Post by Isobael on Feb 20, 2008 9:17:23 GMT -5
Ok...the plan was to make a shelf perch and have walls that could be put up to make a "mews" when I needed the bird to be contained inside, or when put out to weather.
My Sponsor said that since the bird will be tethered inside, and it's in the house, to make the "mews" 4x4x4 in size, and make it portable so that it can be taken outdoors for weathering, or moving.
We made it 4x4x4 (interior measurements), with coroplast walls. The back wall and table top is not done, we still need to get the plywood for it, but we set up a system where the coroplast is "bolted" to a corner piece of moulding with nylon 10-32 bolts and nylon wing nuts, to make it easier to set up and take down.
The table is 51 inches by 51 inches, and the inside will be dadoed out to create a lip for the table to set down on. This will get a counter top block perch, as well as astro-turf covering, and a bath pan. The back wall will be plywood and attached to the table with a shelf perch.
The "windows" have not been made yet. We are still debating the best way for it.
So, anyway...this is the sketchwork I came up with for the idea. It is NOT to scale and I'm not an artist.
After 5 hours (one of which was spent returning to the store to buy the bolts and wing nuts, as we changed our minds on how to attach the coroplast to the corner supports and still keep it portable and easily broken down, we have the basics of an indoor mews.
It stands 6 feet tall, the legs are two feet and it's HUGE in my living room. Once we have it all done, we're breaking it down to store as I won't need it until next fall.
We have an enclosed front porch that will fit this monstrosity, we just need to get a door for it. It has windows on three sides, we'll get a locking screen door for the front. Then, we'll just lock the screen door and open a window or something to "weather" the Kestrel. It'll be tethered so I won't need to worry about it beating against the windows. If worse comes to worse, I'll make barred window coverings that can be hung over the windows, if I need to as instructed by the inspector.
I have three more sheets of 4 feet by 4 feet of the stuff so I'll probably be making a giant hood as well. We'll see.
My Sponsor said that since the bird will be tethered inside, and it's in the house, to make the "mews" 4x4x4 in size, and make it portable so that it can be taken outdoors for weathering, or moving.
We made it 4x4x4 (interior measurements), with coroplast walls. The back wall and table top is not done, we still need to get the plywood for it, but we set up a system where the coroplast is "bolted" to a corner piece of moulding with nylon 10-32 bolts and nylon wing nuts, to make it easier to set up and take down.
The table is 51 inches by 51 inches, and the inside will be dadoed out to create a lip for the table to set down on. This will get a counter top block perch, as well as astro-turf covering, and a bath pan. The back wall will be plywood and attached to the table with a shelf perch.
The "windows" have not been made yet. We are still debating the best way for it.
So, anyway...this is the sketchwork I came up with for the idea. It is NOT to scale and I'm not an artist.
After 5 hours (one of which was spent returning to the store to buy the bolts and wing nuts, as we changed our minds on how to attach the coroplast to the corner supports and still keep it portable and easily broken down, we have the basics of an indoor mews.
It stands 6 feet tall, the legs are two feet and it's HUGE in my living room. Once we have it all done, we're breaking it down to store as I won't need it until next fall.
We have an enclosed front porch that will fit this monstrosity, we just need to get a door for it. It has windows on three sides, we'll get a locking screen door for the front. Then, we'll just lock the screen door and open a window or something to "weather" the Kestrel. It'll be tethered so I won't need to worry about it beating against the windows. If worse comes to worse, I'll make barred window coverings that can be hung over the windows, if I need to as instructed by the inspector.
I have three more sheets of 4 feet by 4 feet of the stuff so I'll probably be making a giant hood as well. We'll see.