Aviary panels? Advice please!!!

I am desperately wanting to give my buns more space. They have a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch that they are locked in at night, a 6x3.5ft moveable fox proof run that gets moved around the lawn for during the day, and when I am home and able to supervise (ie in garden, kitchen or study! they have a 6ft x 6ft non fox proof run that it would not be possible to fox proof as its made from wire panels. They are in one of the runs for 12 hours a day minimum and locked in their hutch at night (we appear to have an almost nightly visit from the fox)

Attaching the fox proof run to the hutch is not an option due to the garden and patio shape and I am on a very tight budget. oh won't agree to a shed as the garden is too small for a second one (3 kids means original shed is piled high with bikes/scooters etc!).

So i was wondering about an aviary that i could put the hutch in so they had constant access to a run? Are the panels that you can buy sturdy enough to be fox proof? And where did you get yours from? I think as it wouldnt block light or be imposing OH would agree to it, but need to find the best/most cost effective way of doing it?

Any advice greatly appreciated xx

Hi, I think you need to be careful about the guage of the wire and the size, my Fizz had his ear nipped by the fox through ours which is 1" x 1" square, as well as of course securing the panels to the ground if it isn't very heavy and a solid floor or wiring under if on grass. Double wiring is a good idea if possible.

I create an extra layer of defence with panels from the wire run secured around the outside now and I shut bun in chicken coop style hutch at night.

We have regular visits from a fox and have done for many years - one used to lay-up under a conifer at the bottom of the garden.

Our old bun had a hutch with a run my husband made secured to it. It was hefty and bun never had any problems left with run access night and day although we did witness fox sniffing at him through the bars in the middle of the day:shock: Sweep didn't even notice as his back was turned :roll: but I think the foxes have become even more desperate and cheeky nowadays.

There are different types of avairy panels and some are much more sturdy than others. The ones I bought were from a company called Chirpy Coops:

http://www.chirpycoops.co.uk/

They use 2" thick timber and I opted for the 1/2 inch thick weldmesh. It looks sturdy enough:



The aviary cost me £150 erected and was made to measure, to fit onto the dog kennel. It measures 6ft by 5ft by 5ft 2".

The only negative about this company was they failed to deliver on the first day. However, they did come a couple of days later and erected it for me which I didn't expect.

Kittykat23uk said:

There are different types of avairy panels and some are much more sturdy than others. The ones I bought were from a company called Chirpy Coops:

http://www.chirpycoops.co.uk/

They use 2" thick timber and I opted for the 1/2 inch thick weldmesh. It looks sturdy enough:

The aviary cost me £150 erected and was made to measure, to fit onto the dog kennel. It measures 6ft by 5ft by 5ft 2".

The only negative about this company was they failed to deliver on the first day. However, they did come a couple of days later and erected it for me which I didn't expect.

Click to expand...

That timber looks great.

I bought mine from eBay and the timber wasn't as thick as I would like.
It's also quite easy to make your own. Buy bulk timber from your timber yard in big battons and then get the mesh off eBay in a 30m roll 19guage 1inch x 1/2inch. It's also easiest to use an electric staple gun

I bought panels from this guy:

WWW.JUST4PETZ.CO.UK

He makes any size/mesh size you want (he had some 5'4.25" x 3'4" panel requests from myself!! - my run is an odd shape!) & emails you for best delivery date. I think delivery was £25

I actually looked around closer to me, but the panels were double the price:?

I think we worked out that it was cheaper to buy the panels than to buy the wood, even though we already had a mostly unused roll of mesh.

If you're buying off ebay go for the middle price range - the cheapest ones are thinner wood, so not as sturdy.