My new cage need advise

[ccakmak]

Hi,

I am a new hobby carer now thinking to own finches but not sure which one to get and how to look after. I do like gouldian spicy but as it seems from the breeders that is difficult one to breed. I will thi of breeding new finches in the future so the one i will own should be easy to produce.

My cage is 60cm long, 24wide and this is the biggest one i could find in local pet stores, most of them were in smaller than half this.

What equipments should i have and how can i understand the gender to pick from the pet store ?

And also can i feed 2 finches in my cage

60x24x32

[moonrise]

Hi,

I am a new hobby carer now thinking to own finches but not sure which one to get and how to look after. I do like gouldian spicy but as it seems from the breeders that is difficult one to breed. I will thi of breeding new finches in the future so the one i will own should be easy to produce.

My cage is 60cm long, 24wide and this is the biggest one i could find in local pet stores, most of them were in smaller than half this.[ http://db.tt/WEyjw4xq ]

What equipments should i have and how can i understand the gender to pick from the pet store ?

And also can i feed 2 finches in my cage

60x24x32

A 24" long cage will do, but a 30" long (or longer) cage would be ideal.

As far as finches that are easy to breed, society finches are the easiest, in my opinion. Zebra finches are a little trickier due to their personalities, but they are usually easy to breed as well. But, those are the least expensive of the finches, so it would be more difficult to breed them for profit. Society finches are visually identical as far as gender, so you'd generally have to either wait for a particular finch to sing (male) or to lay an egg (female). Zebra finch males usually have cheek patches, so they're pretty easy to distinguish from the females (there are exceptions). The other species' of finches have different breeding requirements. It would be best to check out the different species using the "Finch Information Center" link over on the upper left side of the page. It gives more details about the requirements of different finches. Also check out the Breeding section of this forum for breeding-specific topics.

Equipment-wise, off the top of my head, you'd need nests, nesting materials, cuttlebones for calcium, a liquid calcium supplement, good-quality food, handfeeding formula in case the parents can't or won't feed the young, a heat lamp and basic medications in case of illness, etc.

Hope this gets you started!

[ccakmak]

Hi,

I am a new hobby carer now thinking to own finches but not sure which one to get and how to look after. I do like gouldian spicy but as it seems from the breeders that is difficult one to breed. I will thi of breeding new finches in the future so the one i will own should be easy to produce.

My cage is 60cm long, 24wide and this is the biggest one i could find in local pet stores, most of them were in smaller than half this.[ http://db.tt/WEyjw4xq ]

What equipments should i have and how can i understand the gender to pick from the pet store ?

And also can i feed 2 finches in my cage

60x24x32

A 24" long cage will do, but a 30" long (or longer) cage would be ideal.

As far as finches that are easy to breed, society finches are the easiest, in my opinion. Zebra finches are a little trickier due to their personalities, but they are usually easy to breed as well. But, those are the least expensive of the finches, so it would be more difficult to breed them for profit. Society finches are visually identical as far as gender, so you'd generally have to either wait for a particular finch to sing (male) or to lay an egg (female). Zebra finch males usually have cheek patches, so they're pretty easy to distinguish from the females (there are exceptions). The other species' of finches have different breeding requirements. It would be best to check out the different species using the "Finch Information Center" link over on the upper left side of the page. It gives more details about the requirements of different finches. Also check out the Breeding section of this forum for breeding-specific topics.

Equipment-wise, off the top of my head, you'd need nests, nesting materials, cuttlebones for calcium, a liquid calcium supplement, good-quality food, handfeeding formula in case the parents can't or won't feed the young, a heat lamp and basic medications in case of illness, etc.

Hope this gets you started!

I will not do this for money, so the profit margin is not so important in my case. I will do it as hobby and sell new borns to petstores for very small amount of money just to cover the feeding cost. In the past I used to breed dwarf hamsters, i had 5-6 cages and regularly getting new babies to play with. Small animals are the best I love them, so finches are my favorite now.

My cage is not very big indeed but that was the biggest one i could found in pet stores, i might buy a new one if i have new babies over time. The climate I live in is not really good to consider all type of animals, summers are very hot and humid while winters are cold and humid. We have got air conditioners in all rooms the air variable at all times during the day. Rooms are hot and cold, it is not balanced and healthy. But i will keep them in a shade place room.

