good cage size

[mike]

I was wondering, if you wanted to keep several pairs of small waxbills (any type: cordons, orange-cheeks, red-rumps, etc.) indoors per cage, what size cage would you think best? I was thinking a 4x2x2' would be a good size but I've been reading that 3' is preferred. Is there a point at which the cage becomes too big, meaning the birds don't breed as well or maybe anything over a certain size just becomes wasted space? I was wondering your opinions.

[Ursula]

A cage can NEVER be too big, IMO. You'd think that these waxbills are so small, but they are so agile and seem to need more room than some bigger birds... The only downside about a bigger cage (and walk-in aviary like mine) is that it's harder to catch the birds. However, when you see them actually fly instead of "hopping" from branch to branch, and see how active and obviously happier they are, you'll know that it's worth the work and effort.

[poohbear]

A cage can NEVER be too big, IMO. You'd think that these waxbills are so small, but they are so agile and seem to need more room than some bigger birds... The only downside about a bigger cage (and walk-in aviary like mine) is that it's harder to catch the birds. However, when you see them actually fly instead of "hopping" from branch to branch, and see how active and obviously happier they are, you'll know that it's worth the work and effort.

I agree...and if catching birds is a problem build yourself a catching cage to go inside or out.

[monotwine]

Not one of my finches has ever hopped back into their quarantine cage and said no thanks to the larger aviary

The bigger the better, for health and breeding as there is less competition for breeding territory too.

[mike]

Thanks for the posts!

Is everyone saying it is better to have, say, an 8x4x4 aviary for 8 pairs of birds if i was interested in breeding them? Or do some birds start stealing nests, raiding, or something else? I was reading a few posts and some people have mentioned they use smaller cages for breeding for any number of reasons. I can fit a large aviary in the house (it could even be 20' long if I really wanted ) but maybe it gets harder to maintain when it's that big.

[Ursula]

I guess the question is: what's your main goal? Do you want to be a hobby bird keeper who just wants to enjoy the birds he/she has (that's me!), or do you want to get into serious breeding, controlled blood lines, etc etc. If you're like me you'll enjoy a mixed aviary (the bigger, the better) as long as you put in compatible species. If you want to become a serious breeder, ... well, I let them advise you.

[Sally]

Ursula has put it so well, if you are just wanting to be a hobby breeder, go for the aviary. I can't imagine any aviary that would be more maintenance than cages!

I am still doing cage breeding, but that is because I am working with certain bloodlines and want very controlled breeding right now. But that is one of the few advantages of cage breeding, that and the fact that you have zero compatibility problems. But I would love to fill say half a dozen eggfood dishes each morning, rather than 40!

[mike]

I thought about what Ursula said and what I was really looking for, and I realised it's not about "breeding" per se, but more about whether the birds would harass one another if they were to have eggs or young while in the aviary. Right now I have a large room in the basement. It is unfinished (i.e. brick walls), large (24'x14'), with large windows (5') but warm, so it leaves me a lot of options. I was planning to refinish for living space it but it's expensive and frankly, I never use it. A nice large aviary would be nice in there but I could just as easily have several smaller cages. Or several mid-sized aviaries. Hmm, too many options.

Anyway, I was just thinking out loud (on screen). Thanks.

[Ursula]

If I had the room that you have, I'd definitely have both! I'd put in a large community aviary and several big cages where I could move birds that are not compatible, and I'd also have room for smaller cages (for sick birds for example).

If I had room enough I'd already separated my birds into 3 aviaries, one with the budgies only, one with gouldians only, and one with waxbills. My community works only as long as the budgies and gouldians aren't breeding. In fact, I just removed some perches that I had built with a shelve underneath and everything else that my budgies could consider as a site for breeding. I can't stop their natural instinct to breed completely, but I can limit aggression by not letting them breed anymore.

Unfortunately my house just isn't big enough, and I don't have a basement either....

[Sally]

24 x 14! Definitely a large community aviary, and maybe several smaller flights for those birds that need their own space. If you select your species carefully, there is no reason that you can't have a community aviary where there is minimal disruption--look at Donna (dfcauley). When the birds have enough space, there is much less squabbling going on, as you get when there are too many birds in a small aviary.