To fully roof or not That is the question ?

[Fincho162]

Health concerns know no state barrier!! And for that reason alone full roofs are not just a Taswegian phenomena and many do it on the mainland as Dano said and does for hygiene reasons - the warmer your clime the more 'bugs' that you have to deal with. Still u guys can always leave the sides and fronts open.

And yes, obviously, our aviaries get very hot which is why the serious breeders have insulated shelters and side walls......makes for an expensive aviary complex compared to the mainland guys but it does work well. And if you do your homework you can emulate the best open aviary.........the "jungle" aviary I mentioned before bred 24 Napoleon weavers in it in a season.....so anything is possible guys!!!!!

And for the record no matter which state I lived in I'd always go for fully roofed aviaries......but how I'd love those open fronts.......a cold beer and a chair!!!!!!!!!!!...OK, 2 cold beers!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
Know of aviaries in Tamworth that are fully roofed, there summers are a "tad" warmer than ours!!!!!!!!
He uses those swirl-away roof vents (spinny things!!!!) .........pretty cheap and draw the hot air away........as long as u remember to wire where the hole goes into the aviary!!

Dont recommend the Suntuff brand for the roof as they are pretty thin - good for side walls but not enough strength for roof IMHO.
Bronze tint polycarb (Laserlite 2000) is the way to go!!!

[jusdeb]

Fully roofed only because of the resident sparrows and starlings ( dirty birds )hanging around all the time .

[Fincho162]

No better health reason jusdeb....sparrows carry a bacteria called Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (similar to the one that caused the black death!!!!) which causes severe liver disease in our finches.........I learned that one the hard way - pre roof days of course, smarter now!!!!!!!

Gotta luv that roof!!!!

[finchbreeder]

The previously open roof sections are now covered with plastic over the wire. I put 3/4 drip holes so the water that pools can still drip into the avairys. But only in the places I want it. And the sides are still open to sun from the north and breeze from the south. But we don't get excessively cold here.
LML

[mickw]

Warm, wet, coastal climate, 1600mm of rain per year and I want to keep birds in a confined space for 20 years.....its a no brainer here.

Colourbond shelter, insuwool roof, back & side walls, fibre cement sheeting all walls and ceilings of the shelter, then the flight is wired and fully covered with bronzed Suntuff.........coarse sand floor and the bloody aviary is becoming a jungle!!......no automatic watering, I do the water every day and use this to water any plants/grasses I think might need it.....the plants do fine, as do the birds, they get their dose of UV through their legs and the flight is 8" tall so plenty of unfiltered sunlight getting in

We havent had any 40+ days yet this summer but we do get them....... the humidity is oppressive...........down to around 0 degrees during winter so quite mild......only worry I've had was in mid winter, during unprecedented wet period (our winters are normally dry), quite cold and cloudy for days so the bronzed suntuff may not have been the best choice.....but I'll give it another go next winter before I switch it for clear..........bronzed also protects the inhabitants from being seen by predators........heaps here!

The Mainland experiences very broad climates.....you guys west of the divide are in some ways blessed with less rain.....if you're worried about heat being trapped, go for a raised roof a foot or so above the wire like Aussiefinchbreeders.......I've seen Graham's set-up in the hills behind Coffs Harbour.....exact same climate as mine here....but he had more space and money .........No wet WE Masked nests Gomer

[E Orix]

Sorry still not convinced, there is a person some 15kms from my home and he has an aviary possibly 20mx12mx2.7m high it is fully roofed clear panel side and an insulated shelter including double glassed windows. His losses were many times mine. There was a mould problem from the humidity as he had sprays to cool it down. We spread two truck loads of small stones to assist in drainage,it helped but no where near enough for me. His plants do not grow anywhere near as well as mine which is important to me as it creates nesting sites.The planting is important, so much thought should be put into it. My grass clumps are planted in 800mm diam. circles and the actual grass is then planted 150/200mm above actual ground level. A decent shelter is required in basic aviary size possibly 1/3 shelter the rest rest can be open or have a strip of shade cloth.
I would have little hope of roofing my big flight but my others have a normal depth shelter and in parts a 600mm eaves type shelter with brush tucked under it. The real governing point is what your local weather pattern is,also what species you intend to keep.I guess in the last 5 years the aviaries have produced in excess of 250 Weavers and Whydahs so both will produce.
I also don't worry about Starlings and Sparrow carrying desease, I am far more concerned not to over crowd, this means you may have to catch up your young birds. Over crowding is deadly to our birds.

[jusdeb]

yes overcrowding creates stress and stress creates disease ...different strokes for different folks as far as roofing goes . You would need to see the numbers of sparrows . starlings and mynors that hang around here to understand why I have covered roofs , one or two no worries but they come by the dozens and crap everywhere ...not good at all .

[shox]

i have used fully roofed aviary for the past five years that is the only way i would build any future aviaries. have had uncovered previously but happier vwith roofed, my breeding results have improved, which is main reasoning behind roofed aviaies.

[BENSONSAN]

ihave partial covered with that bronzed laserlight 2000 a love it. Hey eorix your aviaries sound amazing! When you catch birds do you have to trap them in such a big aviary?

[gomer]

Looks like the covered are preferred. I will cover one bank only as a trial this year before winter.