Currently, pheasants as poultry for breeding are gaining more and more popularity. They are not only beautiful in appearance, but also are owners of tasty and nutritious meat. One of the important conditions for the successful maintenance of these individuals is the creation of an aviary for a pheasant. This structure should meet all the features and preferences of these birds. Therefore, you need to know how to choose the right dimensions for the manufacture of an aviary for a pheasant, what material is best used for these purposes, and what tools will be needed to work.
General requirements
Pheasants are very large birds that are not able to be in a fenced area, such as chickens. Due to their impressive size, they need a fairly large area.
These birds do not like accuracy, so the pheasant enclosure needs to be built taking into account that each individual has enough space for movement. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that pheasants are very shy, therefore this fact should be taken into account when constructing an aviary.
A properly designed pheasant enclosure is as follows:
- It is located on the sunny side, on sandy dry ground.
- The top of the structure is covered with nylon mesh or made of ropes.
- Inside the enclosure, it is necessary to arrange stairs, decorative driftwood, greens and bushes.
- In the zone of grazing individuals should be grass. If on the site it is absent, then it must be sown.
- Inside the building, additional heating systems should also be located.
- For a gold or diamond breed of pheasants, individual houses must be placed inside the enclosure.
- The back of the enclosure should be deaf so that the birds can retire and relax.
- Separate zones should be distinguished for adult birds and young animals.
Aviary sizes
The size of the structure will depend on 2 main indicators: which breed of birds will be bred, as well as how many pheasants will be kept in the house. We offer a standard calculation of aviary sizes for pheasants. With your own hands you will have to create such a structure:
- But one adult in it must have a minimum of 1.5 m² of territory. A pair of birds will require at least 10 m² of area.
- The height of the structure should be at least 2.5 m. Due to this, the chicks will be able to acquire flight skills, while being in conditions of limited movement.
For example, to contain 10 pheasants, you will need a house with a total area of at least 15 m² and a height of at least 2.5 m.
How to build an aviary for pheasants
Making a house for the described birds is not particularly costly or troublesome. However, the shelf life and quality of a do-it-yourself aviary for pheasants will depend on how sound the materials for its manufacture are, and how correctly the sequence of all actions during construction will be observed.
Necessary materials
To build a standard aviary, the following materials will be required:
- Varnished or galvanized wire mesh. Thanks to this special coating, the material provides the enclosure with additional protection, and is also protected from rust. The size of the mesh cells should be no more than 1.5 x 5 cm. Otherwise, tits and sparrows that steal food can get through large openings inside the aviary for pheasants, photos of which you can see in this article. Also, ferrets, weasels and other pests make their way into the houses. Pheasant chicks can also be selected through a large grid, after which they will become easy prey for predators.
- Rope or nylon mesh. With the help of it, the ceiling in the house is arranged. The cells at the nylon or rope network should be no more than 2.5 cm. On average, the shelf life of such material is from 5 to 7 years, after which the roof will need to be changed.
- Slate, tile or metal sheets for the roof. If a gable roof is arranged, then an additional rafter will be required. And for a pent roof type, a crate is required.
- Metal or wooden beam for the frame. You can use concrete poles, so that the frame will become more durable, but the cost will be more. In addition, wooden boards will be required for the construction of houses, poles, separate recreation areas, as well as perches.
- Sand and cement. These materials are necessary in order to fill the foundation. Sand is laid over the finished foundation as the main soil.
- Staples, nails. They are necessary in order to secure the frame and mesh.
- Slaked lime, paint and varnish.
- Gravel, which is used as an additional soil layer.
It should be noted that during the acquisition of materials it is necessary to take into account the size of the enclosure for pheasants. As for the financial costs of manufacturing a small aviary, which will contain from 5 to 8 individuals, they amount to about 3000-4000 rubles.
Necessary tools
To implement the aviary project for pheasants, certain tools will also be required. For work you will need:
- pliers;
- hammer;
- saw;
- screwdriver;
- plane;
- welding machine;
- brushes for painting and wood processing;
- jigsaw.
In addition, gloves and protective clothing will be required to protect against possible injury and contamination.
Walkthrough
When the necessary tools and materials are collected, then you can proceed to the main stage - the construction of an aviary. But how to build an aviary for pheasants with your own hands? To do this, follow the step by step instructions, which are described below.
