Substrate????
- FinchLover&Breeder
- 1 Egg Laid
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:01 pm
- Location: Florida
Substrate????
Hello fellow bird enthusiasts, its me Nick again. I have had one answer in a different post but wanted to put it up in a more appropriate area. I was wondering what kind of substrates everyone uses in their bird cages. I personally am using cleanable, pre-washed play-sand that I bought at a local hardware store. I wanted to know what everyone else uses? I hope everyone that sees this post will please leave a comment of what you use.
And if anyone would like me to buy them some o the good sand down here that is cheap please private message me for more details. Down here the sand only cost like 2.54 for a 5 -15 lbs. bag plus tax. Please comment and feel free to PM me.
And if anyone would like me to buy them some o the good sand down here that is cheap please private message me for more details. Down here the sand only cost like 2.54 for a 5 -15 lbs. bag plus tax. Please comment and feel free to PM me.
Nick
Pets:
6 zebras and counting
1 society and counting
2 hermit crabs
1 dog (Getting another soon.(will post pics))
1 outdoor cat
2 male cockatiels
(and counting)
Channel #1
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1Otj-I0yiRjboOUxEgyreA
Channel #2
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQmXcLlN_Oo7hkGE4zUgS9A
-
- Weaning
- Posts: 1612
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2016 5:21 pm
Re: Substrate????
I also use sand in my flight; it's cheap and easy to clean if you use a sifter. The main concern is mildew, but this can be prevented by spreading wet sand across the top to dry and removing any organic material. If anything starts stinking, vinegar should clear it up.
Last edited by Icearstorm on Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- FinchLover&Breeder
- 1 Egg Laid
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:01 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Substrate????
Icearstorm
cool. so I see i'm not the only one to use sand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so what does everyone else use?
cool. so I see i'm not the only one to use sand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so what does everyone else use?
Nick
Pets:
6 zebras and counting
1 society and counting
2 hermit crabs
1 dog (Getting another soon.(will post pics))
1 outdoor cat
2 male cockatiels
(and counting)
Channel #1
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1Otj-I0yiRjboOUxEgyreA
Channel #2
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQmXcLlN_Oo7hkGE4zUgS9A
-
- Brooding
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 4:02 pm
Re: Substrate????
I use sand for my aviary floors- mixed with seed and seed husks.
~Flight Feathers Bird Home~
14 Zebra Finches, 4 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries, 7 Chinese quail, 3 Bengalese Finches, 1 Turquoise Parrot, 1 Goldfinch
Now a member of the NZFBA!
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/f ... thersbirds
14 Zebra Finches, 4 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries, 7 Chinese quail, 3 Bengalese Finches, 1 Turquoise Parrot, 1 Goldfinch
Now a member of the NZFBA!
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/f ... thersbirds
- FinchLover&Breeder
- 1 Egg Laid
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:01 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Substrate????
Flight Feathers
alright. so a lot of use sand. guess it is the preferred substrate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so does anyone else use something different? i not or if so just post what you do use or prefer to use.
alright. so a lot of use sand. guess it is the preferred substrate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so does anyone else use something different? i not or if so just post what you do use or prefer to use.
Nick
Pets:
6 zebras and counting
1 society and counting
2 hermit crabs
1 dog (Getting another soon.(will post pics))
1 outdoor cat
2 male cockatiels
(and counting)
Channel #1
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1Otj-I0yiRjboOUxEgyreA
Channel #2
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQmXcLlN_Oo7hkGE4zUgS9A
- Celeris
- Flirty Bird
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2016 12:46 am
- Location: Colorado
Re: Substrate????
For my quail, I use sand. For the finches, I previously used newspaper pellets, but have recently taken to using shredded junk mail. I wouldn't want to use sand in my finch cage (Prevue F040) as I feel it would be too heavy and the tray would be likely to just fall out.
- FinchLover&Breeder
- 1 Egg Laid
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:01 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Substrate????
Celeris
alright. cool. I decided to use sand because it is cheap and easy to clean. My type of cages means that no matter how much weight is in the bottom it shouldn't fall off because my plastic bottom is surrounded by a metal "cage".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about everyone else?
alright. cool. I decided to use sand because it is cheap and easy to clean. My type of cages means that no matter how much weight is in the bottom it shouldn't fall off because my plastic bottom is surrounded by a metal "cage".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about everyone else?
