carpeting - not the plastic kind. It's short brown loop carpet, which was easy to hose clean. This made sure no one was digging under (either from outside in or inside out). If I were doing another small structure like this, I think I would dig a footer and pour a couple feet of concrete and leave the floor natural, as well as putting down some bark mulch. This is what Matt has at Project Perry and the birds seem to love it. It also allows plants to grow, so you can plant (and prune to size) small trees. You can also use the footer to raise up the structure by building forms and anchoring to the footer.

[SRSeedBurners]

Thanks for the info and pics Muse. I'm guessing that's 1/2" x 2" ? I never considered the rectangular holed wire but if it works for GCCs, it'll work for my Caique.

 

We plan to use the playground wood chips. We might lay down an exterior wire to keep something from digging in but with our dogs in the yard, nothing gets past them and lives to tell about it.

[Muse]

You are lucky. I have to guard the birds AGAINST one of our dogs. (The other can be trusted completely around all smaller animals). We laid flat patio stones - the rectangular kind - around the dog yard to keep them from digging out. The same naughty dog is also a serial digger and was well on her way to digging her way to escape! I never would have thought about birds digging but at Project Perry, there was some nice sized excavations done by some busy Greys. I did not realize they sometimes will burrow. I guess they feel safe enough on the ground there.

[Talon]

My wire is stapled to the wood dames on the outside. Plastic tbiters one bite would be gone by my birds. I went with 1 x1/2 because I was worried Talon would get her head stuck if she ever tried to

[murfchck]

Wow, I am getting old... I can not remember the gauge or size. I am suffering from CRS. Ours was nothing special i know because we didn't have to wait or order it. It is strong enough for the cockatoo's not to bend it and that is saying alot ( she, Lilly, broke the metal clasp on her harness. And by broke i mean it broke in half, not just a missing piece. Actually in half.) My only advise is if you are making multipuls is to allow room between them so no toes get nipped. We had used a side of the first one so we only had to wire three sides of the second one, bad idea... As for placement, i agree with putting it where you can see it from inside and can get to it easily if you have to hurry out to it. Also watch that afternoon sun, it is a killer out here. In the summer, the poor guys can only go in there in the morning and in the late evening.