I've gotten the lumber to start the building of my Mews/weathering area, I plan on having the entire structure 8x16. Divided into two 8x8 areas Mews, and weathering area. The mews will have a gable roof (^ shaped), paneled in OSB and painted to match the house to protect it from the weather , 2-3 large windows, as it will be in the corner of the yard, just Inside the fence, and will be in dappled shade. I plan on using welded wire to surround the weathering area.
Ok, so here are the questions, Will pea gravel be OK as a substrate inside of the mews?
The site we are putting it on is bare ground at the moment(no grass) Do I need to put any substrate in the weathering area?
And is a bow perch the only perch that is to be used in the weathering area?
Sounds good, put some vertical bars evenly spaced on the windows, pea gravel works great as long as it's not painted or dyed. I would put landscape fabric down everywhere and then then gravel to keep dirt from mixing in with it, wire is good to use in addition to keep animals from digging in ( I used about 12 inches of mesh all the way around on the ground and the grass quickly grew up through it and it's now hidden.) Just rake and hose down the gravel; without the landscape fabric it will get really muddy, but also it will slow drainage and keep weeds from growing up. A good bow perch is all you need in the weathering yard with a bath pan; put a separate bath pan in mews to. I'd also keep her tethered because wire and feathers don't really work well together. I weaved long strips of heavy duty black plastic in and out of the fence to provide a visual barrier to keep my bird from bating a lot.
Yeah, black landscape fabric; air and water can penetrate it but it keeps dirt from mixing in with the substrate. I would def. put in the yard because if its just dirt it will become a muddy mess. It's a matter of opinion really; I don't like my bird's feet encrusted in mud as well as her equipment all the time. The bars on the windows can be anything pvc, dowel rods, bamboo, wooden slats, pipes etc.
So, gravel in the mews, and the weathering area it is, I definately don't want the bird's feet to be dirty equipment either for that matter. good point!
Still weeding and getting some brush out of the build site, going to put the remaining brush and garbage out on Friday(pickup day). try to do some leveling off, then hopefully I can start construction!
I've seen some hawks dig a deep trench around their perch when bating in gravel when tethered in their weathering yard. The landscaping mesh underneath the gravel could be snagged by talons and cause trouble. I'd stake down a large section of nonloop outdoor grass carpet over the gravel under the hawk to prevent this. Bating on gravel does dull talons too. Just what I'd do.
I've seen some hawks dig a deep trench around their perch when bating in gravel when tethered in their weathering yard. The landscaping mesh underneath the gravel could be snagged by talons and cause trouble. I'd stake down a large section of nonloop outdoor grass carpet over the gravel under the hawk to prevent this. Bating on gravel does dull talons too. Just what I'd do.
Agreed.
I like pea gravel for free lofted birds for all the reasons Chuck says but..
If you are going to initially tether the bird in the mews, like Bernie said, you should consider covering the pea gravel to prevent trenching, dulling of talons, etc..
Various kinds of rubber mats, AstroTurf and such are available at a reasonable price and washable/reusable each year when you get your bird out after molt or get a new bird not ready for free lofting. Like Bernie suggests, I usually use nonloop outdoor grass carpet.
Ok cool, thanks guys. I have to pickup some astroturf for perch covering anyways. I'll see what I can do around the bow perch so there's no digging. Got the rest of the trash raked and bagged, saturated the soil(we have very sandy soil hard to move w hen not wet), waiting for it to soak up some, and will start leveling!
Good news, the build site is leveled and hope to start sinking post tomorrow, I still can't believe the wheels are finally in motion, just proves if you want something bad enough, a little hard work and determination will pay off. I was thinking about postponing the building until I've gotten a sponsor, but I felt that having the facilities in readiness would prove that I'm serious, and will help me get one.
flight should you be talking to your sponsor about this. This is something thats all part of your apprenticeship. I'm not disagreeing with whats been advised on this thread as i have the same set up but really you should be discussing this with your sponsor