My bird lived outside before I got her and since we live in Louisiana, I feel like there is a lot of temperate weather for birds to enjoy. I want to enclose one third of my very long 2nd story balcony for her. Since I live in Louisiana, I will have to use window screen I guess, to cover every inch to protect against West Nile. One of her previous flock mates, a cockatoo, died of the disease. I'd rather just screen it instead of taking her to the vet to have blood drawn to test for a positive antibody titer so that we could possibly go without screen.
Anyway, my options are to screen the outer side of the railing and roof edge and use 1/2" square hardware cloth (cleaned with vinegar first of course) to cover the inner side of the railing and roof edge. This would be super secure and prevent us from having to add extra supports to hold up the screen. However, I think it would cut down significantly on her view, and I really want her to enjoy our woodsy, wildlife-filled view.
The other way would be to use just screen and add extra wood supports to be sure that it wouldn't give if she flew into it or something. I seriously doubt she would ever attempt to scale screen since it won't look like a climbing surface like wire mesh does. She will be supervised at all times.
The dimensions are, I'm guessing, 15'x3.5'x10'. So my next need is suggestions on how to design such a long narrow "flight pen" for a bird who is flighted and flies strongly, but lands terribly. Should I just make it a climbing area and drop ropes from the ceiling, and attach perch stands to the floor? Obviously, I wouldn't want anything near the screen if it's just screen. Should I leave space for her to fly? IS there some kind of shelf I could buy or make that she could safely land on since she can't perch from flight. Should I pad the floor for her? So many questions!
Allie