Keeping finches in my greenhouse?

[samw]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and sort-of new to finches. I'm hoping to get some soon though, and I'd really benefit from everyone's advice and expertise

So my new apartment has a sunroom/conservatory (about 200 square feet), which I want to set up as a lush, jungle-like greenhouse - somewhere to escape from the cold winters here in New England. I used to keep a few finches (4 stars and 2 zebras), which did very well for a couple years before I moved cross country and had to give them away. So I am hoping to add some finches to my little 'jungle'.

But with heating fuel so expensive, I want to be able to let the thermostat down to 45°F or so sometimes. What finch species (and/or other small birds) would do well in such a set-up? I'm an amateur, so I'll go with easier species, but I'm just curious what exotic types can also take lower temperatures. What would I need to do if I wanted to ease them down from 72-76°F to 45°F for the night? Is it ok to just slowly turn down the heat, or should I put a thick blanket over them first?

Also: Would it be possible to let the finches out of their cage and let them fly around the greenhouse for extended periods of time? This might be a dumb idea… I just like the thought of the finches getting some exercise by exploring the 'jungle'.

What would I need to do to make this idea work?

Obviously I would need to make sure that the greenhouse is bird-safe. The floors are tile and the walls are glass and brick, and I could seal the window frames with something bird-safe(polyurethane?) to protect the finches from the wood stain. I can use only bird-safe plants. I'm not really worried about escapes because the doors/hall to the greenhouse basically forms an airlock. But should I worry about the finches hurting themselves on the windows?

Will I ever be able to get the finches back into their cage if I let them out? If the food and nestboxes are in the cage, would they go back to to roost there in the evening?

Will the finches poop on everything or otherwise wreck the plants? I'm hoping to spend some time in this room… if I make sure there's nothing over the (metal)furniture that they can roost on, and if I can wipe up after them, will it be ok? Or will things get gross?

Finally, would some species do better with this sort of set-up than others?

So is this crazy or not? All comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!

[Finchtastic]

Sounds like a great idea
But.... (ha) Finches can be very messy and with them flying around exploring the jungle they will poo on your plants.
What kind of plants will you have ? Cause some can be very poisonous to birds.
I saw a video on youtube of a man in Hawaii that had an outdoor enclosure for his zebra finches and he left a gap in the aviary open....big enough for them to leave and enter but small enough to stop birds of prey entering. They would flly around his neighborhood and return to roost in the evening or to feed.
So it can be done, but I reckon it would take time.

Would you not construct a small flight within your greenhouse? And maybe add some safe plants within that? or even a sitting area for you to sit and watch if you want them buzzing around you? They would still have space and you restrict the poop mess to one space?

Just something I would think about doing? And maybe something you might consider

[poohbear]

A bit ambitious with complications.You would need to net all the glass...1.to stop birds flying into the glass....and 2.In case of accident or bad weather a broken pane would lose your birds.I agree with FT you would be better building an internal flight.
Birds would have to be from hardy outdoor stock to withstand winter temperatures...and you would have to provide shade in the hot summer.A greenhouse can get very hot.
I built an indoor flight in my summerhouse at my last address...you can still create a jungly effect given time....and it would be much easier to manage.

[annague]

Hmm.... some really good ideas you have there.

My suggestion: a pair of Diamond Doves -- very hardy, they make beautiful noises (but very quiet and soothing) and are very pretty birds. Also, they fly slowly (and so would be easier to catch) and although they will nibble on plants they won't be the disaster some birds (like canaries and most finches) would be.

Another plus: they can handle low temperatures (even 32 degrees for a couple of hours), but you would want to put a heat lamp in there for them to keep them healthy.