Newbie - Cage housing only

[epriddy]

Hi~ I am completely new to keeping birds but so far am having an outstanding experience and a lot of fun! I went into finches without doing my research but now have read almost everything available on the attached info site as well as other places on the web. I have six finches and their cage is obviously too small. They don't bicker at all but just fly back and forth the 30" of the cage...
So after doing my budget number crunching and determining how much space I can make I decided on a cage which is 37-Inch long, 27-inch wide, 68-inch high with 3/8-inch wire spacing, it should come sometime next week. I also ordered a few nests as my hand made ones don't seem to be going over too well and some millett as my town doesn't seem to have a bird store at all.
Anyway, I'm hoping to make the cage as nice and comfortable for the birds as I can. I have a nice small rose bush that I'll be placing in there as well as trying to make some visual barriers for the birds (thinking white linen strips) near the houses. Any other suggestions about how to make this cage more enjoyable for my little guys? I'm attaching a picture of the same cage that I've ordered with someone else's arrangement suggestions.

Thanks!

[Sally]

I have this cage and love it. I usually keep youngsters in it till I can sex them, though right now, I have some Blue-capped CB hens in it. I ziptied a light, one of those under-cabinet type from Walmart, on the top of the front part of the roof. I am attaching a photo of my cage.

One thing you will find if you place a live plant in there, it will be destroyed in a period of days--finches are very destructive unless it is a large planted aviary with lots of plants.

Also, rather than strips of linen in front of nests, you could fasten some plastic or silk plants in place to give privacy.

I notice that you have 6 RCCBs. Are they in pairs, as in three m/f pairs? One thing about CBs, usually the males will fight other males. If you have more than one male, I'm surprised you have not had this, unless they are quite young.

I personally do not like grates, so I removed the grate from this cage. That then left a large gap in front, so I painted a piece of molding white, then ziptied it in place to cover the gap. When I need to clean the tray, I simply slide the grate back in place, then I can remove the tray. However, many people do like to use the grates, to keep their birds out of their own poop.

[epriddy]

Wow, your cage looks so nice as well. I'm making a Walmart run tomorrow so I'll put a few silk plants, zipties, and an under the counter light with (flourecent?) bulbs on the list. I'll go ahead and plant the rose outside.

I'm personally a newspaper kind of person. Love my newspaper and the routine that I have down for all of my pets. So I'll just leave the grate in and newspaper everything. I'm hoping that this will not be a pita to put together.

Yes, there are three girl and three boy birds. Three of them do not have the red on the cheeks. And no, no probs at this time. The cage is not in the right spot and I don't think that any one has settled in and all. Two females seem to huddle close as do two males.

Should I actually cover the cage with a blanket at night or is it sufficient that the room has the light turned off at night?

Thank you!

[lovemyfinch]

That is going to be a beautiful set up

As for covering at night. Most of us don't put any sort of coverings on our cages at night. I for one find that it only spooks them when you want them to go to bed, it also would take me quite a while to cover up all of my cages I have a string of halloween lights hanging down the sides of all of my cages as well as the aviary. This gives them a wonderful little night light in case somethings disturbs them during the night, that way they can find their way back to their favorite perch to sleep.

[Mozelle]

Nice - those are great cages! I loved it when I could finally get a lrger flight. It was so much fun to decorate for the birds, and so satisfy to see them zipping around it checking things out.
Look forward to a pic of the next cage. !

[finchmix22]

Ditto. I love watching my finches in the large flight cages after the morning feeding. I just sit and hold still and watch them do their thing. Amazing and peaceful, relaxing...

[epriddy]

I'm hoping that the cage will come (Amazon) by the end of the week. I'll post some pics as soon as I have something to show.
Will the under the counter light be hung inside the cage or outside? I'm not quite understanding that yet.

[Chichireeo]

I have the same cage! I have just one bird that will soon be a pair. I love the depth of this cage that allows my bird to fly circles and figure 8's. So far this cage has stood up to twice daily wheeling in and outdoors. My bird is enjoying the California sunshine and warmth while it lasts. I love seeing the full sun on my green singer's bright yellow chest! And he loves the big trees outside, sun and fresh air (I think).
Because I move my cage out, I don't mount the lighting and heating directly onto the cage. These are mounted on the walls near where he usually hangs out indoors.
As for in cage plants, I do hydroponic on the privacy plants and for the stuff he eats such as herbs I grow a supply then keep switching fresh ones in.
I, too, don't cover the cage at night. My bird took over my den as his room I just turn out the light at night.

[epriddy]

Thank you for all of your great and helpful replies. I picked up today the light, a timer, a few silk plants, and some zipties.

Hopefully I'll be semi ready when the cage arrives!

[finchmix22]

Don't forget to post a pic of your new cage all fixed up. Can't wait to see what you do with your fun stuff.

[epriddy]

The cage is arriving today finally. Whew. I'm really looking forward to putting it together today after work and getting it all set up.

Should I let the finches fly into the new cage or try to catch them one by one in the new cage do you think?

[Chichireeo]

Still putting it together?

I never did figure out how to secure that bar across the roof. It doesn't fit. So I just left it out.

[epriddy]

It did take us a while to put the cage together last night. Mostly getting the sides correctly, but it was the first cage that we ever put together. It didn't really suck until this morning when we went to move it from the living room into the bird room and it wouldn't fit through the door!

We had to take the roof off and then put it back on.

Here's a picture of what it looked like today.

[epriddy]

Here are some pictures of the birds in their new home. They were oddly cautious. I think they miss their old perches and I'm wondering if I should put them in the new cage or not.

[nelloyello11]

Looks great, Elissa!

I think most birds will be tentative when introduced to a new environment. That's normal. An extra perch can't hurt, though, as long as they have a good amount of fly space.