New Avery

[joldfield]

Hi,
I am in the process of building a new avery for my new loft, my question is Can you use chicken wire for the avery. My avery is 8' x 6' x 7'tall I live in Houston Texas so I really don't have any preditors besides a hawk or two.

[little bird]

Texas, and you don't have snakes????? Snakes can get into chicken wire. Mice and rats can make your birds sick if they frequent your aviary and leave droppings while foraging for the spilled grain.

[joldfield]

I have lived here since 1996 and the only snake I have seen was a gaurden snake 4" long, as for rats we have i or 2 now & then.

[little bird]

Wow,... lucky you, sounds like an ideal place to have birds. I would still stick to the 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware cloth just to be certain and also prevent having to re-do the screening in case you attract predators to your area by having the birds..

[Charis]

It's very important you use 1/4 inch hardware cloth. A couple or rats can destroy a flock of pigeons they can get to at night. I had it happened to me once many years ago. I had no idea rats could be a problem and I didn't even know there were some around my place because rats, for the most part, only come out at night. Believe me, waking up to that is heart breaking. Better be safe than go through what I did and other members have as well.

[joldfield]

Thanks Charis, I guess I need to play it safe, Just hate the price tag on the good stuff

[Charis]

Originally Posted by jmoldfield

Thanks Charis, I guess I need to play it safe, Just hate the price tag on the good stuff

I hear ya' but you'd hate yourself if something happened to them and you could have prevented it.

[Lady Tarheel]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new aviary.

Like Nona and Charis said, you definitely need the 1/4 inch hardware cloth. Not only can rats get in anything larger but raccoons can put their paws through chicken wire and kill or injure your pigeons. Also, be sure all areas are covered - ceiling, sides and at the base so nothing can dig under, particularly if you have a dirt floor.

[joldfield]

Thanks, I'll post some pics when I'm finished

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by jmoldfield

I have lived here since 1996 and the only snake I have seen was a gaurden snake 4" long, as for rats we have i or 2 now & then.

I have lived here for over 20 years and never saw any snakes until I got pigeons. Believe me, chicken wire does not keep them out, 1/4 inch hardware cloth does.

[Lovebirds]

Do you have any pigeons yet? Where are you planning on getting your feed? We've got a new member who lives in/around Houston and is having trouble finding any pigeon feed.

[joldfield]

I planned on using plain grain, And I just got ten great rollers from austin

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by jmoldfield

I planned on using plain grain, And I just got ten great rollers from austin

What is plain grain?

[joldfield]

Just grain,you can get it at any feed store

[Lovebirds]

Still not sure what you're talking about unless you mean wild bird seed, which won't do if you want your birds to perform. You can't just feed them any old thing that comes in a bag and says "seeds"...........If that was the case, then the pigeon feed companies would go out of business and the companies that make wild bird seed would make a mint.
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but you ask any pigeon fancier.....they'll tell you the same thing.
I took in about 25 birds a couple of years ago from a local guy's girlfriend. He got thrown in jail and she couldn't afford to feed the birds anything but corn. You've never seen such a pitiful group of birds. They were barely surviving and hadn't molted that year. It took everything they had just to stay alive. Within 30 days of them being in my loft with some good feed, they molted and started shining like new pennies. It does make a difference.
So.......about the birds. Can you post pictures of them? Are they young birds?