Pheasants are now gaining more and more popularity as poultry for breeding. They are not only beautiful in appearance, but also are the owners of tasty and nutritious meat. One of the important conditions for the successful maintenance of these individuals is the creation of an enclosure for a pheasant. This structure should correspond to all the features and preferences of these birds. Therefore, you need to know how to choose the right dimensions for making a pheasant enclosure, what material is best used for this purpose, and what tools will be required for the job.
General Requirements
Pheasants are very large birds that are not able to be in a fenced area, such as chickens. Due to their impressive size, they need a fairly large area.
These birds do not like grouping, so the pheasant aviary must be built taking into account that each individual has enough space to move around. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that pheasants are very shy, so this fact should be taken into account when building an aviary.
A properly designed pheasant enclosure looks like this:
- It is located on the sunny side, on sandy dry ground.
- The top of the structure is covered with a nylon mesh or made of ropes.
- Stairs, decorative snags, greenery and bushes must be placed inside the enclosure.
- There must be grass in the grazing area for individuals. If it is absent on the site, then it must be sown.
- Additional heating systems should also be located inside the structure.
- For gold or diamond breed pheasants, individual houses should be placed inside the enclosure.
- The back of the aviary should be closed off so that the birds can retire and rest.
- Separate zones should be allocated for adult birds and young birds.
Aviary dimensions
The size of the structure will depend on 2 main indicators: which breed of birds will be bred, as well as how many pheasants will be kept in the house. We offer a standard calculation of the size of the enclosure for pheasants. With your own hands you will have to create such a structure:
- But one adult in it should be at least 1.5 m² of territory. A pair of birds will require at least 10 m² of space.
- The height of the structure should be at least 2.5 m. Thanks to this, the chicks will be able to acquire flight skills while beingwhile in conditions of limited movement.
For example, to keep 10 pheasants, you will need a house with a total area of at least 15 m², and its height will be at least 2.5 m.
How to build a pheasant enclosure
Making a poultry house for the described birds is not a particularly costly or troublesome undertaking. However, the shelf life and quality of a do-it-yourself pheasant enclosure will depend on how good the materials for its manufacture are, as well as how correctly the sequence of all actions during construction will be observed.
Required Materials
To build a standard aviary, you will need the following materials:
- Varnished or galvanized mesh. Thanks to this special coating, the material provides the aviary with additional protection, and is also preserved from rust. The size of the mesh cells should be no more than 1.5 x 5 cm. Otherwise, through the large holes inside the pheasant enclosure, photos of which you can see in this article, tits and sparrows that steal food can get through. Also, ferrets, weasels and other pests often make their way into poultry houses. Pheasant chicks can also get out through a large net, after which they will become easy prey for predators.
- Rope or nylon mesh. With the help of it, the ceiling in the poultry house is equipped. The cells of a nylon or rope network should be no more than 2.5 cm. On average, the shelf life of such materialis 5 to 7 years, after which the roof will need to be replaced.
- Slate, shingles or metal sheets for the roof. If a gable roof is arranged, then you will additionally need to use rafters. And for a shed type of roof, a crate will be required.
- Metal or wooden beam for the frame. You can also use concrete pillars, so that the frame will become more durable, but the cost of it will be greater. In addition, wooden boards will be required for the construction of houses, poles, separate recreation areas, as well as perches.
- Sand and cement. These materials are necessary in order to fill the foundation. Sand is laid over the finished foundation as the main soil.
- Staples, nails. They are needed in order to secure the frame and mesh.
- Slaked lime, paint and varnish.
- Gravel, which is used as an additional soil layer.
Please note that the size of the pheasant enclosure must be taken into account when purchasing materials. As for the financial costs for the manufacture of a small enclosure, which will contain from 5 to 8 individuals, they are about 3000-4000 rubles.
Required tools
The pheasant enclosure project will also require certain tools. For work you will need:
- pliers;
- hammer;
- saw;
- screwdriver;
- planer;
- welding machine;
- brushes for painting and finishingtree;
- jigsaw.
In addition, gloves and overalls will be required to protect against possible injury and contamination.
Step by step guide
When the necessary tools and materials are collected, you can proceed to the main stage - the construction of the enclosure. But how to build a pheasant enclosure with your own hands? To do this, follow the step-by-step instructions described below.
