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Ptactical Bird-Keeping. — IV. Parrakeets.


The wire flight should, if possible, cover a larger area than

the shed. A good rule being to make the area of the former

double that of the latter.


It is advisable that the flight should be less in height than

the shed, and the top of the opening from one to the other

should be as high up, or nearly so, as the top of the flight, most

birds, especially when new arrivals, objecting to dipping down

into a low opening.


The covered portion of an aviary should be substantially

built, preferably of brick, or double tongued boarding, and care

must be taken that no holes or chinks are left that would cause

a draught.


The roof should consist of tongued boarding, felt, and

tiles or corrugated iron, and should contain a large skylight made

to open for ventilation in hot weather, a wire-netting guard being

fixed on the inside.


A door or large window should be fixed to the opening

into the flight, so that the birds can be shut in altogether if

necessary. All windows should have a wire-netting guard on

the inside.


The floor of the shed should be of concrete, that of the

flight mostly of turf with a gravel path.


Such is, in outline, the plan of a very simple and useful

type of aviary, but this can be improved upon considerably if

thought desirable. For instance, in a range of such aviaries a

service passage running along the back with doors into each

compartment is most useful as it allows the attendant to visit

any one compartment without the necessity of going through

several other compartments to get to it.


It is most important that the aviary be made secure

against the ingress of such vermin as rats, stoats or weasels.

The inside or shed portion, if provided with a concrete floor will

be practically safe, but the outer flight, which has a natural floor

of earth is the most likely place for the enemy to attack. A

simple and effective method of making this secure is as follows.

A trench should be dug round the flight, eighteen inches wide

and eighteen inches deep, and the wire netting, which by the way

should be of five-eight or even half-inch mesh, should be carried

to the bottom of the trench and then turned outwards at right



