In summer-fall of 2008 we acheived our dream of constructing a wonderful purpose-built building for the birds to live in. It's located in our sheep pasture, 150 feet from our house, overlooking a peaceful stream with oak trees along it.
We built this to be as secure and as energy-efficient as possible. It's earth-sheltered on the north, east, and part of the west sides. The south wall is a six-inch thick 500 square foot passive solar collector. It's made of two layers of double-wall polycarbonate with a 6 inch space between them. The other walls are 10-inch poured concrete with oversized reinforcing bars. The attic insulation is 16 inches deep, and the heating system is in-floor radiant heat. We use an on-demand tankless water heater, and all of the lights are energy-efficient CFLs. We have a generator for those nasty storms that are becoming more frequent here in the Midwest. We hope to add attached outdoor flight cages next year.
Here's the area where the big birds live. There are cages for security when we're away and at night, and playgyms for everyone during the day. the ones who are flighted (that's most of them) are free to visit back and forth, and decide who to hang out with.
Medium birds have the center section....it's mostly amazons and African Greys. It'a also the section where I sit when I take my breaks.
The little guys are over in the southwest corner....they get the morning sun first.
Back in this corner is where I make toys and perches, and do cage repairs.
This is the food prep area....we serve fresh fruits and veggies daily.
On the left is the quarantine/observation room. It has a door into the shower room next to it, so I can scrub down after working with birds that our vet haven't cleared yet. At right is the mechanical room where the boiler, water system, and electrical panel are.
This is our art gallery; our pal Lonnie Mason did the big oil of the macaw; the cool group of mixed parrots at upper right is an original by artist and guitar-picking buddy Dan Rohde; the watercolor of macaws was a gift from my longtime teaching partner Bobbi Swanson. We'll be adding more as time passes.
