6 Societies

[ellen7]

I've been in regular contact with a breeder and after the holidays it looks like I'll be able to bring home 2 of her Societies They are both males.

She is considering selling 6 male Societies total and has asked me if I'm interested in all 6. I haven't cared for finches before and not sure if 6 will be much more work than 2. If I take her up on her offer, how large of a cage could 6 males live in? My 30x18x18 just arrived and I ordered it thinking I'd have only 2.

[lovezebs]

ellen7

Hi Ellen.

Six Socie boys will not be any trouble.
They will also not be all that much work, other than eating more and pooping more, lol. Societies, are extremely social creatures, and truly enjoy each other's company, most especially if they are all used to living together in the first place.

The cage however...
Yes, an 18x18x30 inches, is too small for six birds.

Personally, I would order another 18x18x30, and put them together, to make one larger cage.

Here are a couple of examples of how it could be done....

Not sure why it's coming out sideways, but hopefully you can still get the idea (?)

[ellen7]

Thanks for the drawing, Elana! I see what you mean. All 6 of the males are used to being together so that's good. She hasn't made a firm decision on selling the 6 but I'll at least walk away with two if she takes the offer off the table when we meet next month.

[Babs _Owner]

ellen7

Lots of male societies together are TONS of fun! Since they are all male, you can put in nests, throw tommy hay all over the floor and watch them build the nests. Pull it out, watch them do it over & over again.

My societies are afraid of anything with bright colors, so I had wooden cubbys and hung toilet paper rolls stuffed with coco fiber for them to yank on, explore and forage.

They prance around and sing right up in each other's faces all day long!

At night they all sleep crammed in the clown car.

Sigh, I miss my all boys society cage.

[ellen7]

Babs -

Sounds like so much fun watching all the boys so I just might walk away with all 6 of them!!

It was neat to read about your boys antics!

[Babs _Owner]

ellen7

Oh by all means grab all 6. You won't regret it! My all-males cage was 8 males. You really get an idea about how different their personalities are when they are all together.

I still have 2 of the original males (my Avatar) and his buddy KoJax.

Space became an issue when I decided to breed a few gouldian pair And I have regretted getting rid of the all-males cage ever since.

And there is never a dull moment as long as you keep messing up their nests! I messed up their nests every morning, and sometimes again in the afternoon. Kept them peacefully competing, singing and busy busy busy.

Looking forward to the pictures!

Enjoy!

[Tish]

I would take all 6, but that's because I love society finches alot

[FinchGrinch]

Putting two cages together is really quite simple. I purchased the Petco you and me finch habitat. They go on sale for about 30 bucks but if you have a coupon you can get them for less. I used a pair of needle nose pliers and took the roof off of one and the bottom off of another, then used Zip ties to bring them together. Here is a pick of my setup. I have 4 Societies in this one.



In hindsight, I wish I had a bunch of males vs having a pair of males and females. Watching them build a nest is great fun. I have to watch now for mating and you cant leave the next in there, lest they mate.

Good luck with yours and post pics when you get them.

John

[lovezebs]

FinchGrinch

Hi John,

That's the 2 18x18x30 one on top of the other, right? It looks to be a really nice size.

What have you got wrapped around the bottom third of it? Is it plastic wrap?

[w.l.]

If space allows, it is much better for the birds to put the two cages together side by side, doubling their length. They like to fly long more than high.
Of course the tall cage looks better.

[Nerine]

lovezebs

It looks like a seed guard/catcher to me; less cleaning = more time to spend with birdies

@FinchGrinch

Speaking of seed guards, where did you get one big enough to fit around an 18x18x30? I bought one which was supposed to fit but didn't.

[Lucille]

I bought Sheer Guard super large seed guards on Amazon, supposed to fit to 108 diameter and they fit my 18x18x30 beautifully.

[ellen7]

I like the idea of all 6 if she decides to let go of the males. Space isn't an issue so the side-by-side idea is the one I'd go with. I happen to have a long table in the closet that would work for their home to sit on. The earliest I would have the Societies is sometime in January and as late as February so the pics won't come for awhile.

Thanks for all the cool info and pics!

[lovezebs]

Nerine Lucille ellen7

I will def have to look into some of these seed guards.

In the past I've tried different things, from wrapping plastic around the flights (but it had to be constantly replaced, plus some of the birds decided it was a good snack), to clear hard plastic sheets (which were a pain to remove, clean and replace again), to sheer shower curtains, cut into sizes that would fit around....

Finally I just gave up, and simply run the vaccume with hose attachment around everything almost every time I walk in there (just noticed yesterday that the filter is full of feathers, so will have to take it outside and beat up on it, lol).

[Lucille]

diameter

Circumference. A 108 diameter would be quite a cage. Next time I'll finish the first cup of coffee prior to posting.