Basically I will have an outdoor aviary attached to a shed which can be closed up at night for security.
The aviary will be 5ft wide by about 8ft long. The shed that it will be attached to will be about 6ft x 6ft, of this approx. 1.5ft will be sectioned off with wire to let the birds come in to at night and when weather is poor (im in the UK so this can be often!!! lol).
In the rest of the shed space i am thinking of making some breeding/hospital cages which will be about 3ft long by 1.5ft wide and 1.5ft high. I think I should be able to get about 6no. cages in of this size before it gets crowded!! i'm hoping to make them "doubles" so that each cage can be reduced to 1.5ft x 1.5ft with a simple divider (i've seen this used a lot with canaries). I will be using these cages for sick/new/aggresive birds (that cannot be kept in the mixed aviary).
What do you think of the proposed set-up/sizes - any suggestions? I have not yet begun making anything so I am totally open to suggestions!!!
I'm also still looking for ideas as to what species i can keep (and where I can keep them!!) I'd ideally like about 6 or 7 different species of finch in the mixed aviary and maybe a couple of others in the "naughty cages". Would you remove the finches from the main aviary when breeding and give them their own cage??
Also, this may be a STUPID
question BUT how easy/hard is it to stop inbreeding?? When I start filling my aviary how can I be sure that when i buy a pair, im not buying brother & sister (or is that down to luck??) I have visions of ending up with three legged birds!!! lol. Also how careful do i have to be that my own offspring dont get frisky with each other??Again, any help is always appreciated!!!
