Housing Societies with -----?

[Margana]

Hi! I'm new to Finch Forum but have had Society Finches for about four years. Glad to have found the forum and the wealth of information posted here. This is a real gold mine. Even so, I'm a little uncertain about one thing. Maybe you can help.

In my home office the two Societies live in a 30" x 18" x 18" cage. The cock is flighted but the hen can only jump up on the perches though not fly across the cage. She has a few wing feathers still coming in after her moult and I hope that will make the difference. Regardless, she is the more adventuresome and outgoing of the two.

The birds have been with me at least four years and have only produced one infertile egg though with certainty Thing One is a cock and Thing Two is a hen. Having no babies has been fine with me. Both birds have imperfections I wouldn't want to past along.

A couple of months ago, it became evident something was lacking so I decided to look for another pair or two to add to the flock. In my area, there are Bronze-Winged Mannikins, Gold-Breasted Waxbills, and Red-Cheeked Cordon Bleu available though I prefer the Blue-Capped. Of course, more Societies are another possibility at least if I could find something different like a chocolate-self. There might be a crested at a shop but I haven't seen that one yet. Compatibility is more important than appearance but I'm all for avian eye-candy.

Because they will live in my office where I spend most of my time, volume or shrill sounds could be a issue. The Societies have never been a problem but the near constant chatter and flitting about of Zebras most likely would be.

So what do you think would be the best choice for a second breed of finch? Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Ursula]

I have no experience with Bronze-Winged Mannikins and Gold-Breasted Waxbills, but Cordon Bleus have a soft call and are not noisy at all.

However, your cage is very(!) small and suitable only for 1 pair of finches, according to the cage calculator. http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/cage_s ... ulator.php

Cordon bleus are especially active and need lots of flying space, IMHO they should be help in flight cages or aviaries, but not in small cages.

But maybe I misunderstood and you are also planning to getting a flightcage?

Have you checked out the finch information center? You will find much more there than the cage calculator. The species section is very helpful too.

[finchmix22]

I have all you mentioned but the Gold's. The Bronze Winged are aggressive and pushy, despite their small size. I have to keep mine separate from the other birds. The RCCB's get along with everyone, but are prone to being bullied. My best suggestion would be more Society, as they love groups. I agree you need a flight cage for any more birds. Good Luck.

[Margana]

What are the dimensions of a flight cage?

[Hilary]

I keep three bronze wings with a pair of spice finches and a black-headed nun without any problems at all. They're active and chitter a lot, and lord forbid if one gets out - they can lead you on a very merry chase (fast little devils). I believe they may all be males, which might explain why they're so well-behaved (no hens to defend). It's also an all-mannikin cage, which may make a difference.

I keep my gold-breasted waxbills with other small, passive birds such as swees, rosy rumps, firefinches, orange cheeks and strawberries, but they'd probably be okay with societies if given enough room.

The cordon bleus seem to mix well with everybody - I just never have more than one pair per cage.

My larger cages are pretty much 60x18x30 (I think).

[Ursula]

What are the dimensions of a flight cage?

IMHO the bigger the better! It really depends how much space you have in your office. Maybe you can build a floor to ceiling aviary along one wall? Maybe you only have room for a slghtly bigger cage? There are tons of options, really. And the more space you have the better it is for the birds... Fact is, you probably won't find a good flight cage in a petstore but look online or at a bird fair. And for aviaries: they are usually custom built by the owners themselves. If you want to actually BUY an aviary you have to pay big bucks...

P.S.: I hope you don't see these answers as a discouragement, because that's really not my intention!! If you have the chance to see finches in a bigger environment where they have room to fly, you'll see that all the work is well worth the effort.

Where are you located, maybe somebody close to you can help you out with more specific advice.

[Margana]

6' flight cage? Floor to ceiling aviary along one wall? (My office should be so large. ) Owner-built aviary? My, but you folks do think BIG, be it with the wallet or the amount of space.

The best I can do is what I have so no more birds for me. Hopefully, the two finches currently in residence will not suffer from living in their "very(!) small" cage.

Thanks for the advice. My questions have been answered.

[Queen_Bee]

6' flight cage? Floor to ceiling aviary along one wall? (My office should be so large. ) Owner-built aviary? My, but you folks do think BIG, be it with the wallet or the amount of space.

The best I can do is what I have so no more birds for me. Hopefully, the two finches currently in residence will not suffer from living in their "very(!) small" cage.

Thanks for the advice. My questions have been answered.

I think the Red Cheeked Cordon Bleus would do just fine with the societies. Mine have a lovely little song and they are beautiful birds. In find the size calculator a good guideline, but a bit unrealistic when it comes to housing birds. It may be the ideal, but I would put 4 birds in the size of cage you have, especially if you are not interested in breeding them.

P.S Welcome to the forum!!