Types of spaces for birds
An aviary
A large outdoor cage or enclosure – called an aviary – is the best way to do this. You’ll need to protect your birds from weather extremes, but being able to experience sunshine, light winds and rain will keep them fit, mentally stimulated and in good condition.
Do's
You can keep smaller species that usually live in groups – such as budgerigars, lovebirds and cockatiels – together in an aviary.
Make sure each bird has room to fly. The height, width and depth of your aviary must be four times the size of the largest bird’s flying wingspan or more.
Add another 20 percent to the size of your aviary for each new bird you put in it.
Your aviary should have inside and outside areas.
The inside area should be big enough for all the birds to live there during harsh weather.
It should be draught-proof, insulated and safely heated. You want the sort of temperature your bird would experience in their natural habitat in the wild. Birds who would normally live in tropical or subtropical habitats need a temperature between 12 and 26°C.
At least a third of the outside area should be in shade and give protection from the weather.
Make your aviary secure, to protect your pets from the risk of diseases – such as avian flu or psittacosis – being passed on by wild birds.
Have a safety porch and double doors to prevent your birds from escaping.
Don'ts
Don’t put more than two large breeding, non-colony parrots – such as Amazon parrots, African grey parrots, cockatoos and macaws – together in an aviary. A home aviary is not likely to be big enough for more than one pair.
If a bird can’t fly well, don’t put them in an aviary with others who can. Other birds could see them as not normal and attack them.
A cage
If you don’t have an aviary, you can keep your bird in an indoor cage for short times each day, or overnight. But you will also need to give them space to fly freely indoors for at least six hours a day (see below).
Do's
Put the back of your bird’s cage against a solid wall and keep the top covered with a cloth to help them feel safe from any threats from behind or above.
Your bird’s cage should be big enough and have enough uncluttered space in it for them to flap their wings as often and as hard as they want to. Their wingspan is likely to be more than twice the length of their body.
If your bird spends most of their time outside the cage, make sure the height, width and depth of the cage are at least one and a half times their wingspan.
If your bird spends most of their time in the cage, make sure the height, width and depth of the cage are at least twice their wingspan.
The only types of birds you can keep in groups in a cage are those who breed in colonies in the wild, such as budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds.
If you have a group of these birds in a cage, make sure the height, width and depth of the cage are at least twice the largest bird’s wingspan.
If you have a group of more than two birds in a cage, you will need to increase the size of the cage for every bird over the first two. For small birds who weigh less than 50g – such as budgerigars, canaries, zebra finches and other small finches – increase the size by 5 percent (one twentieth). For birds who weigh between 50g and 100g – such as cockatiels and lovebirds – add 10 percent (one tenth) to the size of the cage.
Don'ts
Don’t put the cage near a radiator, fire or stove, or in a draught.
Do not try to keep more than one large, non-colony breeding parrot – such as African grey parrots, Amazon parrots, cockatoos or macaws – in one cage, as they will probably fight. Even a breeding pair can hurt each other if you keep them in the same cage. You can usually keep their cages in the same room though, so they can interact with each other.
Time out of the cage
Birds are not made to be kept in small spaces. Keeping your bird in an indoor cage for too long can make them bored and frustrated, which can lead to problem behaviour. They need at least six hours outside their cage every day and plenty of space in which to fly freely and safely indoors.
Do's
Make sure your bird is tame and trained to accept some simple requests. Check out our advice on how to train your bird.
Make your indoor flying space safe by closing all windows and doors before you let your bird fly.
Cover or screen large mirrors and windows, so your bird won’t get confused.
Encourage your bird to play with toys and to feed outside their cage.
Have plenty of table-top stands in the room, so your bird can perch, rest and clean their feathers (preening).
Make sure your bird is microchipped or ringed, just in case they do escape outside. That way, when they are found they can easily be identified and returned to you. Your avian (bird specialist) vet can do this.
Don'ts
If you have a ceiling fan, always switch it off when your bird is free. Even then, they may be frightened of it.
Don’t assume your bird will start flying straight away – flying skills have to be learned.
Don’t let your bird fly into the kitchen or near any other dangerous places or items.
