FINCHforum

I'm new to the forum, and seem to have a serious shortage amongst my birdies. The cages, food, light, and basic interior of the cages seem to be more than adequate, but I apparently am not a good decorator. I need to get some silk plants so the shyer sweeties don't feel threatened when I'm standing around admiring them. Does anyone have suggestions? Should I just get silk English ivy and weave it around, or does someone have more visually appealling ideas. Is there anything I should specifically avoid? I'm using individual cages for the pairs, but I have one fairly large aviary (about five feet by three feet, and about six feet tall) that I'm going to be moving birds into pretty soon. Any advice is appreciated.

You can use silk plants, they do make things look more natural and the birds appreciate having a place to hide when they feel the need. I used to have silk plants in my aviary but sadly I had to remove them as a few pairs were trying to nest in them and this was causing territorial issues. Decoarating the individuall cages shouldn't be a problem though.

Thanks, tammie. I've looked at lots of pictures now, and I hope it helps. I seem to not be very creative in this department! I'll let you know if I have satisfactory results.

I like plastic plants, especially fern leaves which are molded all in one piece so the birds have a tougher time ripping them apart. And when they get poopy, I can stuff them in a pillowcase and throw them in the washing machine. (Well I have a front-loader, an agitator machine would be hard on plastic plants.)

Oh, and be careful not to get too carried away, like I did one year at Christmas time.

I'd never thought about plastic ferns! I'm going back to town tomorrow - I have a new mission!! The Christmas aviary was definitely overkill - I loved it! I'm seriously bad at this stuff...thank you so much for the idea.

I found a great place to get plants for the birds. . . the reptile department of Petsmart or any pet store. They have a ton of plastic plants of different varities. I took the silks out because they are difficult to clean and are not as durable. My birds love the plastic ones.

If you have a craft and hobby store near you that's a good place to pick up plastic plants too. I have a Hobby Lobby not far from me and I have found some really nice big plastic ones on clearance.

I got mine at Michaels but later found many at the dollar store. I think I will go there next.
I used the fake evergreen garlands on wires for a lot of corner coverage. The birds seem to like it a lot. the fake plants are a great challenge for the boys to work at pulling apart.

I got lots of plants - some plastic and some silk. I found them at the dollar store, big lots, and michael's. The birds seem much happier - and several (including the owls) have started building new nests. I think I didn't have enough coverage before, and the birdies still felt vulnerable...they're happier now. It looks nicer, too!