My cage is fairly small i do not know how to organize the equipments and fit them properly for the birds to benefit. I tried lay the perches in uprising posture for them to fly high and low. There will a nest on the right of left end edge of the cage.

And, how can i keep the environment clean ? birds scatter seeds when they are eating from their pot.

Are they prone to noise or light at sleeping times ?

[carlamay]

You may want to buy 2 cages and join them at the side to make a 48" cage - often it is easy to pop the panel off of one side of each cage and put them beside one another and zip tie or firmly wire them together at several points. I have two such cages and they are loved by my birds - I have 2 pair of finches in each 48" cage.
Also, you will want a flight area in the cage without obstructions - I put mine at the front of the cage. Then the birds can fly a maximum distance without hitting an object. My finches love swings and like them fairly close to the side of the cage so they make a sound when they push away. I use small tree branches for perches and try to place them in corners and at different angles. A few branches that are curved I will put artificial ivy and leaves on with fine wire and attach to the back of the cage in the upper third as they love to hide and roost high. I replace the branches when soiled. I put my food at one end and the water at the other. Also, I offer a shallow dish of water on the bottom of the cage daily for bathing - the favorite activity of all! Hope this helps!

[ccakmak]

You may want to buy 2 cages and join them at the side to make a 48" cage - often it is easy to pop the panel off of one side of each cage and put them beside one another and zip tie or firmly wire them together at several points. I have two such cages and they are loved by my birds - I have 2 pair of finches in each 48" cage.
Also, you will want a flight area in the cage without obstructions - I put mine at the front of the cage. Then the birds can fly a maximum distance without hitting an object. My finches love swings and like them fairly close to the side of the cage so they make a sound when they push away. I use small tree branches for perches and try to place them in corners and at different angles. A few branches that are curved I will put artificial ivy and leaves on with fine wire and attach to the back of the cage in the upper third as they love to hide and roost high. I replace the branches when soiled. I put my food at one end and the water at the other. Also, I offer a shallow dish of water on the bottom of the cage daily for bathing - the favorite activity of all! Hope this helps!

Would u send a pic of cage for me to take it example.

I understand what you did but currently it is not possible to connect two cages to make one i need a bit of portability. I might think of buying a new one later or have a spesifically sizely suitable one done to a supplier.

I will remove the perch in the middle to let them fly in the cage from down right corner to the upleft. 3 perches are enough for my 26inch long cage.

And does the wideness matter?

[Sally]

Starting out with that size cage, I would recommend Societies. They seem to adjust to less space than many species of finch. The one down side with Societies is that they are impossible to sex visually. Males sing, females lay eggs, that is the only difference. That cage is an absolute minimum for 2 finches, not taking any babies into consideration. I would also have just 2 perches, one at each end, with a swing in the middle. If there is any way to attach an outside nest (I couldn't see a nestbox door on the side), that frees up more space inside the cage.

That cage looks like many that I see being used by canary breeders. Don't get waxbills, they will not do well in that size cage, they need much more space.

[ccakmak]

Starting out with that size cage, I would recommend Societies. They seem to adjust to less space than many species of finch. The one down side with Societies is that they are impossible to sex visually. Males sing, females lay eggs, that is the only difference. That cage is an absolute minimum for 2 finches, not taking any babies into consideration. I would also have just 2 perches, one at each end, with a swing in the middle. If there is any way to attach an outside nest (I couldn't see a nestbox door on the side), that frees up more space inside the cage.

That cage looks like many that I see being used by canary breeders. Don't get waxbills, they will not do well in that size cage, they need much more space.

The cage on pic is inexpensive one considering its size. Most cages at that size are much expensive and when it is longer than 70cm they are getting very expansive. I liked the minimalist design of the cage, big brands are very expensive and they are not designed minimalistic.

I have not bought the housing, thinking to buy and outside one that i can attach to cage otherwise the flight area would get smaller which they will not like.

Is wooden housing suitable for finches ? Could you send me pics of a few suitable housing ?

Society finches are ok but gouldians are marvelous.

And how about the room temprature ? How should i keep the room ?

[monotwine]

I find Gouldian to be quite lazy. They do love to fly free, but seem to adapt to a smaller cage too. If you could keep one pair of Gouldian in this size cage and allow them some time every day to fly free in the room then it would be ok to keep them in that.

