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Indoor Aviary Walls
Aviary walls, both indoor and outdoor, can be constructed of many materials. For large parrots and macaws, these materials
must be impervious to attack by pliers or small wire cutters, otherwise the birds will chew right through them. For lories,
far softer materials can be used. Lorikeets do chew on things, but it can take years for noticeable damage to occur. For example,
a determined macaw can shred a 2x4-inch perch in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, a one-inch perch in a lory cage can last for years.
For my indoor aviaries, the wall materials of choice are
- masonry,
- metal sheeting,
- plastic (pvc) poultry netting with 3/4-inch mesh,
- wood.
The plastic poultry netting works just fine, and there's no indication that Forsten's lorikeets will ever chew through it.
(Note: it's probably a good idea to perform some testing before using it with large lories.)
The plastic poultry netting can be supported by a simple wood frame. Again, macaws will destroy this type of frame within a few days;
but with lories it will last virtually forever.
The important material to AVOID is welded wire mesh, also known as hardware cloth. The manufacturing process uses zinc, which is
poisonous. Because lories taste everything, it's a near certainty that they will eat some zinc, with potentially fatal results.
Another category of material to AVOID is pressure-treated lumber, which is the type typically used on outdoor patios and decks.
The pressure-treating process impregnates the wood with insecticides and/or fungicidies (arsenic, for example), which are poisonous.
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