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Free
Flight
The 8x10
free flight is primarily a resting/retirement area for non-breeding
birds and will not include nests or nesting materials. It
can also be used to hold all birds if I will be on vacation.
Having all the birds in one enclosure makes maintenance easier
(one water source to change, one seed supply to stock). If
more space is necessary, the doors to the adjacent breeding
aviary can be left open to give the birds access to this space
as well.
Cages
Cages
can also be used in the free flight if needed. My cages are
stackable 3-ft double breeder canary cages with ½"
bar spacing. I do not recommend them for anything other than
casual use with small waxbills, as the birds can and will
squeeze through the bars, and there are wider gaps that need
to be closed up. I don't intend to use them regularly, and
if a bird escapes, it only escapes into the free flight, so
it is not a big deal. These cages have removable grates -
however, the cages will not function properly without the
grate installed (they are removable only for easy cleaning).
Because I do not like grates and find them difficult to clean,
I slip several days worth of newspaper on top of the grates.
This gives the birds a solid floor to land on and keeps the
grates poop free.
Free
Flight Floor
The floor
of the free flight is painted concrete and I am going out
on a limb and am not going to cover it with anything. The
concrete sweeps and mops up easily. I decided against papering
the entire floor - too much paper and too much trash, although
I may paper high traffic areas.
Perches
Perches
in the free flight will be manzanita, with a few silk plants/trees
for cover.
Lighting
Lighting
in the free flight is not yet installed. I will comment on
the lighting once I know how much and what kind is necessary.
Lighting will use a consumer-grade full spectrum bulb. The
current fixture is a 4-bulb 48" flourescent ceiling fixture.
This fixture is on a switch so that I can get light in the
bird room in an emergency after hours. The final fixtures
will be on timers.
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