Nest needed?

[4Ellen]

Hello,

I'm a newbie to the world of finches and have introduced myself on the other board. Happy to be here! I have a question. I would like to buy either 2,3, or 4... Male Society finches. I'm not sure how many yet but since they will all be male, do I need to buy a nest? Or multiple nests? Hoping that isn't a dumb question since they are all males and there shall be no breeding amongst them...lol.

I'm having a hard time figuring this one out. Thoughts are greatly appreciated! Oh, and if you have any thoughts on how many Societies I should get, I'd appreciate that too! Thanks!

(Haven't bought a cage yet...still in the research mode)

[Hilary]

Welcome! I've found that societies are perfectly happy without a nest, but they LOVE to pig pile into one at night if it's available (and they'll most likely pile into just one regardless of how many you put in the cage!). Societies are difficult to sex unless you watch carefully and only pick those singing, so if you do get a nest just keep an eye out for eggs just in case - I do nest checks once a week to pull eggs (and replace with old eggs).

How many birds really depends on the size cage you get. I use 30x18x18 cages and find that up to 6 societies are quite happy together in that size cage. I haven't had any issues with "odd man out" when there were odd numbers.

[dcompt]

I have a group of males and they love their nests. I know they don't need them, but they definitely do not share that outsider's opinion. What I like best about it is that building their nests (I pull them out and make them do them again from time to time) gives them an interest in life - it keeps them busy and apparently happy.

I wouldn't crowd them too much because even though there won't be damage inflicting fighting, they will set up a pecking order and if you have more than two, the one on the bottom may have to endure a lot from the higher birds. My little bottom of the heap bird, even in a quite large flight, is often jumped on by dominant birds, just to remind him. It doesn't hurt him, but it can be harrassing and when they are really feeling their oats, as it were, they sometimes give him no peace and he spends a lot of time in his nest. On days like this when all the others have gone to bed in the evening, he will come out and spend some quiet time alone, owning the cage. You can almost see him breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing. This is not all the time, but occasionally they really crank it up and I'm always glad he has a place to get away from them for a while.

If you have more than two and a large enough cage, I would suggest putting in a couple of nests to give them a choice, whether to all pile into one, or break into pairs and build their own - that's what mine do.

Another reason I like the nests for them is that in the two and a half years I've had them, I've only had one night fright that I know of, even when something happens that I would think would be likely to cause one. They seem to feel very secure in their nests, and if anything disturbing happens around them, they head for the nests. It gives them a nice refuge, both from each other when they are getting on each others nerves and from the wider environment.

You will love societies. They have very distinct personalities. I expected a cage of small generic birds, and wow - was that ever wrong!

[Corkysgirl]

I personally love the Bamboo finch nests. I buy the larger ones but also have one small one in one of my cages. I have a fledgeling who seems to have taken a liking to the small nest to hang out. So cute! He/she's only been out 2 days. I usually put two larger nests per flight cage sized cage. I think 2 would be perfect per cage. It has hooks in back but I also stabilize it, hanging from the top of the cage with large zip ties, so chicks won't fall out. My birds love to hang out on the top of the nests also. It does make for a lot of clean up but they really like it so I don't mind much. About how many you should get. For some reason, three males never worked for me. Four and six worked fine if the cage was a flight cage.

[Corkysgirl]

Wow...that picture came out scary big!!!

[finchmix22]

I have 3 Society cocks who lived together in a single flight cage and did great until spring, when they started calling for the girls. Then, two males picked on the youngest one and plucked his feathers on his chest. I had to move him with some juvie owl finches, since I don't want him breeding with my Society hens. That is unusual, but spring brings out the territorial side of the males.

I give my males one hooded nest for sleeping and they absolutely love, love, love the nest at night! They are in bed before sundown, ready to go to sleep! They seem eager to go into the nest and are the last ones out of the nest in the morning too. They are so cute!

[MiaCarter]

Like the others, I offer nests to my birds.

