There was a break through. Manzi began to preen Maui. Not all out, but he did preen a few of her feathers. Maui was so patient with him as she held her head down for a full 5 minutes. I was a bit worried. Manzi first reached over, puffed up and pupils dilated (showing aggression) and pulled out a beakful of feathers. For some reason Maui didn’t scream and instead kept her head down. Manzi’s feathers depuffed and his eyes de-dilated and he then gently grabbed a feather and pulled it through his beak (in a preening manner). He did that a few more times and then they both got distracted as I moved. Anyway, it was a beautiful thing and I have real hope for these two.
Aviary news: I have decided to build them an aviary. It will not be very big, but still much bigger than either of their cages. I will put it on my patio so they can hang outside with Hercules during the day. I am still deciding on the dimensions, as I would like to be able to wheel it inside in case of a storm. That would mean it needs to get through my sliding glass door. I think I will make it 76" tall, 60" wide and 36" deep. I calculated the living space and that would make it 3 times the volume of Manzi's cage. I will make it out of steel and then also get it powder coated so it won't rust very easily at all. I am estimating the cost to be about $700 (I have to buy a spot welder). Luckily, I made a friend here in Minnesota who is extremely handy and will help in the construction. The estimated time frame is 2 months. Thursday I am going to buy the steel rods. I am going to weld it together out of 120 steel rods spaced at 1".
I am still working on the design. I want to make a wind shelter. I was thinking of using plexiglass so they could still see out, but it is very pricey and would probably cost an extra $100 (I was told it is $130 for a 4' x 8' piece). Maybe I'll do a metal wind shelter. I was thinking of making a shade for them too, but that can be out of material, although they might just chew it up. If anyone has ideas/comments please post them so I can incorporate them (if of redeeming value).
3 comments:
Hi Adel, that's great the the birds are just starting to get along. Of course that will be critical if you want to venture stick the two of them in a single aviary. Keep in mind that if you don't put them in the same aviary from the start, one of them will develop a stronger territoriality of it. So if you can get them friendly enough together that you can introduce them simultaneously to it, the better the chance that they can be in it together.
Check out the article I wrote about putting together my aviary. It brings up many considerations to think about. Assembling my Cages By Design Aviary. For example, did you consider building a roof for it? It's not just for shelter from sun/rain but also from other birds. You don't want wild birds to be landing on top of your aviary (or whatever trees/places overhang it) and pooping inside because that could spread illness to your birds.
The cage sounds awesome, but you might have to keep them inside for about 9 months of the year if you want them not to freeze.
I would check out home depot, I bought plexi there and I think it was 25$ for a 4x4 piece. maybe I am remembering wrong, but I would look.
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