Laying the foundation and preparing the soil
The top layer of soil must be cleaned and removed, after which a layer of hydrated lime should be strewn onto the cleared area, which should be no more than 2 cm. This procedure is required in order to disinfect the future poultry house.
Next, prepare the foundation. To do this, the necessary markings are made on the ground, and a ditch is dug along the perimeter of the future poultry house, the depth of which should be no more than 70 cm. After that, a solution should be prepared for which cement is mixed with sand in a ratio of 1: 4.
In the dug ditch you need to lay the bars, pour the prepared solution on top. Attention should be paid to the fact that the width of the beam should not be too small compared to the width of the ditch itself. The drying period of the foundation is from 2 to 7 days. It will depend on weather conditions.
Installing the main frame
Poles for the frame are installed on the finished foundation, carefully fixed into the ground. These supports must be immersed in the ground to a depth of at least40 cm. It is important to ensure that the front support posts are buried a little deeper, and the rear ones are smaller, for example, by 60 and 50 cm, respectively. Support posts are mounted in the center of the enclosure, with the help of which the net will be protected from sagging.
After that, the mesh should be stretched onto the installed frame and fixed with brackets. It is important to note that all the sharp ends of the brackets must be bent, as frightened pheasants can be seriously injured.
Crate
Speaking of how to make a pheasant enclosure, it should be noted that after installing the main frame and fitting it with a net, it is necessary to install the roof of the house.
If a single-pitched roof with a slate coating is planned, then a crate must be pulled over the entire area from above. To do this, over the installed support pillars, bars are attached along the entire perimeter, after which one additional bar is fixed transversely to the central support, and the other is fixed longitudinally.
Metal sheets or boards should be nailed to these bars. On top of the resulting crate, it is necessary to lay slate, which is fixed with special slate nails.
Preparing the floor
For the successful maintenance of pheasants in an enclosure, the territory should be covered with clean river sand, which is mixed with gravel. Grass is sown on top of this layer, snags are installed, as well as a ladder. You can also build a hut from tree branches and install bird houses for relaxation.
Additionally alsoboxes filled with ash are installed where birds can be cleaned of dust and bathe. At the same stage, feeders and drinkers for individuals are constructed. Green plants can also be placed in the aviary.
Aviary processing
In order to prevent decay of the wooden frame, the tree must be further processed. For these purposes, it is best to use an antiseptic made on the basis of bitumen and diesel fuel. It is prepared as follows:
- Bitumen must be placed in a bucket.
- Heat the product to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Add diesel fuel in small portions to the liquid.
The amount of diesel oil is uncertain, but it should be enough so that the cold bitumen still has a liquid consistency. At the same time, you need to pay attention to the fact that it is a hot antiseptic that is used to process wooden products, since it is much better able to penetrate the structure of the tree, to a depth of almost 7 cm.
After processing, wood products must dry, which will take 24-36 hours. After that, the design is treated with oil paint.
It should be noted that nitro-paints and nitro-varnishes are strictly prohibited to use in this building.
Before applying oil paint, the wooden frame must be primed so that there are no streaks left on it. On the back wall of the enclosure, which should be all made of wood, small gaps are needed. These birds are not afraid of drafts, on the contrary,very fond of fresh air.
Features of caring for an aviary
The basic rule of any poultry house is cleanliness. No matter how equipped and modern the pheasant enclosure is, if there is dirt in it, the pets will feel very bad, there will be a risk of various diseases and viruses. The housekeeping rules are as follows:
- Drinkers, feeders, huts and perches should be regularly cleaned and treated with special disinfectants such as caustic soda or slaked lime.
- Sand must be replaced at least once every two months.
- Particles of fluff and feathers, droppings should be removed from the house daily.
- Sometimes, through damaged or sagging mesh, small rodents make their way into the enclosure. To protect the house from such enemies, it is best to use mousetraps.
- In order to prevent parasites in the poultry house, the boards are covered with a lime layer from the inside. Lime is absolutely safe for birds, but it can also prevent the growth of bacteria.
- Disinfection and general cleaning of the entire poultry house should be carried out annually, during the summer.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the construction of a pheasant enclosure is considered a very laborious process. But even an inexperienced person in this matter can cope with the construction of the named poultry house.
