How to Make a Small Animal Cage

Whether you intend to keep birds or dogs in an outside enclosureyou basically need the same sort of thing, so it makes sense totreat all such animal homes in one place.
To start with, plan the whole thing so that it is as large aspossible but only a few cm (in) higher than you are, and in asheltered, secluded place. This type of structure consists of two parts -an outside flight or run, and a shed of some sort.

Try to plan for more than one flight or run. You will find it invaluable over the years even if you cannot visualise a use for it at this stage. If the aviary is to have a natural floor, remove the soil to a depth of 15 cm (6 in) and, after you have built the frame of the aviary and start to attach the wire, completely cover the floor with 1.25 cm (lb in) mesh. It will stop your pets from escaping; just as importantly, it will exclude vermin. Some people say that you should dig a 30 cm (12 in) deep trench around the aviary and continue the netting of the walls to this depth and outwards for 15 cm (6 in), but this is hard work, almost as expensive and not nearly as effective. After you have wired the floor you can put back all the topsoil.

It is imperative that all timber used for aviaries is made as weatherproof and insectproof as possible. If you are using a commercially made shed the timber will already be treated, and building your own flights onto bought sheds is certainly the easiest way of making an aviary. Somewhere along the side of the shed you will have to make a doorway so that animals can enter or leave the flight, and this door should be constructed so that it can be opened from outside the aviary as well as from inside the shed When you are thinking about a remote control device, try and design it so that the animals in the flight cannot see the person operating it because the day will come when some animal is not going to go through the door while anyone is around. I have not yet come across a remote control door that is anything better than primitive but perhaps the best is a door that slides in runners with the aid of a detachable pole.
Inside the shed itself is a good place to make the safety porch that I referred to earlier, and in this part of the building one can also store and cut up food and keep cleaning equipment. Do not forget to wire over any windows because otherwise, when you open them to let in a cool breeze, your prize specimen may make a break for freedom.
If your pets need beds or sleeping boxes, make sure they are dry and draughtproof and put them in the furthest corner from the door. A bed inside the shed is best made with short legs as floors can be remarkably draughty places.

If you are keeping birds or small mammals, it is a good idea to make the only entrance to the flight via the safety porch and then the inside of the shed, and the doors ought to be no more than about 120 cm (48 in) high as this will help prevent escapes. A good thick bush at the opposite end to the door is a good idea as your animals will tend to dive into it when you enter at the other end. Planting is important because it fulfils so many purposes. All plants must naturally be non-poisonous and pretty robust, and provide cover at all levels. Birds and small mammals use leaves in nest building and any plants introduced to the aviary should take this into account, as some birds such as weavers use long thin grasses for their nest and others use conventional leaves or moss as a lining. It is a good idea to incorporate plants with flowers and fruit as the former attract edible insects while the latter can themselves be eaten. One thing to be aware of is the final size to which a plant will grow, for the top of a tree or a stout branch can exert such pressure on wire mesh that eventually a hole appears and you wonder why your stock keeps disappearing. It is not a bad idea to trim all your plants so that they do not touch the wire. If ever you are hunting for a hole, it is much easier to find if there is this gap.

The best floor covering is peat. If you try and grow some sort of lawn you will be forever fighting to keep it looking attractive. Gravel can work well too, especially if it is hosed down occasionally but it cannot be much fun for quail to trudge about on all day long. Nor can birds have a dust bath in gravel. It may seem obvious, but do not put food or water dishes beneath anything on which a bird may perch, and if there ought to be, do find one with a rough surface and a slope at one end or a bird might be drowned; or if the water level drops, so that it cannot be reached from a tall side, all your charges are going to get thirsty. The easiest thing of all is to make a shallow pond with cement.
If your flight is to have a concrete floor, life will be a lot easier if you incorporate a drain with a soakaway beneath. Arrange your floor at a slight gradient, so that when you hose it down or it rains all the water disappears quickly.

If your aviary is actually going to house birds, neighbourhood cats can become a real pest; indeed, breeding can be completely spoiled because the birds are too nervous about a great fat cat sitting on top of their home. The best deterrent is to extend the wire netting of the roof so that it sticks out beyond the walls of the aviary for about 20 cm (8 in). If this has no framework at the outer edge it is very floppy and a cat that has climbed the wire will find it almost impossible to negotiate this insubstantial overhang. It must, however, extend around the shed because otherwise any self respecting cat will soon learn to climb the building to get on top of the flight. Unfortunately, if your next door neighbour builds a shed on his side of the fence, close to your aviary, a cat will jump across. It applies the other way around, too; don't site your aviary near your neighbour's shed.

Finally, when the whole thing has been built and planted, and the plants allowed to become established, do get yourself a substantial lock for the door. Pet thefts are increasing and pets are valuable. I know it will only keep out honest burglars, but it will help.