What to put in your aviary or cage
Inside the aviary or cage, give your bird plenty of opportunities to do the things they want and need to do.
Do's
Your bird needs to use their feet in different ways, to stop them getting a nasty foot infection called bumblefoot.
Make sure there are plenty of natural wooden perches of different sizes and thicknesses. They should be smooth to the touch and there should be enough of them so that all the birds in the cage can perch at the same time.
Put your perches in places that encourage your bird to fly.
Fix perches at different angles, so that they can climb.
Add swings to help your bird exercise.
Add some toys, such as foraging toys with food in them.
Change the toys from time to time to keep your bird interested.
Don'ts
Don’t introduce new toys into the cage too suddenly. Give your bird a chance to get used to them outside the cage first.
You need to make sure your bird’s cage is not too cluttered with toys. They should be able to stretch and flap their wings whenever they want to.
Don’t put perches where birds’ poo might drop onto other birds or into food or water containers.
Be careful about putting a mirror in your bird’s home. Some birds do like them, as they see their own reflection as ‘company’, but others may become upset or aggressive.
Keeping it light
In your bird’s cage, aviary or indoor flight area, you need to provide lighting that is as close as possible to daylight. Some species need specialist lighting from UVA and UVB lamps.
Do's
Birds such as African grey parrots need UVB lighting from lamps specifically made for birds.
All birds who are kept indoors need artificial UVA and UVB lighting to protect their vision, to help them behave naturally and to help them absorb vitamin D.
Use flicker-free lamps that emit 12 percent UVA and 2.4 percent UVB.
Monitor the UVB output regularly with a UVI meter.
Replace the lamps regularly, according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Fit lamps in your bird’s living space in a way that gives differently lit areas, from full light for basking to shade.
Put perches at different distances from the lamp, so your bird can choose how much exposure to the light they want.
Keep your UV lamps on for as long as your bird would have daylight in the wild.
Don'ts
Don’t use lamps that flicker, as many birds can see the flickers.
Don’t put materials like glass or plastic between the lamp and the bird, as this can block the rays.
At the same time, don’t over-expose your bird to UV rays, which could give them eye and skin burns. Make sure you provide shade, with perches.
Putting your bird in an aviary for the first time
You will need time, care and patience when introducing a bird to an aviary for the first time. Before you begin, make sure they are well trained and can cope with being moved in a pet carrier – find more advice on training here. Make sure the aviary is fitted out properly (see above) and ready for birds before following these steps.
Some birds can be overwhelmed if they are not used to being outdoors, so you should introduce your bird to the aviary at the warmest time of the year and choose a day when there is little or no wind.
Take your bird inside the aviary in their carrier, open the carrier door and ask them to “step up” onto your hand.
Show them where the food and water containers are.
If they seem confident, ask them to “step down” onto one, or onto a nearby perch.
You can try touching the places first, before you ask them to step down.
If your bird doesn’t want to step down, just carry on walking around the aviary with them perched on your hand, or calmly put them back in the carrier, go back indoors and try again another day.
Your sessions should last no more than 10 minutes at first. As your bird becomes more confident, you can make them longer.
If your bird can’t fly
If your bird can’t fly or is disabled or wing-clipped, they need their own, specially adapted place to live.
Do's
Birds who can’t fly for any reason should live in an aviary that only contains other birds who also cannot fly.
Adapt the aviary to their needs by fixing food containers and perches in places where the birds can climb up to them, rather than having to fly.
Don'ts
Never put disabled or non-flying birds in an aviary with flying birds. They might be attacked or kept away from food containers.
Mixing with other birds
As long as all the birds in an aviary have plenty of space to fly around and move freely, they usually get along fine together. Sometimes, they might be aggressive towards a new bird, so you should watch them from a short distance for the first few sessions. Most aggression will happen around food and water containers and high perches when the birds roost, so make sure there are enough of these and plenty of shelter for all the birds.
Often, the excitement after introducing a new bird will settle down fairly quickly. Once you see the birds roosting close to each other and preening each other (grooming the feathers), you can be sure they have accepted one another. Read more about keeping birds together if you’re thinking about keeping multiple birds.