FINCHforum

As some of you know I have 6 society finches in the cage pictured below. My question is will that cage hold 2 more society finches? The reason I ask is because my sister got 2 society finches that she no longer wants and she asked me to take them because she knows that in the next 3 months I will be getting a double flight cage. I do want them, but afraid I would be overcrowding my cage.

Tish

What are the cage dimensions?

I think 32x18x36

Well, according to the cage size calculator, that cage would only hold 2 birds. But I think the cage size calculator underestimates the importance of vertical space. It's true that the finches will all nest up at the top at night, but having that extra vertical space DOES give them more room to fly around and amuse themselves.

If it were me, I would probably go ahead and take the other birds - but I'd be looking for a larger cage. Which you are already planning to do, right?

I'm planning on putting 2 Prevue F040 cages together to make one big cage about 5' long x 20" wide x 42" tall (not counting the stand), and I plan to have 8 finches in that. That's about twice the size of your current cage. And sure enough, according to the cage calculator, I can only have 4 or 5 birds in a cage THAT huge! That is probably true of some of the more aggressive breeds, especially if they are breeding - but societies are probably the LEAST aggressive finches.

I have wondered if part of the reason that calculator works the way it does is because she assumes a breeding situation. You would need extra horizontal space so the breeding pairs have plenty of space between nests. But I don't know why anyone serious about breeding would try to breed in a cage that size anyway, or would try to breed multiple pairs in the same cage (not an aviary). Even finches cheat from time to time. You couldn't be sure of the pairings.

The 30x18x18 cages strike me as better for breeding. But what do I know - breeding is something I am assiduously trying to avoid, with all my might, and not much cooperation from my guys, either!

I suggest getting a stress perch or putting plenty of fake greenery up at the top, strategically distributed around the perches to hide them from each other, so that everybody has a place to roost out of sight of everybody else. It's roosting space that is going to be hard to come by.

Keeping in mind that societies will probably pile all together anyway. But the stress perches should still be available, especially to give the new pair a safe space to hide until the new pecking order is worked out.

It will be crowded, but it could work out with societies. They are the ONLY finch breed I would try it with. Zebras might kill each other, or more likely make you wish you were dead due to all the squawking and screaming.

But I think societies can be trusted to get no worse than a few attempted feather-pluckings. You would need to watch them carefully to make sure, but societies don't typically try to kill each other.

If it DOESN'T work out then the new pair goes back into the cage they came with, right?

It's not a GREAT idea, but societies are generally awfully forgiving. I don't think its nearly as overcrowded as the cage calculator makes out, but it will be overpopulated until you get your new cage.

Is there any chance you can just keep them in their current cage until you get the new one? Maybe you could set their cage on top of your cage so it doesn't take up space somewhere else?

I plan to buy the cage pictured below, but it will cost me $500 so I need to save over a 2 to 3 month period. I'am not getting the cage they live in because my sister can return it for a refund, I do however have a medium cage they could go in, but I would prefer to have them in one big cage. I don't know what I should do.

That cage looks PLENTY big enough. I have a question though - have you considered getting 2 of the F040 and putting them together? That cage is currently on sale for $100 on amazon, so for $200 and with judicious use of a dremel tool (which you can get cheaply at Harbor Freight if you can't find one to borrow) and a bunch of zipties, you can have a huge cage with 5' of free-flight space.

EDIT: Oh drat. I just noticed you're in Canada. Which means you probably can't get that cage off Amazon USA. Rats. Oh well. It was a thought. At least you have universal health care, even if you can't get cheap bird cages from Amazon. LOL!

At any rate - I don't think its all that much of a dilemma. In the first place, you should quarantine them from the other birds for 30 to 90 days anyway - and the medium sized cage will do for that.

By the time quarantine is over, you'll probably be ready for the new cage, whatever it is, by then anyway.

Even if not - they ARE societies. You can probably get away with adding them to your current cage after quarantine anyway.

As a PERMANENT situation, I would call it a no go.

As a short-term temporary situation until you can get the new larger cage - I think you (and the birds) will be fine.

I would note, also, that when I got my pair the biggest cage they had in the store was the Prevue Cockatiel cage. This:



The dimensions are listed as 25x21x29 (length x width x height). However that is counting the HUGE overhang on the pan - the cage itself is actually about 21 x 18 x 20-something much less than 29 because that slanted top is purely wasted space. I had my two guys in there for 2 or 3 months easily before I got their F075 (36 x 18 x 20).

I currently have 2 parakeets in there, and they've been in there for about 8 months - much longer than I intended. They are OK. It is NOT ideal but they are fine. When I get this painting and reno squared away they'll go into a much larger cage, overall none the worse for wear.

Your new guys will be fine, too.

Actually - are you close enough to the border that you could have the cages delivered to a friend in the US? Unbox them? Just take it in 2 or 3 trips a few pieces at a time? Smuggle the parts under a blanket?

I'm half kidding. But only half. Oh for the days of the open Canadian border ...

I wish I was closer to USA border and that I drive, you guys get cheaper cages. I think I will take them at least with me I know they will be in a big cage, if they go back to the store they run the risk of being sold to someone with a tiny cage, like my first rescue society finch was in with 2 other finches. The cage was 12x8x12, I was suppose to get all 3 but sadly the night before they got out and 2 were killed by her dog. Sad ending to a sad life inside of a tiny cage. When I got Scotland the medium cage must of felt like freedom and it was only 26x14x22. Glad I could make his life better, he deserves it.

Tish Normally with any other species, that cage would be tight for 8 finches, but I believe that yours will all be fine with that size. Societies enjoy being close to each other, so they probably would not mind the new additions. The new cage that you are saving for is awesome! They are going to love it. I do agree with Sojourner with the quarantine for 60-90 days. That would be good timing for you to put them all together in the new cage. Good luck!

Brian

delray I'am really hoping to have the cage by the time they are finished in quarantine, but just in case I needed to make sure it wouldn't be to big of a problem to add them to existing cage for a month or so. Wish I could go out and buy the double flight now, but bills and rent come first. So sadly I have to save up.

Tish they should be fine in that cage for the mean time!

Brian

Tish It'll be fine. They're societies. Just keep an eye on them and you can always leave them in the quarantine cage anyway. They'll have to be in there 2 or 3 months anyway - an extra 2 or 3 months is NOTHING, even if you couldn't add them to the other cage.

Heck, my poor parakeet guys have been stuck in a cage that's really too small for ONE parakeet, let alone two. It'll be close to a year before they get to move into a better place. But they're fine in the meantime.

It's not ideal, but it's OK. Your guys will be OK. Societies are MUCH more forgiving than any other finch when it comes to things like this. Very peaceful and gregarious. There's plenty of room for exercise in the cage you have and that's 3/4ths of the battle right there.

Sojourner Tish Societies cram into one nest as it is, so I bet they'd be fine in basically any cage lol. When my aunt bred societies 10 of them all went into one nest every night. That's why they are such a great species to have!

I find it funny when people say that - I've rarely seen it, and then only with parents and their grown babies. Otherwise they bond in pairs or rarely trios and don't share nests beyond that - indeed, my birds even tend to get aggressive around their nests to other pairs.

The cage calculator is assuming breeding, I believe, so you can fudge a bit when not breeding. Also, it depends somewhat on species. A pair of waxbills, even if not breeding, require more space than Societies.