Lots of birds can handle those temps - seagulls, pigeons,starlings the list goes on and onMozelle wrote:I am SOOOOOO Envious!!
Anyone know any finches that can handle -30 to -40 Celsius??
Housing outside in Florida?
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cartel
- Perfect Partner
- Posts: 366
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:04 pm
- Location: Ontario,Canada
Re: Housing outside in Florida?
Gouldians,Cordon Bleu's,Zebras,grey singers,strawberry finches
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Weew
Re: Housing outside in Florida?
Here's my "outdoor finch in Florida" story:
I live near Orlando, and I have a fairly large screen-enclosed pool area. While visiting a local pet store, my girlfriend had an idea: what if we got a couple of cheap finches and set them loose in the enclosure? I figured "what the heck, let's give it a try!" I have tons of space, plenty of flourishing tall potted plants, and I hose the concrete deck weekly anyway (big dog = muddy paw prints).
Now I know this may not be a popular atitude, but I regard finches as I would goldfish. If they ended up dead the next morning, well, so much for that little experiment.
As it turned out, the finches knew to avoid the pool and took to the enclosure very well. Before long I found myself hanging a bird feeder on one of the potted plants' branches, filled with finch mix and grit. They loved it... and after a week we were confident enough to get a couple more pairs of zebras.
Three months later, they're flourishing. I bought some small cedar bird houses from Lowe's and mounted them on 7' poles with weighted concrete bases (so I can easily move them around). They love Spanish moss and short lengths of unraveled sisal twine for nesting... and have produced several clutches of eggs already.
They sleep beneath the stars, they awake with the sun, and all day long they hear the sounds of their cousin wild birds in the yard. When the daily Central Florida summer thunderstorms roll through (and we're talking heavy rain and intense lightning), they just go in their houses and they're fine.
Thus far the experiment has been a huge success. The poop is minimal and manageable and they provide great atmosphere. It's a treat to go sit with a cup of coffee near their little bird feeder as they chatter and go about their business, or sometimes they'll just fly around in a flock. The dog, a pointer, loves it too.
So far, only two issues are troubling me. First, what do I do this winter? Just leave them out there? We may see one or two nights where the temperature dips below 32°. Second, although the adults know to avoid the pool, unfortunately the first (and thus far, only) set of fledgelings did not. Oops. Not sure how to handle that one.
I live near Orlando, and I have a fairly large screen-enclosed pool area. While visiting a local pet store, my girlfriend had an idea: what if we got a couple of cheap finches and set them loose in the enclosure? I figured "what the heck, let's give it a try!" I have tons of space, plenty of flourishing tall potted plants, and I hose the concrete deck weekly anyway (big dog = muddy paw prints).
Now I know this may not be a popular atitude, but I regard finches as I would goldfish. If they ended up dead the next morning, well, so much for that little experiment.
As it turned out, the finches knew to avoid the pool and took to the enclosure very well. Before long I found myself hanging a bird feeder on one of the potted plants' branches, filled with finch mix and grit. They loved it... and after a week we were confident enough to get a couple more pairs of zebras.
Three months later, they're flourishing. I bought some small cedar bird houses from Lowe's and mounted them on 7' poles with weighted concrete bases (so I can easily move them around). They love Spanish moss and short lengths of unraveled sisal twine for nesting... and have produced several clutches of eggs already.
They sleep beneath the stars, they awake with the sun, and all day long they hear the sounds of their cousin wild birds in the yard. When the daily Central Florida summer thunderstorms roll through (and we're talking heavy rain and intense lightning), they just go in their houses and they're fine.
Thus far the experiment has been a huge success. The poop is minimal and manageable and they provide great atmosphere. It's a treat to go sit with a cup of coffee near their little bird feeder as they chatter and go about their business, or sometimes they'll just fly around in a flock. The dog, a pointer, loves it too.
So far, only two issues are troubling me. First, what do I do this winter? Just leave them out there? We may see one or two nights where the temperature dips below 32°. Second, although the adults know to avoid the pool, unfortunately the first (and thus far, only) set of fledgelings did not. Oops. Not sure how to handle that one.