Nick
Pets:
6 zebras and counting
1 society and counting
2 hermit crabs
1 dog (Getting another soon.(will post pics))
1 outdoor cat
2 male cockatiels
(and counting)
Channel #1
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1Otj-I0yiRjboOUxEgyreA
Channel #2
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQmXcLlN_Oo7hkGE4zUgS9A
- Sally
- Mod Extraordinaire
- Posts: 17929
- Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:55 pm
- Location: DFW, Texas
Re: Substrate????
For breeding waxbills, I use hay (coastal or timothy) in the bottom of the cages. The birds use it for nesting material. Then, since waxbills are so prone to tossing babies, it provides a soft landing for the babies. One down side is that the babies often slip right through the hay and are then hidden. By the time I find them, sometimes it is too late.
- FinchLover&Breeder
- 1 Egg Laid
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:01 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Substrate????
alright. that can be bad.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about everyone else?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about everyone else?
Nick
Pets:
6 zebras and counting
1 society and counting
2 hermit crabs
1 dog (Getting another soon.(will post pics))
1 outdoor cat
2 male cockatiels
(and counting)
Channel #1
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1Otj-I0yiRjboOUxEgyreA
Channel #2
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQmXcLlN_Oo7hkGE4zUgS9A
- Sojourner
- 2 Eggs Laid
- Posts: 716
- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:22 am
Re: Substrate????
I just use junk mail grocery flyers. I only have 3 birds at present in 2 cages though - 1 lonely Bengalese finch and 2 parakeets.
Molly Brown 11/22/15
Pyewacket 6/15/17
Trudy 2/24/18
Turn towards home, and go there. Many overs, over woods and fields, streams and hills, many overs. Just turn towards home. How else would one go there? Perhaps it was a dream, and you have awakened from it. May the earth rise up beneath you, with home in your heart, and your person waiting.
Pyewacket 6/15/17
Trudy 2/24/18
Turn towards home, and go there. Many overs, over woods and fields, streams and hills, many overs. Just turn towards home. How else would one go there? Perhaps it was a dream, and you have awakened from it. May the earth rise up beneath you, with home in your heart, and your person waiting.
-
- Brooding
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 4:02 pm
Re: Substrate????
To be honest there's a whole lot more seed than there is sand.FinchLover&Breeder wrote: Flight Feathers
alright. so a lot of use sand. guess it is the preferred substrate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so does anyone else use something different? i not or if so just post what you do use or prefer to use.
~Flight Feathers Bird Home~
14 Zebra Finches, 4 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries, 7 Chinese quail, 3 Bengalese Finches, 1 Turquoise Parrot, 1 Goldfinch
Now a member of the NZFBA!
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/f ... thersbirds
14 Zebra Finches, 4 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries, 7 Chinese quail, 3 Bengalese Finches, 1 Turquoise Parrot, 1 Goldfinch
Now a member of the NZFBA!
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/f ... thersbirds
-
- Pip
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:05 pm
Re: Substrate????
Was thinking of wood shavings or sand to replace the bounty tissue paper I use now. Only concern with sand was the weight on the plastic tray. Has anyone used wood shavings ?
Swethak
Canary, Strawberries, RCCB, Greenbacked Twinspots
Canary, Strawberries, RCCB, Greenbacked Twinspots
- Sally
- Mod Extraordinaire
- Posts: 17929
- Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:55 pm
- Location: DFW, Texas
Re: Substrate????
swethakyadav Pine or cedar shavings aren't good for birds, but aspen shavings would be fine.
-
- Brooding
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 3:51 pm
- Location: Ocala, Florida
Re: Substrate????
I use contractors brown paper I get at Lowes or Home Depot. I cut it into strips about 7 inches wide and put under perches on top of the grate. The grate is not removable, but I wish it was. They are in cages not an aviary. Then there is a foraging dish which is a reptile feeding dish with lava rock and seeds in it. There are also some small stones on the outside of the dish. They have oat spray in there too along with an herb dish and a mineral dish. It's getting hard to get good paper though. Some of the rolls have a chemical odor, so I don't buy them. Sand or aspen shavings would be good if you don't have a grate. My cages are the 30 X 18 X 18.
-
- Callow Courter
- Posts: 158
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 11:39 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: Substrate????
I use newspaper since I only keep two finches and I don't have room for an aviary either. I have to clean it out on a weekly basis. Are seed husks easier to clean out because I have lots.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
~obsessed with zebra finches~
Sincerely, Cathy
~obsessed with zebra finches~