FINCHforum

African Aviary Update

So envious and so pretty...

More pics...

You have some really beautiful specimens there! Somewhat jealous.

Thanks everyone!

For some reason it only let me post a few pics at a time.

Very beautiful aviary and very nice pictures!

Looks wonderful!

Stunning!!!

About the starlings, how noisy are they and are they easy to feed? I honestly can't find much info online about keeping them in an aviary.

that yellow / orange bird is gorgeous! is that weaver bird?
I love your aviary look!
question: how do you make the cleaning easier?

Rox wrote: Stunning!!!

About the starlings, how noisy are they and are they easy to feed? I honestly can't find much info online about keeping them in an aviary.

Honestly the starlings are the easiest birds to feed, they eat pretty much anything. I give them a mix of finch seed and softbill pellets daily. Then about three times a week I'll give them diced mango, papaya, or some other type of soft fruit along with mealworms.

They're also very docile despite what some keepers say, I've never had any issues with them and even the smallest waxbills.

As far as noise is concerned I never hear anything from the amethyst starling, but the superb starling I could imagine some people could label as noisy. My male mostly sings at morning and evening. It's a very pleasant noise though, mostly whistling with a few chirps.

One thing I will say though is that these birds have to be in an aviary. I had them in my quarentine flight for a week which they did VERY poorly in.

softbills You have some gorgeous birds! will you be trying to breed them?

Thats a very nice aviary! It looks like your birds enjoy it!

mondo wrote: that yellow / orange bird is gorgeous! is that weaver bird?
I love your aviary look!
question: how do you make the cleaning easier?

Once every two weeks I rake out the mulch in the bottom of the aviary, and then I just spray everything down with the hose.

NewTampanian Thanks for the feedback!

I've been looking into starlings, as I see them advertised occasionally here and they are beautiful. I'm honestly just a bit concerned about the sound, especially if there is a pair together. I guess the best would be to go to a breeder and see in person. I also agree that they need to be in an aviary only. I can't see them settling down into a flight cage.

I just think a pair of the Amethyst Starlings would look spectacular in my garden, lol!

Rox, google Hildebrandt's Starling..... I almost got a pair. THEY ARE AS STUNNING IN PERSON as they are in pictures.
I asked a knowledgeable breeder about them. His answer: they need a long aviary (for flight), easy to breed and make nice splooshy poops if they fed lots of fruit.

Still love them. If my avairy were longer say about 6m I'd have gotten them. Not even that expensive, well as softbills go.