I finally built an indoor aviary

[Jesse]

Jesse

Looking very pretty indeed.

You mean laminate flooring?
When you say 'covered with plastic', do you mean plastic sheeting (held in place with bricks?)

I used painters plastic. The plastic they sell to put on the floor when you paint. It's very big and you can cut it. I doubled it. $6. A friend of mine used plastic that you use to make outdoor ponds but I think that's very expensive and they are not that messy.
I taped it around the edges of the room so it's secure. I used the bricks so that the shavings don't go on the uncovered part of the floor. IOW I don't want shavings all over the room. The reason being is I'll track it out with my socks, shoes etc. I really don't care if they jump around over there. It is washable with water and vinegar.

[Sojourner]

If I were building an indoor aviary (and I have been thinking of that recently) I would probably go with Tyvek as a floor liner. Not so much because its waterproof because it isn't really, although some versions are very very water resistant, but because it is pretty much rip-proof as well as very very puncture resistant.

I use Kite-making Tyvek to make slings in my pottery (when making large platters or other curved forms) but the house-wrap stuff is about twice as water resistant. Problem being I don't know if you could get it in less than a full roll.

I don't think you really need a floor covering to be water proof for this use as birds generally poop fairly "dry" and in very small amounts. Regular use of some kind of litter and keeping that cleaned up should take care of that. And even if you spill some water - again hopefully the litter and quick attention to the spill should lay that worry to rest.

Heck, depending on the size of your aviary, you could just have more than one piece and occasionally roll it up and lay down the new piece so you can wash the old one off. People use Tyvek for tents and other camping stuff (backpacks, etc) all the time so it has to be pretty easy to clean and pretty tough. I know it has been for my slings. I don't put them in the washing machine because - clay dust, bad for pumps and plumbing. But it IS machine washable THOUGH ABSOLUTELY NOT NOT NOT NOT MACHINE DRYABLE!!!!

[Jesse]

You are right, with Finches you do not need something very strong or waterproof. I put plastic down to minimize cleaning. The wood chips which are actually used for horse stalls (I have had 4 horses) is very cheap and easy to maintain and as you can imagine the bag is BIG. It also costs between $4-$6 depending on where you buy it. The shredded paper bedding would work too!
My friend has hook-billed birds in her aviary. It's much larger so maybe for those birds, it was necessary.