Newbie from Brissy - ? re Bird Sand

[heletia]

Hello,

I'm getting a new aviary/shed that will be outside in a courtyard standing on bricks, but right beside my bedroom door so I wont be able to use high pressure water to clean a concrete slab so I will need to get a tray made. I have been reading loads of forums and a lot of people say sand is great as a flooring as its very easy to sift out the droppings, doesn't smell and the birds like it the main point is it won't grow/harbor bacteria... :-)... but I cannot find any here around Brisbane in a large quantity.

1. Is 'Bird' Sand a mix of normal sand and grit?
2. So, I could buy some sand from a landscaper (children's play sand as its sterilized) and mix in some grit? would that = proper Bird Sand???
3. Also would I need to place a layer of Dolomite (Lime) UNDER the sand??

I would appreciate any advice about the sand.

Many thanks
Helen xo

[avinet]

Hi Helen and welcome to the Forum

I've always used washed Mary River sand that should be available form any good landscape supply yard - certainly is on the Sunshine Coast. It contains a mix of sand and grit in sizes that any aviary bird will find suitable to aid digestion of seed - from finches to galahs..

Don't get hung up on sterilizing etc - an outside aviary is never sterile so there is no point in trying to get sterile sand. Your birds will not catch a bacterial infection from the sand on the floor. Pay pit sand is too fine and would be unsuitable to use.

Mary River sand is easy to rake through - we use a lawn/leaf rake - and when it starts to get too dirty you can clear it all out and put in a new supply. However my aviaries would be lucky to have that happen every 5 years - when it gets a bit thin from the raking up I just put additional fresh sand on top of the old. In fact some have never been cleaned out in 20 years!! And some of my aviary cockatiels are near 20 years old.

The purpose of lime is supposedly to kill off any worm eggs. However if you are concerned about worms then every three months give the aviary a dose of wormer - Vetafarm Worm-out Gel is the best to be found in pet shops.

Personally I never use lime and never worm my aviary birds, even though I have a flock of pigeons that live semi-permanently on my aviary roof waiting for the free feed I give them every day. And I never see any worms in my flock.. However if you want to be careful then worming every 3 months is fine to do.

What sort of birds are you planing to keep and what is the size of the aviary?

cheers,

Mike

[heletia]

Thank you for all that info Mike. I'm sure our local landscaper here at Redcliffe will have some of that sand.

The aviary/shed will be 1.58m x .78.


The difficult part is getting the tray made. I havn't been able to find anywhere yet - my next on the list is Bunnings.

I really want the birds to have plenty of room to move around so thought about only having 2 male budgies or perhaps 4 finches. Being in a unit block of 12 I can't have too many being too noisy, even though most other tenants have birds indoors.

Kind regards
Helen xo

[avinet]

You should be able to get a tray made at a sheet metal place - a quick look at Yellow Pages - www.yellowpages.com.au - gives several in Redcliffe and Clontarf using "sheet metal fabrication" as the search term.

I would perhaps suggest getting two trays made to sit side by side so that if necessary you would be able to remove them for extra cleaning without dismantling the aviary - a single tray would not fit through the door.

I would also suggest budgies rather than finches - finches are very good at escaping from such an aviary when you open the door to service it. Budgies are much slower and so it is easier to ensure they don't fly out. If you stick to just male budgies you could have 4 in that size aviary quite comfortably.

Also think about how you are going to provide food and water in the aviary. Food dishes have to be out of any possible rain, but easy to replace without having to get too far into the aviary. You will need as a minimum separate feeders for water, seed and fresh food.

cheers,

Mike

[heletia]

Thanks for that it info. I had thought of only huge tray for the aviary to be placed on, then adding the sand which only has to be sifted regularly, so hopefully would never have to remove the tray.

The aviary will be well protected and wont' get any rain. It will be tucked in under the floor above and if it does rain i also have an extra shadecloth blind i can roll down. Will add pics later. :-)

I had thought of attaching a shelf at the front (left of the door) for the food and using stainless steel bowls and another shelf for the water in s/s bowls. Baths not sure where yet.

Ah ok so I could have 4 budgies then. I wondered about that. Thanks Mike. Am opening the yellow pages now. . :-)

Helen xo