Things You'll Need
- paper and pencil
- measuring tape
- nylon string
- 1 can spray paint (any color)
- 8 treated pine logs, 4 inches in diameter by 12 feet long
- 9 treated pine logs, 4 inches in diameter by 8 feet long
- posthole digger
- spirit level
- saw
- shovel
- tamper
- 1 16-foot roll 21 gauge wire mesh (1/2 inch by 1/2 inch), 4 feet wide
- wire cutters
- hammer
- galvanized nails and staples
- 1 roll 4/32 wire cable clothesline, 50 feet
- 4 4/32 wire cable clamps
- 1 3/4-inch plastic bird net, 14 feet by 14 feet
- 1 bag bird netting mounting clips
- 1 adjustable 3-rail metal gate frame, 36 to 60 inches wide
- 5 1 by 2 treated boards the width of the planned gate
- 2 1 by 2 treated boards 6 feet long
- 2 hinges, 2 bolts and 1 handle for gate, with screws
- 1 pheasant shelter, 5 feet by 3 feet
- tree limbs and brush
Instructions
Layout
Draw a detailed scaled plan for your aviary, showing the location of all upright posts at the corners and centered on the sides, and the distances between them. Remember to include the extra upright for the gate opening.
Measure and mark off the ground area with spray paint.
Place stakes in the ground at the corners and at the locations of uprights.
Run a string around the perimeter wrapping at each stake. Re-measure the dimensions and move the stakes to correct any errors.
Frame
Dig a posthole 2 feet deep at each staked spot, sink an 8-foot pole to the bottom, fill in around it with soil and tamp firmly. Check each pole with the spirit level to assure that it is plumb, adjusting as necessary.
Wire each pair of uprights that face each other across the pen together with wire cable clothesline 2 inches below the top, add tension and secure with wire cable clamps. This provides extra support for the uprights and also creates a framework for the top netting.
Join the uprights together at the top with a 12-foot pole laid on top of the uprights on each side. Notch the ends with the saw and toe-nail them securely in place.
Dig a trench 2 inches deep around the bottom just outside uprights.
Lay the remaining four 12-foot poles in this trench and nail then securely to the uprights.
Wire Mesh Sides
Cut the wire mesh into 12 panels 8 feet long. Clip three panels together to form 3 12-foot long sides of the aviary. Clip 2 panels together to form the short side, where the gate will be. Reserve the remaining panel to form the gate.
Dig a trench 6 inches wide and 18 inches deep around the outside of the bottom poles.
Bend the bottom 6 inches of each wire panel outward at a 90-degree angle. Raise a panel and stand it against a long side of the frame with the 6-inch bent flange at the bottom of the trench. Staple the wire mesh securely to the uprights at each end and in the middle, and to the poles at the top and bottom.
Staple the wire mesh securely to the uprights at each end and in the middle, and to the poles at the top and bottom. Complete the remaining two long sides and the short side the same way.
Fill in the trench and tamp the dirt down hard. The buried flange will help prevent predators such as foxes and skunks from digging into the aviary.
Gate
Adjust the gate frame to the width of your opening.
Attach the 6-foot treated 1 by 2 boards to the sided of the gate frame. Nail the shorter treated boards to the 6-foot 1 by 2 boards at the top, center and bottom of the gate frame and at the top and bottom of the 6-foot boards.
Staple the remaining wire panel to the gate frame, attaching it to all the crossbars to close the opening from top to bottom.
Install the hinges on the gate and hold the gate up to the opening. Mark the hinge placements on the uprights so that the gate closes the opening completely but still swings freely. Lay the gate down, drill pilot holes for the hinge screws. Hold the gate up while you insert and tighten the hinge screws. Test the gate to be sure it swings correctly.
Attach the two bolts to the gate, one on the inside and one on the outside, so that you can secure the gate from either side to prevent birds from escaping while you are in the pen. Attach the handle to the side of the gate from which it is pulled rather than pushed.
Top Netting
Spread the 14-foot square of bird netting evenly over the top of the aviary, with a 2-foot overlap on each side.
Attach bird netting mounting clips to the netting at each upright and nail the clip to the upright to secure. The netting prevents your birds from being attacked from above by hawks and other predatory birds.
Attach the netting to the wire mesh between clips with nylon string for extra security, weaving it in and out of both mesh and netting and tying off at the uprights.
Finishing Touches
Check the aviary over for gaps through which a pheasant could escape. Close any such gaps by patching with leftover wire mesh.
Bring the shelter into the aviary and place it on the highest point of ground for drainage.
Place tree limbs and brush strategically to supplement or substitute for existing cover and create hiding and nesting places for the birds, leaving open areas for their use.