Tweet this: Texas A&M $2.8M aviary flying to Aggieland

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences announced groundbreaking on a new aviary scheduled for completion in May 2014.

Located off F and B Rd., the new building will be approximately 11,000 sf, with plans for a functional hospital, receiving area with quarantine capabilities, two isolation rooms, a laboratory for infectious disease research, classrooms and four offices.

Eleanor M. Green, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine, said, "This facility will provide the laboratory, avian housing and classroom space that will allow this program to continue to thrive.”

The new facility highlights Texas A&M’s commitment to exotic species and to conservation, according to Ian Tizard, Richard M. Schubot Professor of Exotic Bird Health and Distinguished Professor of Immunology in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. "It enhances our programs in environmental health and will be a magnificent resource for the whole college,” Tizard said.

The new, climate-controlled aviary will be able to house a population of 200 to 250 birds — many more than is possible in the current facilities — in a comfortable and safe environment, with separate spaces for infected and healthy birds, which will help researchers conduct their studies.

The new facility will expand the capabilities of the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at the CVM. The center conducts research into all aspects of disease in wild and captive birds, as well as avian genetics, genomics, nutrition and behavior.