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A small Aviary for beginners.



varnish and a big brush and went carefully over the netting;

in a few hours’ time there was a good coating of hard varnish

all over, which most effectually kept the water from rusting

the wire, and I find after five years the netting as strong as ever.


Painting was the next item on the programme. I heard

that Distemper was the correct thing for an aviary, so I tried it,

but not for long, worse stuff I never used, it washed off with the

rain and rubbed off on one’s clothes, so that I took to paint, in

fear and trembling that the birds would eat it and die of lead

poisoning, but they never looked at it and I have used paint

ever since ; it looks clean and is very easily renewed. For the

inside I use white and the outside dark-green, which stands well.


I must say a few words about the arrangement I put up for

holding seed hoppers; this, as you can see from the photo, is

simply a box let into the house part with a door through to the

front of the house so that it can be cleaned and new seed put in

the hoppers from the outside without disturbing the birds in the

flight, I put up a small piece in front of the box to keep the seed

from falling on the floor of the flight, and above the door you

will see I fastened a piece of rubber to keep the rain from work¬

ing into the seed-box.


For water, I use white enamel dishes, which last well and

keep the water clean and fresh. I always found that pottery

ones grew a sort of green scum.


I have a big wooden tray for sand and broken up old

mortar, which the birds seem to love and they are never tired

picking amongst it; this I keep in the flight under the roof, so

that it is well protected from rain.


My first year I started with four pairs of Green Budgerigars

which multiplied tremendously ; that season I think I had to

dispose of between fifty or sixty young birds. They are a first-

rate species to start on, as one does not get disappointed at the

beginning —disappointments and deaths with come quite soon

enough later on with other species.


I now have an addition to my aviary at the other end, in

which I have a pair of Californian Quails. Last season they laid

about forty eggs but would not take the trouble to sit, I am afraid

they are just going to do the same this season too.



