My Breeder Cages + Home-Made Aviary
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:39 pm
People here have brought up questions about me and my flock before, such as "who are you?" or "how do we know your opinion means anything?" 
My way of answering this would be to share pictures of my bird room which would give everyone an idea about me & my experience.
I haven't posted complete pictures of my setup yet because I wanted to be sure to wait until it was finished and we had moved into our new house. I specifically didn't want any half-completed photos circulating to confuse people. As of a couple weeks ago, it's finally complete. The biggest hangup was finding out how to hang hundreds of dollars worth of shelves on 100-year-old walls without studs. That's right, I said NO studs. Lots of little hangups included finding specific drill bits we didn't have, buying bulbs for the lights which weren't included, etc.
I still have a few changes to make, like hiding the wires and covering the power strip. These are also not all of my individual cages, some live in other parts of the house. I have tried introducing cages to the hand-tame Finches, but so far Miles is the only one who will use them so I keep 1 handy for him and any babies I might be raising. I also have another hexagon aviary that I haven't set up yet and am highly procrastinating on.
I used Exo-Terra lights which are marketed to reptiles, but they work the exact same as the featherbrite lights - only better. They have the best coverage and are compatible with any 13-26 watt basic CFL bulbs, including the UVA/UVB versions. The lights are about $25 each including shipping @ Amazon.
I used fresh Manzanita branches for the perches inside of the cages as well as the perches outside of the cages for the free-flying hand-tame Finches, which I bought on ebay. I asked the seller multiple questions to make sure they were untreated first. They're very malleable or 'bendy' when they first arrive - really easy to manipulate and they smell so fresh. I also used Maple branches for some of the cages, which fell from a tree we used to live near.
This is the aviary I made out of 2 - 30x18x36 cages from LL (local retailer). My original idea was to save money on an aviary but since LL only does orders of 3 I ended up paying about $150 with shipping which is the same price as an aviary. Lol! I also gave away the 3rd cage to someone with Weavers.
The way the aviary is secured is via zip ties to keep it together, and 2 small hooks on either side which are screwed into the wall to keep it from bowing or leaning forward.
I think seeing my bird room as it's finished really explains a lot about my personal beliefs about breeding & general care.
My way of answering this would be to share pictures of my bird room which would give everyone an idea about me & my experience. I haven't posted complete pictures of my setup yet because I wanted to be sure to wait until it was finished and we had moved into our new house. I specifically didn't want any half-completed photos circulating to confuse people. As of a couple weeks ago, it's finally complete. The biggest hangup was finding out how to hang hundreds of dollars worth of shelves on 100-year-old walls without studs. That's right, I said NO studs. Lots of little hangups included finding specific drill bits we didn't have, buying bulbs for the lights which weren't included, etc.
I still have a few changes to make, like hiding the wires and covering the power strip. These are also not all of my individual cages, some live in other parts of the house. I have tried introducing cages to the hand-tame Finches, but so far Miles is the only one who will use them so I keep 1 handy for him and any babies I might be raising. I also have another hexagon aviary that I haven't set up yet and am highly procrastinating on.
I used Exo-Terra lights which are marketed to reptiles, but they work the exact same as the featherbrite lights - only better. They have the best coverage and are compatible with any 13-26 watt basic CFL bulbs, including the UVA/UVB versions. The lights are about $25 each including shipping @ Amazon.
I used fresh Manzanita branches for the perches inside of the cages as well as the perches outside of the cages for the free-flying hand-tame Finches, which I bought on ebay. I asked the seller multiple questions to make sure they were untreated first. They're very malleable or 'bendy' when they first arrive - really easy to manipulate and they smell so fresh. I also used Maple branches for some of the cages, which fell from a tree we used to live near.
This is the aviary I made out of 2 - 30x18x36 cages from LL (local retailer). My original idea was to save money on an aviary but since LL only does orders of 3 I ended up paying about $150 with shipping which is the same price as an aviary. Lol! I also gave away the 3rd cage to someone with Weavers.
The way the aviary is secured is via zip ties to keep it together, and 2 small hooks on either side which are screwed into the wall to keep it from bowing or leaning forward.
I think seeing my bird room as it's finished really explains a lot about my personal beliefs about breeding & general care.
Your comments are really kind & are also refreshing my excitement. 