FINCHforum

I am planning to "build" a small aviary in my attic. It would be 70 cms. wide, 3 metres long and it would go from floor to ceiling.
As I already have my gouldians in an outdoor aviary, I thought I might have a mixed aviary up in the attic (where I have the computer and spend many hours working there) and enjoy a small variety of finches.
As I don't want to breed them, would it be better if I had just males?
I was thinking about 2 owl finch, 2 starfinch, 2 gouldians..
I also like java finches, but maybe they are not suitable as they are bigger in size and might cause trouble.

I would like your advice before I go ahead..

Sounds like a nice idea. It will depend on the aggressiveness of the breeds you pick. Male gouldians will be fine together. I had java and owls together with goulds in a large aviary and they did fine. The java are a bit intimidating to the goulds so if there isn't enough space for them to get away from each other it may be too stressful. I haven't had star, sorry.
good luck and let us know which you decided on.

Stars, Owls, and Gouldians should get along fine. I haven't had Javas before, so can't say how they would work.

Yes, the smaller finches should get along fine together.

I just got a male society from a pet store- I felt bad for him, he was in a cage with Zebras and they picked all of his feathers- the owner was a jerk, but that is a different story. I also got a female (I think). The female is sleeping inside the nest and the male is sleeping on top of it... is that normal? Is he afraid to sleep in the nest? He is so sweet, he sings to the other society and brings her (him) hay to the nest- but he only brings it on top of the nest and then tries to give it to her (him). They came from two different stores - seem to get along fine.

there we go. The whole weekend working, and it's almost finished. Now I have to do some "landscaping". I was thinking about some paperwall that might be easier to clean than the wall itself. What do you think?


I have made two small "doors" so I can put water and food every morning without going in and out of the aviary. Dishes will be on the floor, and I still have to make a sort of clear 3-sides-box so dishes are under cover and "poop-safe"

Looks good, can't wait to see it all finished!

Looking great, the birds will love all the newfound freedom

the window on the left faces my flatroof, and I'm thinking about making a 4/5 m2 wire-mesh "structure" outside, so they can have free access to it through the window (in cold winter days, the window will be closed and they will stay inside)

What a great idea! I'll bet the birds will love it.

That looks great!...Can't wait to see the birds in it

They will love it for sure and so do I

That is so neat, Colorin! I love the way you did your cage! Very well thought out!

I know you will love watching your birds while you are working! I think all your species you chose are great but I personally would avoid putting the Javas with the small finches. Their size may encourage some bullying. Someone on this forum had a Java grab a baby finch and toss it violently so they are definitely capable of using their size against another smaller finch if the opportunity presents itself.

Here are some finches that I have that seem to do very well together:

Owls
Stars
Fires (Blackbelly / Senegal / Blue Billed)
Gouldians
Cordon Bleu's (BC and RC)
Parrot Finches

The ones that sing the most -- Gouldians / Stars. Of course the gouldians are just stunning to look at and (for me) interact the most with their owner.

The finches that are the most fun to watch with each other -- the Cordon Bleu's and Owls-- they are humorous, very interactive, saucy little birds that have strong personalities.

Parrot Finches -- Ornery little characters that move constantly and are very curious -- packed with personality and attitude.

Fires and PF's -- They LOVE to forage along the bottom of the cage so I like to put them with birds that like to be up high in the branches/ because your whole cage will have activity from top to bottom.

Just a few thoughts for you.

I've discarded Javas, and was thinking about blue caps instead, which I find to be beautiful, although expensive!!
People tell me they are good for a mixed aviary, but apparently they need plenty of live food. Will live food be necessary even when not breeding?

What a great idea, to add an outdoor flight to your indoor aviary--your birds will be so happy! Blue-capped CBs are one of my favorites, they will get along with most other small passive finches. You can use the compatibility chart here as a guide, though individual finches may not always follow the rules:
http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/compatible_species.php

Live food is not necessary for Blue-caps if they are not breeding, and if you can get them used to eggfood, sometimes you can convert them over to breeding without live food (but it takes a lot of time and many tossed babies, and some never convert). The only caution I would give with any of the Cordon Bleus is that males are very territorial toward other CB males, even when they aren't breeding, so if you had say two pairs of CBs in an aviary, the males will usually fight. I have found that multiple males will get along, as long as there is not a female present.

Can't wait to see the aviary decorated and filled with birds--good job!