Which species should I get?

[Miss May]

Ho everyone,
Miss May here.
I'm the proud owner of a tin shed converted into an aviary, currently with 10 zebbies and a pair of chinese quail.
I'm currently planning my second aviary, a small crawl in weather proof paradise - I intend to keep something special and maybe exotic in there, and perhaps breed through winter.
My question is:
What species should I get?
I want something that will breed well enough, will sell for enough to pay for it's own seed and maybe a bit extra, and won't cost me an arm and a leg with special food and all that. I live in NZ, so our winters aren't too severe and don't usually go below -5c degrees, so not too chilly.
Here we can get lots of exotic finches, many I have seen available in my area are firefinches, javas, parrot finches, bengalese, gouldians, redpolls, goldfinches, star finches, and a few more available through transport.
Like I said before, I already have zebbies, and am going to get bengalese as my friend just got a breeding trio, and am looking for something different
Feel free to suggest something not on the list and I can have a hunt around, the list is just a general guide of what I've seen - there may be much more out there!

Thanks!
- Miss May

[Icearstorm]

Miss May

I'd recommend the Java finches; they are pretty gregarious and usually look clean and perfect, unlike many other finches, which can be a bit scruffy. Javas are fairly hardy birds; since they are larger, they are also more cold-resistant. They can eat the standard finch mix, though they also like sunflower seeds.

Javas are also reliable breeders with large clutches (six eggs is probably the most common, but seven isn't rare). I don't know about your location, but Java finches over here sell for around $30 each. So a pair's offspring should be able to bring in enough money to cover much of the costs.

Gouldian finches also look good and sell well; however, they are not exactly cold-tolerant and can often prove difficult to breed. If you get birds from good lines, they should be okay.

[Miss May]

Miss May

I'd recommend the Java finches; they are pretty gregarious and usually look clean and perfect, unlike many other finches, which can be a bit scruffy. Javas are fairly hardy birds; since they are larger, they are also more cold-resistant. They can eat the standard finch mix, though they also like sunflower seeds.

Javas are also reliable breeders with large clutches (six eggs is probably the most common, but seven isn't rare). I don't know about your location, but Java finches over here sell for around $30 each. So a pair's offspring should be able to bring in enough money to cover much of the costs.

Gouldian finches also look good and sell well; however, they are not exactly cold-tolerant and can often prove difficult to breed. If you get birds from good lines, they should be okay.

They sounds great, thanks for the info!
I'd also like a few more suggestions before I decide

[Flight Feathers]

If your aviary is going to be nice and warm, I’d recommend fire finches. You also don’t have to feed them live food as I know a breeder here in NZ who makes a special mix for them rather than using live food. As for red polls, they seem to be fine with the cold. Javas are nice and not too expensive. Gouldians are $85+ here and it would be hard to find a pair as would it be hard to get a pair of stars unless you shipped them down which could be costly. And as Icearstorm said they’re not the easiest bird to breed. Parrot finches wouldn’t be too hard to find here but they are also reasonably costly. Not sure how easy they are to breed either. Goldfinches are nice but they are difficult to find. They are fine with the cold tho (or my one seems to be) As for the bengalese, can’t wait till you get some from me when mine breed

[Fraza]

I’d recommend Java’s they are amzing, sing well and mine look after there chicks

Also they sell well and do great in aviary