The width of your cage must just be wide enough that the birds do not damage their wings when they fly. Normally something about 40cm is better.

Many of your questions will be answered here: http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/index.php

You are thinking about this the right way, asking questions about the right way to look after birds before buying them, BUT if I must be very honest my advice to you would be to wait. See if you can return the cage. Save some more money until you can buy a more expensive one at least about 70cm long x40cm wide.

You can keep maybe two birds in your cage, but you should not breed them unless you have more cages to put them into. One pair can have up to 10 babies. How will you keep them then? Also Gouldian need to be kept for about 8-10 months before you can sell the babies. They first have to get their adult colours before people want them.

[ccakmak]

I cannot return it because its already assembled since they sent me disassembled in a box they would not like to take this back like this. And also there are not many options at that size now, probably I will have to order it from cities outside my home town.

After having babies I might get a mini aviary but first i must make sure i can do it at home, they are suitable for the climate and the conditions in my small flat. This is my biggest and the real reason why i did not want spend much on this.

I ordered a housing and water supply today here below you can see the pics, are they suitable for finches ? and do they really drink from that ball bearing water supplier cuz that looks like my hamsters water case but birds have small beak can they discover it in the cage and make use of it ?

I will probably postpone my gouldian dream to another season as they are really expensive and only a few pet stores have them here. 85 us dollars for a single gouldian !!

I might get a pair of society finch or other specie i like. The red and yellow ones below you see the ones i like what species are they ?

[ccakmak]

Thanks to everyone patiently helping set up my cage and choose the best one from all variations

[monotwine]

You are going about it the right way. We can see you have thought this whole project through and you have good reasons behind your decisions.

I'm not too sure what species those birds are, but they look softbill like and not so much finch/waxbill like. They are not so easy to keep and if you are just starting out common finches found in a pet store would be best to try. Bengalese / Societies, Zebra finches and even a pair of domesticated canary is more of a safe bet than softbills.

Any of the species you choose will have to be offered some free flying time in a closed off room to keep good muscle condition because the cage you have is not going to offer them much opportunity to excercise their flight muscles.

Edited to add, the nesting box looks great and most box breeding finches will use that. The water system works too if you are sure the ball does not block up or leak. Sometimes that happens. I would offer a shallow dish (like the ones the cage came with) also with water incase any new birds do not know how to use the ball. They do learn, but it is better to be safe with many options than to have birds dying because they do not know how to get to the water.

[carlamay]

Here is the picture you asked for with the 2cages joined into one - I can assure you that they are sturdy and portable as we zip tied (wire is an option too) securly where the cages joined and where the sides of the cages joined the bottoms.. I really have not had much luck with the waterer you pictured. here is one I use- many jars will fit such as this peanutbutter jar or a canning jar- and the food dispenser that works well for me and my little flock. There are water dispensers that are the same style as the food one pictured. All are very inexpensive.
Just some other alternatives for your consideration!

[ccakmak]

Those cages look like rodent cages i owned once with large bedding capacity at the bottom for hamsters but you really have great horizontal size for your birds to fly from right to left or vice versa in the cage.

Minus side is you are loosing aestetics aspect of it. My cage is only 26cm wide i do not think two finches can fly at once as their wings may crash in the air because of not having enough wideness. That would not be agood try if i connect two of them the same , better start from scratch and buy a new one.

Today i will meet a hobby breeder specialized at gouldians i will finally decide what to do with this.

[carlamay]

ccakmak - you are quite right - these are not cages originally intended for birds - nor will my birds be in them very long as we are working on the aviary. But I am trying to make a point about joining 2 cages together - not necessarily THESE cages... Plus, these cages, joined, are 16" of bars not counting the base...as big as some sold here! Hope you are able to get what you want -

[poohbear]

Boring old git I might be.. But I will always think the European box cage is far superior to the all wire American effort.
Cage fronts are available over there, and a handyman or carpenter can easily knock up a cage with a bit of study.You have the partitions,essential to catch birds up or seperate them...and for easy cleaning without disturbing the birds.
Plus the birds have what they crave when breeding...privacy. If the cage is inside the house, the box cage means the birds will be far less disturbed by human activity and lights going on and off.

That's my opinion...but I'm only some damn Limey..