Dolores Noonan
Updated 1/1/2000
This all came about because we are thinking of moving and I was very concerned
about moving some 300 budgerigars, perhaps to an empty garage or shed without
any means of housing them. 
We have a number of portable all-wire stock cages which sit in wooden bases, all-wire breeding cages which only need a few screws in order to hang them on a wall, but the need was for housing quite a large number, so I had to consider how to set up immediate accommodation.
At the Parrot Show in March I saw the very thing. Aluminium flights, consisting of 6' × 3' or 8' × 4' panels, easily built and easily dismantled. I decided to buy two 6' × 3' flights to house my current youngsters. This would enable me to see how easily they could be constructed, moved and cleaned.
I decided that it would make them easier to clean if I placed them on plastic-covered metal sheets and purchased two 8' × 4' sheets at a local scrap yard, simply laying them on the concrete floor where the flights were to be constructed. Two weeks later the flights arrived. They were light enough for me to carry into the birdroom, but I decided that my husband was better qualified than I to do the actual construction. A couple of hours later I had two new flights set up. We cut fairly thin branches from trees in the garden to act as perches, added a couple of old bunk bed ladders and they were ready for use.
I
was able to put the first, and some of the second round youngsters in the first
flight,and then transferred the younger chicks from the nursery cage as they
were ready. This made things a lot easier when sorting out. I was looking at
birds all from the same age range, and believe me, the differences of size and
quality were easily discernible.
My current hen flight, made traditionally of wood and wire has been gradually chewed away over the past 3 years. We have had to replace supporting struts on numerous occasions and, as my birds are kept in the garage, the ceiling, being plasterboard, is beginning to look quite sad, some hens seeming to think that they would be able to nest above it if only they could chew through it. The advantage of the aluminium flight is that it has a wire mesh roof!
The time has now come for the hen flight to be replaced, and I am now placing a further order for 2 new aluminium flights, one to accommodate my hens and the other to use as a sales flight. Birds can be transferred to the Sales flight and I can keep an eye on them and re-assess them if necessary. By separating them off it also guards against the possible sale of a bird by mistake, perhaps of a bloodline which is needed for the next breeding season. The cock flight is not too bad at present but will be replaced in the near future.
Cleaning is a doddle. Ledges are easily wiped down, branches are replaced on a regular basis, and the floor is simply scraped weekly with a paint scraper, vacuumed and sprinkled with bird sand. The bunk bed ladders can be removed, taken outside and scrubbed every so often. With these flights and my all-wire breeding cages, I am minimizing the possibility of insect infestation.
Should you wish to experiment with one of these flights, they are obtainable in the UK from:
