Aviary questions

[arnoldus]

I'm planning on purchasing an aviary and have some questions:

-this is the type I'm considering
It's 1.8mx0.9m (5 feet 10 x 2 feet 11) x 2m height (6feet6).

Do I have to separate the sexes? I have 12 finches (5 males, 4 females, 3 sex yet unknown). Ifso, if I divide this aviary in half, it's only 0.9m wide per sex (2 feet 11), is that enough when considering the height?

- What is recommended as flooring. Do I need concrete?
- How does one generally clean the bottom from seed husks and dirt?

[debbie276]

Very nice aviary. You didn't say what kind of finches you have, that would help as to whether they will get along together.
You could use concrete for the floor and just sweep up the mess. You could also use a more natural floor like sand, wood chips or even hay then just rake it out when it gets dirty. You just have to watch for excess dampness.

[monotwine]

Nice aviary.

I have one of a similar size. Planning the maintenance in such a space is quite important if you want to keep down the disturbance you cause when cleaning / feeding etc.

Try make sure your seed is offered in such a way that the husks fall into a catch container. That way it minimizes the mess.

The simpler you can make cleaning the better. If you need to go in there and clean often the birds may freak out quite a bit and hurt themselves.
Concrete that you can wash down is very functional and allows for a dry substrate which is easily cleaned. Just make sure you have a slope / drainage so the water can wash away along with all the mess.
As I don't have a concrete base for my smaller aviary I came up with a plan and use a large gravel stone base which is raised / restrained by mesh. This all stands on a corrugated base which allows water to flush away when I hose it. It helps clean the gravel and keep it dry.
Basically I only hose down the gravel to clean it once in a while and all small particles of seed husks and poop are washed away. Occassionally I disinfect the gravel by washing it down with a safe disinfectant (I use F10).
If you don't overstock the aviary maintenance cleaning is very little.

[arnoldus]

Thanks for the comments, they are helpful.

They are zebra finches.
I'm not sure about keeping them together because they will lay eggs continuously in the food bowls (as they have done before in their cages), and half of the finches are siblings (don't want genetic trouble). Perhaps even fighting?

[monotwine]

Mmm yes you don't want that. If you want to keep them seperated, then perhaps it would be best to divide the aviary, however if it were me I'd divide top and bottom i.e. each compartment being 1.8mx0.9m (5 feet 10 x 2 feet 11) x 1m height (6feet6).
This way the birds would benefit more from the length of space.

You will need to find a way to insert a tray to catch mess from the top though.

Alternatively can you not find someone to swop birds with. Keep only one sex and find homes for the others?

[dan78]

Nice aviery. Firstly the floor, I would consider concrete as you can place any topping eg sand bark grit, on top of it and easily sweep up and lay down again with the added benefit that mice or rats can't burrow into your setup. Also I would consider a safety door ( a added compartment attached to your aviery over your door) so as the birds won't fly out past you when entering or exiting your aviery. Zebs breed very freely so 1pair can turn into 12birds very fast so maybe the approach of all same sex will stop breeding and allow you to sit back and enjoy watching your birds.