Foundation and soil preparation
The topsoil must be cleaned and removed, after which a layer of slaked lime should be strewn onto the cleaned area, which should be no more than 2 cm. This procedure is required in order to disinfect the future house.
Next, prepare the foundation. To do this, the necessary marking is done on the ground, and a ditch is dug along the perimeter of the future house, the depth of which should be no more than 70 cm.After which, a solution should be prepared for which cement and sand are mixed in a ratio of 1: 4.
In the dug ditch, you need to lay the bars, pour the prepared solution on top. It should be noted that the width of the timber should not be too small compared to the width of the ditch itself. The drying period of the foundation is 2 to 7 days. It will depend on weather conditions.
Installation of the main frame
Columns for the frame are installed on the finished foundation, carefully fixed in the ground. These supports must be immersed in the ground to a depth of not less than 40 cm. It is important to ensure that the front support columns are buried a little deeper and the rear columns are less, for example, 60 and 50 cm, respectively. Support columns are mounted in the center of the enclosure, with the help of which the grid will be protected from sagging.
After that, the mesh should be pulled over the installed frame and fixed with brackets. It is important to note that all the sharp ends of the brackets must be bent, as frightened pheasants can be seriously injured.
Crate
Speaking about how to make an aviary for pheasants, it should be noted that after installing the main frame and wrapping it with a net, it is necessary to install the roof of the house.
If you plan a single-pitched roof with a slate coating, then on top of the entire area you need to pull the crate. To do this, on top of the installed support posts, bars are attached around the entire perimeter, after which one additional block is fixed transversely to the central support, and the other is fixed longitudinally.
To these bars should be nailed metal sheets or boards. On top of the resulting crate, it is necessary to lay the slate, which is fixed using special slate nails.
Floor preparation
For the successful maintenance of pheasants in the aviary, the territory should be covered with clean river sand, which is mixed with gravel. Grass is sown on top of this layer, driftwood are set, as well as a ladder. You can also build a hut from tree branches and install bird houses for recreation.
Additionally, boxes filled with ash are also installed, where birds can be cleaned of dust and bathe. At the same stage, feeders and drinking bowls for individuals are built. In the aviary, you can place and green plants.
Aviary processing
In order to prevent decay of the wooden frame, the tree must be further processed. For these purposes, it is best to use an antiseptic made on the basis of bitumen and diesel fuel. It is prepared as follows:
- Bitumen must be placed in a bucket.
- Heat the product to a boil, then remove from heat.
- In small portions, add diesel fuel to the liquid.
The amount of diesel fuel is uncertain, but there must be so much that the cold bitumen still has a liquid consistency. In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that it is a hot antiseptic that is used to process wooden products, since it is much better able to penetrate the structure of a tree, to a depth of almost 7 cm.
After processing, wood products must dry, which will take 24-36 hours. After that, the structure is treated with oil paint.
It should be noted that nitro-paints and nitro-varnishes are strictly prohibited in this building.
Before applying oil paint, the wooden frame must be primed so that there are no drips left on it. On the back wall of the enclosure, which should be all made of wood, small gaps are needed. The named birds are not afraid of drafts, on the contrary, they love fresh air very much.
Aviary Care Features
The basic rule of any house is cleanliness. No matter how equipped and modern the aviary for pheasants is, if there is dirt in it, the pets will feel very bad, there will be a risk of various diseases and viruses. Housekeeping guidelines are as follows:
- Drinking bowls, feeders, houses and perches should be regularly washed and treated with special disinfectants, such as caustic sodium or hydrated lime.
- Sand must be replaced at least once every two months.
- Particles of fluff and feathers, litter should be removed daily from the house.
- Sometimes small rodents make their way through a damaged or sagging mesh into the aviary. To protect the house from such enemies, it is best to use mousetraps.
- In order to prevent parasites in the house, the boards are covered with a lime layer from the inside. Lime is absolutely safe for birds, but it can also prevent the growth of bacteria.
- Disinfection and general cleaning of the entire house should be carried out annually in the summer.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the construction of an aviary for pheasants is considered a very time-consuming process. But even an inexperienced person in this matter can cope with the construction of the named house.