Alternative mews construction

What is a mews?  A mew is the structure you provide for your raptor to live in while it is not out hunting, weathering, or somehow otherwise spending time with you.  Mews come in all different shapes and sizes; through the years I have built four of them.  My past mews were fairly traditional in their structure - I bought small sheds from home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes and modified them to meet falconry standards.  Most falconry laws in the U.S. require a mew to have certain height, width, and depth measurements as well as a window or two (usually barred to assure the raptor doesn't injure itself while trying to get through the window).

Mew construction laws vary from state to state though, so always check with your sponsor and/or local authorities.  Falconry regulations are typically enforced at the state level (game & fish departments) and/or the federal level (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Here are some pictures of some varied mews falconers across the United States are utilizing; note the huge variance in construction materials, size, quality, and trims:

If you go on the word wide web and search images for 'mews' you will see dozens of different constructions.  This year I've decided to utilize a different kind of construction for my mew.  I am working with an idea that provides me a portable mew that I can move arround my property if need be or take to a new home with me in the future.  My base frame is a K9 kennel from Lowes warehouse - it is chain link and includes a door.  I purchased the optional weatherproof roof to go over it and now I am attaching some heavy duty sunscreen material to the walls.  This is the first time I have not used wood for the walls but this idea allows continual air circulation, much less of a surface for mold/termites/mosquitoes to hang around on, is water resistant, and quite washable.  It is an experiment for sure!  I believe I will use dirt for flooring (in the past I used pea gravel but that does have the tendency to dull a raptor's talons).

This construction isn't as heavy duty as I have used in the past, but the location this new mew sits is under a horse stall and up against a barn - so it already has more shelter / wind blockage than a standalone mews.  I will post some pictures in the next week or two showing this experimental mews.