Nest privacy

[kittani79]

Setup:

My pair of gouldians are in a 30"x18"x18" ish cage. I bought them a fancy-schmancy nest box with porch, and mounted it along one side. (So that, one porch door is against bars, the other is open). My cockatiel cage is on that side of the cage (not close enough to touch, about 8" away).

My male has built a beautiful nest........ on the porch. When we got home tonight, both finches were sitting on his slightly misplaced nest. I take this as a very good sign, however....

I'm afraid that Merlin the 'tiel will scare them. Should I hang a towel down that side of the cage to block their view of him? I don't want to make too big a change and freak them out, so I don't want to move cages or anything. Plus, he's next to them for a reason -- the cats are terrified of him and he protects my finches. Would adding that towel be a Scary Thing and make them abandon their parenthood planning? Or should it be ok?

[atarasi]

I have my pairs of Gouldians in the same sized cages. Birds of any kind think that a predator is going to come from any direction...whether it's from the top, sides or back of the cage. I put cardboard inbetween the cages and have plastic bamboo on top next to the light and some on the back so they feel like they are hidden and feel more secure. These birds definitely like their privacy and can be skittish in general.

The typical breeding cages are solid on the top, sides and back. They only have to look for predators from the front.

Can you put the towel on Merlin's cage instead of the Gouldian's cage?

[kittani79]

I could probably do that. Merlin is going to wonder what the deal is, of course.... I think he kind of likes the finches. A tiel trying to sing the gouldian song is a funny sound .

I just don't want to change too much since they seem quite happy with their setup as is. I'd feel so much better if he'd taken the hint and gone *inside* the box lol.