Well, thanks for the details. I think I might need bigger bulbs than Christmas lights though for those -30 winter weeks, the goal is to keep the interior above 5-10 celsius I imagine... Brilliant
Everything I hold in my hands today could be only a memory tomorrow. Carpe Diem.
I finally was able to get started on my weathering area today. It's 10' x 20' and 8' high. I plan to take out the window to the mews and allow the bird to fly in and out at will. I will make the bars for the window easily removable and replaceable so I can isolate the bird just in the mews also. The bottom third of the walls will be 5/4 treated decking and the whole roof will be 3/4" conduit. (I got 170 pcs for less than $1/ea.) ;D There will be a door on one end and also a door into the garage area.
I would like opinions and ideas on if you think giving the bird that much space is a good idea or not. I sure hate tethering.
Lookis great thats gow I plan on doing mine except the mews wont be in the house.... I like the idea What bird do you fly? Maybe we could go hunting sometime...
If there are any new hawkers in norther or middle indiana hit me up with a pm, i can point you in the direction of reat sponsors and hawkers.
Very nice. I am building a new weathering area off of a new shed. I am early into the project, and I like your three wall savings. I did my hawk house that way, and it saves a nice chunk of cash and works well. Please keep us updated. This is great.
I will make the bars for the window easily removable and replaceable so I can isolate the bird just in the mews also.
You can build a window frame for the bars, and take it in and out whenever you like. Or, you can hinge the frame so it folds down easily. I'd add shelf perches along the window's sash (inside and out) so she can land first before going though the window. She can lounge on them too.
I worked on the weathering area most of the week and it's basically done except for the perches, locks on the door, and some minor details on the mews window. It turned out way better than I had hoped.
You have a top shelf mews and weathering yard Dave!
Great set-up!
Last Edit: Jun 23, 2008 7:36:01 GMT -5 by miket307
“Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.”
Nice job, Dave! This just made my mews-to-be this week feel real small. By the way, everyone. The "Pitch In To Make Jay's Mews Bigger" fund is still available. The participation thus far has been disappointing to say the least.
I drilled holes through the ends of the conduit and then screwed them to the wood. (that's a lot of holes)
Just FYI... Check each bar often. Wood softens, screws rust. Years ago, a conduit bar fell out of one of our free flight chamber windows, and we lost a peregine.
Any plans to window screen over the outside of the bars (keep WNV mosquitos out)? With your nice design, it would be super easy to staple the screening to the wood frame. An added plus: if a window bar does fail, you've got a barrier with the screen there, and screening the roof stops hail stones, hard rain, and tree debris from entering.
Hansen Screening (online) has long and wide rolls available in different colors and fabrics. I'd recommend the aluminum for durability. We've had all our windows and the entire mews screened since 2001 - and the aluminum is still in great shape. Check it out: www.hansenscreen.com/InsectScreens.html
