FINCHforum

I have almost finished building my mixed species aviary.
Here are some pics of "The Pheasantasiam" being built.

Day 2

Day 4? Don't know what happened to day 3

Congrats! cannot wait to see the final results. Have you decided on a species yet? For the finches?

DanteD716 wrote:Congrats! cannot wait to see the final results. Have you decided on a species yet? For the finches?

We would like a mixture. You never know with us what might happen. So we will all have to wait and see. My partner and I have different opinions on what we want. It is looking like we will be getting Cockatiels first now, as my partner has taken a liking to them at the moment. I have to search around a few more breeders for the finches.

Next...

I love the plants!! I personally like cockatiels, my uncles eats from my hand and lets me pet his head, but if you go with cockatiels steer clear from finches as hookbills (parakeets, cockatiels, etc) can and will attack and even kill finche. What do you have in mind? Do you want large numbers? Bigger finches, small ones? Colorful? Dull? There is such a large selection and choosing a species for an aviary can be difficult. I hope you enjoy what ever you get!!!

DanteD716 wrote:I love the plants!! I personally like cockatiels, my uncles eats from my hand and lets me pet his head, but if you go with cockatiels steer clear from finches as hookbills (parakeets, cockatiels, etc) can and will attack and even kill finche. What do you have in mind? Do you want large numbers? Bigger finches, small ones? Colorful? Dull? There is such a large selection and choosing a species for an aviary can be difficult. I hope you enjoy what ever you get!!!

There will be lots of palms in there. I used to be the President of the New Zealand Palm and Cycad Society (PACSONZ) so I have plenty to plant out.

There will not be large numbers of any species (to begin with anyway).
We have to male Jap Quails that will be the first to move in. In March we will be getting one male and 2 female Lady Amherst Pheasants.
As for everything else... I still don't know. I love all birds so it is hard to choose. How do Java sparrows go with other finches?

This looks wonderful!! Can't wait to see it finished. Please keep us posted with updates and pictures.

I have button quail in my aviary and can't imagine it without them.

I personally think that mixing species works well if you have enough room. I'm not sure about cockatiels, they are so much bigger than finches. But I keep budgies and finches together which is not recommended for cage or even flight cages. My aviary is big enough (11 by 11 feet) and they coexist peacefully. EXCEPT: I cannot let my gouldians breed. When they had babies my old budgie female was jealous and killed them. They ignored waxbill nests, but I think the gouldian chicks sound too much like budgies babies. Maybe they are also competing for nest cavities in the wild?

These are just the things that you need to consider and be aware of when mixing species.

I am currently deciding whether to make or buy nesting boxes. (I will probably buy them as they are not that expensive.) Is it ok to have treated timber? Or is it best to use untreated?

You can use treated wood with finches but DO NOT use it with hook bills. Hook bills chew wood and the chemicals in the wood will kill your birds if it is ingested. Personally I would probably use non treated wood and use a non toxic stain to treat it.

Wow! Sorry don't know why that got posted so many times... And I dont know how to delete the extra posts.

Java sparrows/finches are very docile and go great with other zpecies. They can go with aggressive species because they're so big and they won't go after little species either

looks fantastic! come build one for me!!!

10 days hard labour and it is enclosed and functional, ready for the birds.