That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

 

Today I’d like to introduce a new option offered to serious aviculturists by That Pet Place – Outdoor Aviaries .  Early in my zoo career I noticed the vast differences in appearance and behavior between the birds I kept indoors and wild individuals of the same species.  At first I wrote this off to diet and exercise, but I soon noted that birds kept in outdoor exhibits, even for part of the year, were also more colorful and vigorous, and bred more regularly, than did those kept indoors.  You may note that in many of my articles I urge the use of large outdoor enclosures when possible…this strategy has worked well for me in zoos and at home.

Benefits for Your Birds

Our outdoor aviaries allow you to provide your pets with the well-documented benefits of fresh air, sunshine, exposure to natural light and weather cycles and an influx of nutritious insect food.  Available in 5 sizes ranging 3.5 x 4 feet to 9 x 5 feet, they are the ultimate warm weather or permanent homes for a wide variety of species.

Benefits for You

You will reap benefits as well, for your pets will no doubt reveal an astounding range of new behaviors once released into a large, outdoor aviary.  Many of my most memorable observations were garnered in front of outdoor bird exhibits in zoos and my own backyard aviary (which was home, at various times, to injured kestrels, crows, saw-whet owls, mourning doves and those “bird-wannabees”, flying squirrels).

Further Reading

For information on a charming species that makes an ideal introduction to outdoor bird keeping, please see my article on The Care and Natural History of the Chinese Painted or Button Quail.  

Next time I’ll cover some of the many situations in which outdoor aviaries are useful, and mention birds that do especially well in them.