Questions about housing different finch species in aviary

[blakbyrd]

As some here may have already read by previous post regarding an aviary I am building, I have a couple questions for some of the more experienced owners here of mixed species in aviaries.

For starters, I am new to finches, but not birds in general (have had other larger, parrot species before), so I want to do this as properly as I can and to provide the best atmosphere for them. My aviary is about 7 foot wide, 14 foot deep and 7 foot high. I am hoping to introduced 6-10 finches when it is ready for them. As such, I am looking for some suggestions on good species to look for to combine into this aviary. I am also not looking to breed any at this time.

1. Can finches from other continents be mixed with other finches from other continents (ie: australian finches with south american, etc)? Or is this something that would generally not be suggested to do? Mainly I ask in case species from different continents may be naturally aggressive to other finches (as many fish from various continents can be if housed together).

2. What are some good species that are non-aggressive to other species and are good for a first time finch owner?

3. Can any other "finch" like species be housed safely with other finches? (ie: Tanagers, Weavers, Grassquits, etc)?

4. Are there any finch friendly species (aside from doves) which tend to enjoy the ground or lower portions of the aviary? Since most finches tend to prefer to remain in the upper portion, this leaves a relatively large portion unused. This is really just a curiosity question.


I have done a fair amount of research into some of these questions and found a few sites which give lists of compatible species. However, I am getting rather confused on these lists, as well as the fact that many such lists include harder to find or rare species which makes it difficult to really find a good grouping of birds to look for, so I am hoping some more eperienced people here can suggest some good species that are not so difficult to find.

Lastly, I had intended to try to locate all the initial birds from one breeder. My reasons for this are that to me I would at least know that all the birds came from the same health environment and treatment, and potentially are already familiar with the mixed environment. Is this something that makes sense to do, or does it really not matter much?

In my area (SW Virginia), it seems my choice of finches available closeby is very limited, so I am probably going to have to look into ordering the birds from a breeder. Any good breeders others know about that would be worth looking into? Or possible, anyone know of any breeders in the SW Virginia area?

Many thanks again to any who can help me out with some information.

[EmilyHurd]

Yes finches from different continents can be mixed. Plus a lot of species are domestically bred here in the US, so they are probably used to being together anyway.

If you are looking for about 6-10 finches that can be housed together, which include a few on the bottom. I would probably try button quail, societies, owls, strawberries, cordon bleus, gouldians, orange cheek waxbills, stars, or another type of waxbill.

I personally have never owned Tanagers or Grassquits, so I don't know about them.

You don't have to get all your birds from the same breeder.

I think that this website is a good one: http://www.birdsexpress.net/index.html

On birds express, she'll ship 6-10 birds in the same box for I think about $120 shipping and $20 box cost, and she sells her birds for cheaper anyway.

I've also heard this one is good: http://www.singing-wings-aviary.com/index.htm

As far as getting good quality finch products and seed, these two sites are great:

http://www.hermanbros-seed.com/

http://www.justbirdstuff.com/home.php

I don't know of any breeders in the SW Virginia area, so sorry about that.

[blakbyrd]

Wonderful

Thanks alot for the help and info. I have been through Singing-Wings a bit, but will definately check out the other one as well.

[kenny]

the only species apart from dove i can suggest are quail..they are good for eating any uneaten seed from the floor of the aviary i have had weavers with other finches but they very boisterous in a small aviary i know you are not thinking of breeding but if you buy a pair they might do the thinking for you

ken

[blakbyrd]

Thanks Kenny. I'm not real intersted in quail, although I have some interest in some of the weavers. I had been told by one or two people that weavers can be a bit aggressive towards finches, but I do not really know myself. Will a single pair of weavers typically do well in such an aviary with other finches?

I am not against the idea of possibly allowing some breeding at some point, I just prefer not to provide them easy access to do so initially, and will try to keep them from doing so for a bit, although if they do happen to manage to do so, I will not be upset. I just want to keep the numbers limited right now. Although, nature will always find a way when it wants to

[Sally]

Since you are on the East Coast, check out these sites: www.mdfeatherfriends.com and/or www.marylandexoticbirds.com (basically the same place). They are in the Baltimore area, and/or will ship, and have some very good specials right now. A hospital near me has a community aviary in which they keep Stars, Cordon Bleus, Societies, Zebras, Bronze-wing Mannikins, 1 canary, and 1 male Orange Weaver. They don't seem to have a problem with the Weaver, but perhaps that is because he does not have a mate.

I keep Stars, Blue-capped Cordon Bleus, Lady Gouldians, Owls, Strawberries, Goldbreasts, Senegal Fires, and a pair of Societies for fostering, but all my birds are in breeding cages or flight cages, so I can't help you with mixing species in an aviary. I do know that the bigger and more planted the aviary, the more you can mix species. Zebras, Societies, Spices are all great beginner birds, but if you have m/f pairs, they also breed easily.