New finch owner here saying hello!

If you are new to the hobby and have some "newbie" questions - feel free to post them here! :0)
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lancerguy
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New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by lancerguy » Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:44 am

Greetings all! Glad to be a member. I wanted to introduce myself and my birds before asking any questions. My wife and I are new finch owners. We have a pair of green-back Gouldians, a pair of European Goldfinches, a Crested canary, and a red agate canary from thefinchfarm. We received them almost 2 weeks ago and for the most part they seem to be acclimating nicely to their new home.

We acquired a 6' x 6' x 3' aviary that we remodeled for them. First, we replaced all the aspen backing to give them fresh nesting material. Next, we sanded the wood floor down to clean off the droppings that had stained it, then installed linoleum on the bottom to make it easier to clean. We have aspen chips in the bottom that we plan on turning weekly and replacing monthly. For the lighting system, the aviary previously used 4x 6' flourescent tubes, which I found very difficult to source at a high CRI. I ended up removing the bulbs and using the fixtures to attach 32' of 95 CRI 5000K LED strip lights on a Leviton dimmer to provide a day/night cycle for the birds.

I ordered some sandblasted Manzanita branches from manzanita burlworks and trimmed them to fit into the aviary quite nicely. I have them on a diet of Morning Bird enriched finch mix, dried eggfood, the occasional millet, and alternating fruits. We also got some Sparkle, Thrive, and Vitalize from Morning Bird that we have been mixing into their water as needed. I ordered some Ronex and Amoxicillin from Morning Bird as well just in case we have any sick birds.

I have attached some pictures of the birds and their new home (Don't mind the cat in the bottom of the aviary, that was BEFORE we got the birds!!)
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lem2bert
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Re: New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by lem2bert » Thu Sep 19, 2019 1:44 pm

Lancerguy, welcome to the forum :) What a beautiful aviary you have put together. It looks like an indoor aviary , what a wonderful way to enjoy your birds all year long !! You have a beautiful pair of green back gouldians !! Beautiful birds!! I would love to see a close up of your red agate canary, if you ever get the time to post one. I am impressed with those manzanita branches, they look so real!!! Thank you for posting the info, I am definitely going to look up that company to look into ordering some !! Great job !!!
Betty 1 toy poodle and canary.

Stickgal
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Re: New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by Stickgal » Thu Sep 19, 2019 8:03 pm

So nice!!!
I'm very happy being me, although sometimes I'd love to be a bird so that I could fly. Joy Fielding

lancerguy
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Re: New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by lancerguy » Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:49 pm

Lancerguy, welcome to the forum :) What a beautiful aviary you have put together. It looks like an indoor aviary , what a wonderful way to enjoy your birds all year long !! You have a beautiful pair of green back gouldians !! Beautiful birds!! I would love to see a close up of your red agate canary, if you ever get the time to post one. I am impressed with those manzanita branches, they look so real!!! Thank you for posting the info, I am definitely going to look up that company to look into ordering some !! Great job !!!
It's difficult to upload photos here because the size limit is so small but I think I got some pictures compressed enough to attach them.

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Birdie
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Re: New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by Birdie » Fri Sep 20, 2019 7:15 pm

Welcome! I am new to the forum too!
Lucky you on the aviary! You have done a wonderful job renewing it! The pictures you shared of your birds are wonderful! I have a good sized cage but not an aviary ...yet. I have 6 finches and I love them! I am looking to add variety to my finch family and have read all sorts of who-to-put-together articles and what-not's but have yet to find any finches available near me. I was interested to hear that you got your finches from finchfarm.com. Did you have a good experience with them? The pictures certainly look like nice-looking birds.

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lem2bert
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Re: New finch owner here saying hello!

Post by lem2bert » Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:38 am

Lancerguy, The pictures came out fine. What a beautiful bird !!! I love the color. Thank-you so much for posting it. I love to see all the different color canaries that people own. I hope you are enjoying your beautiful aviary !!!
Betty 1 toy poodle and canary.

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