My First Aviary is 4' by 3' by 4'. I put two doors in the back, one of the doors is small, which I use daily to change water and feed. I actually use the small door (10" by 10") even for cleaning the cage bottom--which I covered with newspaper. I also built a larger door, which I rarely open, to place perches, add birds etc. I keep both doors locked--to avoid losing birds to curious tots. If I have to open the larger door (2' by 2.5'), I drape a large sheet over the entire back of the aviary, so that if I have an escapee, perhaps I can catch it in the sheet by pulling the sheet down over the loose bird. Without a second door to protect against escaping birds, there is always the chance that a bird might escape.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! If you are interested in having an aviary outside, location is critical! Budgies are fairly hardy birds, but they do not do well in drafts. They need a protected area from winds and while they need to exposure to the sun, they must always have part of the aviary where they can escape from the sun. My latest outdoor aviary (pictured immediately below) is now located at the back of my house, which faces South. I also added Plexiglas to two sides of the aviary to ensure that the birds would not be bothered by drafts. I placed a temperature gauge inside the aviary so I could be sure that the temp. didn't fluctuate too much during the day. We keep the aviary on cement blocks to keep the deck clean and to prevent any damage to the deck it is sitting on!
In the Fall, I bring the birds in as the temperatures were starting to drop at night. Budgies can do quite well in cool weather, but I didn't want to leave them out once the temps dropped below freezing. We built a large indoor flight cage (see below) in the basement for the birds to winter in.
