FINCHforum

When not in the flights I keep most of my pairs in cages 4x2x2 It's always been my intention to give them a life.....not an existence.
All I can say is give your birds the largest space you can and don't crowd them.
A zebra breeder in the UK uses batteries of breeding cages 18inches x12x15....they breed in them ..yes,but, I don't consider it morally right to keep birds in so restrictive a space.
Paul.

Choxie79 wrote:
Also I wanted to put many birds together maybe 6 (2 Zebras, 2 Society and 2 Gouldian).
What size would I need?

I would guess you'd need an aviary if you want those species to co-exist peacefully and even with that, there are no guarantees.

Choxie79, one of those cages are too small for a pair of finches in my opinion. If you combine 2, like you suggested then you could keep a pair in them, no problem.

I'm with atarasi, combining gouldians and zebras is looking for trouble, zebras are a pushy species and might fight with the gentle societies and gouldinas, rather replace the zebras with another passive species like star finches or cordon bleus, if they are too expensive for you rather consider 2 pairs of societies.

If you are looking to house 6 birds together in a cage you need to provide roughly 10 square feet of flying room, so if a cage is 2 feet wide it should be 5 feet long. Hope this makes sense

williep... thank you!!! Yes makes perfect sense. I could try to combine more than 2 if I could just figure out what to use as the tray at the bottom. Most cages came w/o the trays. I was thinking of combining all six to make them longer and wider.

poohbear....I wish I could have a huge aviary but for now it's just not possible. I am new at this so that is why I was asking about specific measurements. I will stick to only my 2 Zebras until I can build a bigger aviary. I have never owned birds before and as i learned the hard way DON"T TRUST WHAT THE PETSHOP TELLS YOU!! LOL Lesson learned. I also neede more cages for te babies that were supposed to hatch this week, but it looks like they gave up on them and are no longer in the nest. I will build the biggest cage I can with the supplies i have at hand and will not breed them again. Thanks!!

atarasi... thanks I read somewhere that these 3 were perfect in an aviary together, that's why I asked. I know sometimes these books are out dated and it's better to ask someone who works with the animal day to day. Thanks again!!

Choxie79 wrote:atarasi... thanks I read somewhere that these 3 were perfect in an aviary together, that's why I asked. I know sometimes these books are out dated and it's better to ask someone who works with the animal day to day. Thanks again!!

Gouldians and societies are fine together, it's just the Zebras that cause the trouble.
Check out the Finch Information Center....it gives you a list under species of which finches are compatible. Just hate to see those pesky Zebras bully other finches. Or, if you really enjoy the Zebras, get all Zebras. Or mix in a few Shaft-tail finches they are just as pushy.

I have 9 sociats and two shaft tails in aflight that is 30 x 18 x 18. I have 4 nest in the cage 1 pair have 1 nest with 4 young just hatched. 4 others share a nest an act like they are setting on eggs as there is always at least one in the nest, even at feeding time. They will not leave the nest so i can check it. the shaft tails only use their nest to sleep in.

James wrote:I have 9 sociats and two shaft tails in aflight that is 30 x 18 x 18. I have 4 nest in the cage 1 pair have 1 nest with 4 young just hatched. 4 others share a nest an act like they are setting on eggs as there is always at least one in the nest, even at feeding time. They will not leave the nest so i can check it. the shaft tails only use their nest to sleep in.

Please tell me that those measurements are in feet and not inches!!!

You cannot seriously be keeping AND breeding 11 birds and 4 babies in a cage that size - 30"x18"x18". If that is the case I plead you to consider getting more cages or getting rid of some of the birds.

If I understood your measurements incorrectly I apologize in advance

I do hope some of you younger people don't think us older keepers are being miserable old gits...going on and on...
But,it is important the message is got across...don't put too many birds in a small area.
You are dealing with active little creatures that need space for exercise and like humans they are territorial and need their own space to live without being cramped.
Most of the cages on the market are only suitable for one pair...and if they breed you're gonna need more than one.
It is deceiving when people see them in pet shops....The birds there,sometimes 20 to a cage are hopefully only being housed in such numbers temporarily, and soon sold on.
Better a few happy birds than loads of stressed ones.Remember, stress can bring on illness and kill very quickly.


This is my Hecks grassfinch flight 8Long x 7H x3W I have 3 pairs in there and now they have had youngsters I shall soon be moving some on.It's just about big enough for 3 pairs.Ample breeding space without disputes and fighting.



Paul.

poohbear....I don't mind, as long as it's more constructive than demeaning. If you point out all the wrongs, you should in turn state how it could be fixed. I am new to this forum as well as birds, I have never owned birds until now. So I am completely in the dark, that's why I decided to join a forum so I can properly care for them the best I can.
I did the same thing when I got my bearded dragon and now he's big, fat and healthy and has never gotten sick. This is what I plan to do with my finches and any other animal I take responsibility for.

BTW. I love you aviary!! When I do mine I want it to look as natural as possible like th eway you have. Thanks for all the help and the picture.

Bearded Dragon??? Dunno reptiles...but this is the bedroom window of a young neighbour.She's had this for years...Is this similar?Her Dad made her a special cage in the spare bedroom.(That window is over 2 foot wide)
Paul.

Yeah that looks like a green iguana.
This is my bearded dragon:



He's only 14", I got him at 8" and he won't get any bigger than 24". Although they average about 19". He still has a lot of growing, he is only about 8 months old. We've had him for only 4 months now. He is great!!

Ok, Ok maybe I came over too strongly in my previous post but as you can see it was directed at James's reply to your question that I quoted. Still, reading it again it does seam kinda harsh, so I appologize.

The principle still remains the same though and poohbear explained it nicely, finches require space to fly breed and live and it is very important to make sure you can provide all of these thing before getting involved. Breeding them requires even more space as you need some place to keep the young once they weaned.

I suggest you go with you idea of combining two of the cages and then keeping a pair per cage or combine all six if you want to keep all three pairs together. Good Luck. BTW love the bearded dragon; are you going to breed them eventually?

Okay. here it is:



I decided to combine 2 cages for now. It's 3 times as big as what they were in. I also saw a big beautiful flight cage and stand for $169 at our local pet shop, so I will be saving up for it!!!

Choxie79
That looks better, you live in south fl.don't you ? I think you should check out some of the fle -markets down there you can probably get a good H q cage there for less than a pet store.