indoor harris hawk mew

[RaeAlex4]

I am building a mew indoors for a Harris Hawk. It is a 10X10 space and I have a few questions. I plan to use cedar tongue and groove for the walls with a 4X3 plexiglass window on one side for viewing as this is in a nature center. All other sides will be visual barriers. The ceiling will be screen to help with air flow and there will be screen on the door as well (just the top section). Questions: What is the best flooring to use to allow for easy cleaning with no drainage? What types of problems have you encountered with an indoor mew?

Thank you so much for any input!

[Hawkmaster]

Hi there and first of all WELCOME to the Board, hope you find it useful.

OK here is my 2 cents worth:
Cedar tongue and groove is very pretty, but is going to be an absolute sod at holding the mutes as they are sprayed up the walls, try something smoother, or MAKE SURE you position your perches VERY carefully.

With the plexiglass window you may want to put some thin pin striping on the inside, to pervent people from removing it. This will also make the bird thin it is a solid structure and prevent it from attemping to fly through it, as bird do not understand or 'see' windows as we do.

For flooring I prefer horticultral peas gravel, but if the hawk is not going to be tethered sand may be OK. This way it will be easy to clean up the mews each day and remove the excrement and other mess. With the pea gravel you will need to just rake it over but after some time and you will know when it will need washing out with a hose, which is a hassle as far as the drainage is concerned.

Your biggest HASSLE is going to be putting the perches in the correct spots so that the birds or birds do not mess up the walls.

BTW it is a MEWS not a mew. A mew is a gull and a mews is a moulting room for a hawk, taken from the french word for moult, meu. :wink:

[Mary Quite Contrary]

I am building a mew indoors for a Harris Hawk. It is a 10X10 space and I have a few questions. I plan to use cedar tongue and groove for the walls with a 4X3 plexiglass window on one side for viewing as this is in a nature center. All other sides will be visual barriers. The ceiling will be screen to help with air flow and there will be screen on the door as well (just the top section). Questions: What is the best flooring to use to allow for easy cleaning with no drainage? What types of problems have you encountered with an indoor mew?

Thank you so much for any input!

Cedar is toxic to reptiles so i would do some investigation to see if it is OK for raptors as they are very similar in there keeping

[RaeAlex4]

Thanks for the help in the design process of my mews. :D I wonder if lining the inside of the walls with some type of plastic sheeting may help with clean up. As long as I can mount it so there is no place for the bird to get hung up when it is free lofted. Then I could wash down the insides when they become dirty. Also, it looks like the western red cedar contains plicatic acid that can cause respiratory problems. Mainly these problems come from close contact with the dust that is found cedar chips so I don't know if the wood be safe to use to construct the mews. If I cover the inside with a cleanable surface perhaps it would be alright. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Rae

[Hawkmaster]

I have used a product over here in the UK called ummmmm, oops, somethng like Timer care of something BUT anyway it is very good at not letting mute into the wood and washes off well even after a moulting season of being on. Plastic just looks tacky!

[DorsetAde]

HM, is timbercare ok for use with the birds ? I'm just finishing my mews now and although its marine ply covered, it needs some form of treatment. Any suggestions ?

Cheers
Ade

[Hawkmaster]

Timbercare is Fine, but this other stuff is better as the Timercare does sort of absorb the mute. I will ring them and find out what it is called.

[DorsetAde]

Cheers HM

[Red Sheridan]

Being wrapped up in cedar problems and choices of timber treatment nobody seems to have mentioned the fact that an indoor mews is totally unsuitable for the birds requirements of sun, rain and wind. A healthy bird is an outdoor bird with access to sun and rain. I believe that if you cannot build quarters outdoors then maybe keeping a hawk is not the best idea.

Regards,
Red

[Hawkmaster]

It was call something else but the product has been branded now by its makers, it is called '5 minute FenceLife' by Ronseal

[Xantara]

hI

Ok red cedar is self preserving so I can see why you would be looking at that, I am unsure of whether it is good or bad for the bird but I see advice on that. Because of its self preserving properties RC is more expensive than general machined shiplap with this in mind together with the ***** problem why not:
A. Use the cheeper shiplap
B. with the money you save line the inside up to perch hight with stable mats. If you are not aware of these they are around 6x4 in size made of rubber, not hugely expensive and wash down no problem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RUBBER-STABLE-MATS-6FT-X-4FT_W0QQitemZ7183478319QQcategoryZ1048QQssPageName ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Worth a thought

xan

[OutFlying]

Being wrapped up in cedar problems and choices of timber treatment nobody seems to have mentioned the fact that an indoor mews is totally unsuitable for the birds requirements of sun, rain and wind. A healthy bird is an outdoor bird with access to sun and rain. I believe that if you cannot build quarters outdoors then maybe keeping a hawk is not the best idea.

Regards,
Red

Spot on Red