FINCHforum

I have been involved with gouldian finches housed in an outdoor aviary with a heated indoor shelter. I am moving house in the near future where there will be a fairly large spare room available. I am considering setting up an indoor aviary - fully indoor with no access to the outside. Does anyone have an opinion on how safe indoor aviary birds are from air sac mites etc. and any other health problems usually associated with an outdoor aviary, or do I need to take the same precautions for the health of the birds in an indoor aviary as I would with my present outdoor set up? Thank in anticipation Dave.

stevekyd

Indoor aviaries shouldn't have any more issues than indoor cages, so if your birds don't have any issues, they should do fine. I'd still find a source for Ivermectin or Moxidectin, though, since you may need to treat for air sac mites if one was carrying them.

Thanks for your quick reply. So does that mean that in a bird room within the house, air sac mite and the like can not access the room unless introduced by an already infected bird? Thanks again, Dave.

Some say that Gouldians will have air sac mites, and will never completely be rid of them. The medicine we use to kill the mites don't get all of them. Repeat treatments are necessary and have to be ongoing year after year.

That said, I don't have Gouldians. I'm just passing on some information that I read, from a source that I trust.

Thank you for your replies. Better safe than sorry. Will continue to add preventative medication to the drinking water. Dave.

stevekyd

I wouldn't recommend using medications much, since you increase the chance of resistance. I dose everyone with a three total treatments of Moxidectin (will switch to Ivermectin next time), each a week apart, when I hear clicking, but I don't treat as a preventative. Applying the medication directly to the birds is better since you know they're getting enough, but it may not be practical if you have a large number of birds.

Good point, thank you.