FINCHforum

Hi everyone, I just became a finch mama for the first time! I have had birds my whole life, but I've never had a bird so small and fascinating.
He was in a neglect situation, but now he will be a spoiled little baby. Right now, he's in a parakeet cage, and while he's singing and seems rather happy, I've decided to make him a large flight and get him a little friend when he had more room.
So, today I scoured the thrift stores in the area, and found the find of a lifetime! A China cabinet that's actually a double cabinet. Is about 6 feet long, has 4 doors and is relatively deep as well. The hutch sits on a cabinet as well, so the total height is about 6 feet tall, maybe a little more. It cost me...$14.99. Add in the 5.00 tip I gave the nice gentlemen for helping me load it and it's mine for $20!
I'm now trying to decide if I should paint it- it's 1970's brown, and I think I'd like a brighter look. I'm going to remove the glass and put in small gauge chicken wire (I like the look better than screen) and it already has lights so I'll replace those with uv bulbs. I'd like to put a stone looking piece of linoleum on the bottom, and possibly a small live ficus then hang silk ivy or some kind of foliage around the top and sides.

What colors do you suggest? What kind of background too? I'd like to go natural/antique looking as possible, I like the look of bamboo, but I'm afraid of his teeny feet getting caught!
Also, any idea where to find small hole chicken wire? The local stores only carry the 1 inch holes and I think that might be too big, right?
Thank you so much!
Tweets

Awww...what a lucky little guy! I would stick to 1/4" hardware wire or cloth in housing finches. Keeps the finches and babies in and the predators out. If your birds will be indoors, you might be able to get away with 1/2" wire/cloth.

Tweets

Hi, and welcome to the Forum,

You didn't mention what species of Finch your little guy is.

I'm sure this little fella will be most appreciative if you build him a lovely new home and get him some companionship.

There are some members on the forum who have created some lovely flights out of old furniture pieces. Regretably I'm not one of them .

Good luck with your project.

Shannylee wrote: Awww...what a lucky little guy! I would stick to 1/4" hardware wire or cloth in housing finches. Keeps the finches and babies in and the predators out. If your birds will be indoors, you might be able to get away with 1/2" wire/cloth.

The birds will be indoors but we do have a Ragdoll cat that, while he's really harmless, may try to climb the cage at first. He leaves our other bird (a cockatiel) alone after his initial curiosity.
I'm going to look into the hardware wire! Thank you!

lovezebs wrote: Tweets

Hi, and welcome to the Forum,

You didn't mention what species of Finch your little guy is.

I'm sure this little fella will be most appreciative if you build him a lovely new home and get him some companionship.

There are some members on the forum who have created some lovely flights out of old furniture pieces. Regretably I'm not one of them .

Good luck with your project.

Thank you for the welcome!

Atticus (fiance and kids have a sense of humor) is a zebra finch!

I'm getting started on the new cabinet home in the morning. A friend of mine has zebras and gouldians so she will provide me with a little companion or 2 for Atticus.

Tweets What a lucky little guy, to have been saved from a neglected situation and now to have a really big home! The hutch sounds great, what a fabulous find! In the Housing forum, there are many topics members have posted about how they converted hutches/china cabinets into indoor aviaries. As far as color, I'd say whatever pleases you and fits into your color scheme.

I would also recommend the 1/2" hardware cloth in black, it makes for better visuals and will keep your little guy in. I used to have an indoor aviary, the lower front was plexiglass, which kept my cats away from the birds, though they stalked them at first.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for members to direct you to where to get supplies, etc.

Sally wrote: Tweets What a lucky little guy, to have been saved from a neglected situation and now to have a really big home! The hutch sounds great, what a fabulous find! In the Housing forum, there are many topics members have posted about how they converted hutches/china cabinets into indoor aviaries. As far as color, I'd say whatever pleases you and fits into your color scheme.

I would also recommend the 1/2" hardware cloth in black, it makes for better visuals and will keep your little guy in. I used to have an indoor aviary, the lower front was plexiglass, which kept my cats away from the birds, though they stalked them at first.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for members to direct you to where to get supplies, etc.

Thank you for the welcome!

I've been scouring this forum and online for pictures of what I'd like my end product to look like, funny thing is, I love all of them. I may have to have several!
My concern with anything I put on the front is the sheer weight of my cat. He's 18 pounds and has literally zero cat instincts. I'm going to go and feel the materials before I buy, maybe I can judge from there! He's really hefty! I'm afraid he won't retract his class and drag any cloth. Seriously. He's like a dog in a soft, long fluffy coat! My dog has taken little Atticus under his protection though, and sits in front of the cage he's in now and gives the cat the hairy eyeball if he comes close.
The dog is a good soul.

I'm going to change my profile to show my location, you're right about local suggestions! They're always welcome!

Tweets remember if you choose an oil based paint, stain, or primer let a fair amount of time elapse before Atticus moves in so the petroleum fumes can dissipate.

Lucille wrote: Tweets remember if you choose an oil based paint, stain, or primer let a fair amount of time elapse before Atticus moves in so the petroleum fumes can dissipate.

Yes, and there are a lot of low VOC paints that you can use. If it is safe for children, it should be safe for our birds. One advantage to having plexiglass on the bottom half of the aviary is that the cats can't get to the mesh.

Tweets

Here are a few pictures to give you some ideas

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=Drool

That is one lucky little finch!

I also love the look of that small-sized chicken wire. It has a rustic, country, shabby chic look. It's called Sparrow Wire, and I buy it on Amazon, but I've never been able to use what I've bought because it's always a mess. It's very crooked and untidy looking, and doesn't even remotely resemble chicken wire. If you do find some and really want to use it, maybe you could ask for a sample first.

So, I've been busily painting the China cabinet, I bought "cameo white" and its a child safe paint from Benjamin Moore.

I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures...I'm guessing I can't just upload from my tablet?

Tweets

Yes, you can, I do it all the time.

Put in a small message
Go down, and click on 'preview' box
Go down, and click on 'choose file' box
When a box pops up, go into gallery or files, or document (whichever shows up on your tablet)
Find the picture you want, and click on it
Which should bring you back to your Forum page
Click on 'preview' again, and your picture should pop up on the page.

There are other ways of doing it, but this works for me both from phone and from tablet.

Good luck.