In my experience, societies tend to be more apt to perch at night than other species, like zebras.
I just got another society and she ignores her sleeping nest.
Personally, the only nest-sleeping societies that I've had were birds who were provided with sleeping nests as youngsters, shortly after weaning. I've had lots of young birds who took to sleeping in the food bowl, so I provided a sleeping nest and they used those eagerly.
So I think it depends on the individual in terms of whether they'll prefer a nest.

For my birds, we have sleeping nests and breeding nests.
Sleeping nests are open-topped nests, like a bowl. (I've never had a bird try to roost in one of these; they only sleep in them.)
Breeding nests are the bamboo covered nests, like pictured above. (They'll sleep in these too, of course, but I end up with territorial behaviors and lots of eggs so they obviously stimulate breeding. Whereas I don't see eggs and territorial-ness with the open-topped nests. If you do, then they may not work out well for you. )

For sleeping nests, I make my own. Actual natural fiber nests are impossible to clean and disinfect and I've never been able to find the plastic canary nests in-store.
So I make sleeping nests out of Kool-aid canister caps:
http://tinyurl.com/o5l4fdg

Take the label off, poke 2 holes in the side with scissors, take two lengths of hemp thread. Tie a big knot at the end of each thread and cut off any extra so there's just a little knobbly knot at the end. Thread the strings through the holes (this way, there's nothing to get caught up on, whereas if you take one length of twine and pull it through both holes, then there's twine spanning the holes on the inside of the nest and they could get a foot caught).
The knot should be big enough to prevent the twine from pulling through the hole. Use the twine to tie it up in a corner of the cage.

I line them with paper towel bits to keep them clean. But if your guys toss those, then you can just cut them down and wash them. Easy to disinfect.
These comfortably fit 2-3 birds.

If you go with a bamboo covered nest, I definitely recommend using a zip tie to secure it to the cage. (Wrap around the metal prongs and a vertical cage bar).
I've had birds knock these down multiple times (no idea how), so securing them is a must.

Another idea is a shelf. There are corner shelves and hang anywhere shelves.
Just beware that they tend to run large, with wider-than-ideal spans between the bars, better for larger birds. I've been unable to find one suited to small birds. But I've made up some paper towel sleeves to put over the rectangular shelves.
I took two paper towels for a good thickness, folded them in half and put in a couple tacking stitches on the sides to turn them into sleeves. So they slide over the shelf. It was able to make about 90 in an hour. I thought of running them through the sewing machine, but I didn't want threads in the cage. And I didn't want to make them from fabric as I didn't want the laundry or the risk of toes getting caught in the fibers.

As for a number of birds, I recommend 2 or 4. I don't recommend 3, as in my experience, you inevitably end up with two who favor each other and one becomes an outsider. So I recommend 2, 4 or 5+.

[4Ellen]

All of you have been so helpful! The Kool Aid cap idea is so neat...never would've thought of that. I think I will be looking for 2,4 or 5 finches and dress their cage with a couple of nests like pictured above and also an open nest for perhaps hanging out on. I didn't think the picture was too big. Great to see detail!

I've seen plastic canary nests some place but I can't remember where.

I enjoy reading your thoughts...thanks!

[dcompt]

I would stick with 2 or 4 birds. Five will still give you and odd bird out. I have seven - an eighth one died - and he was finally able to wheedle his way into a pair. However it's still an uneasy trio. They are happy enough together but in some ways it seems a little unstable and I would not be surprised to one day find that he is pretty much on his own again. Of course with 4 you can end up with 3/1, but it's not as likely.

[4Ellen]

4 sounds like a good number!

[finchmix22]

Can't wait to see your new finches! I congratulate you on taking proactive steps to be an informed finch owner!
BTW Here is a link on the forum with pics of milk carton nests, if you want to consider making some that are cheaper.
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... rton+nests

[delray]

I use a nest for my 2 little soc males and it is so cute to watch. It's not necessary but they would love to have it. Can't wait to see your future finches !!!! Societies have the best personalities. You won't be let down !!!!

[Corkysgirl]

I never thought of making nests. I just saw the bamboo nests and went with it...and my mind shut off there. If you do go with the bamboo nest, yes it's a royal pain to clean so I will get a spare and switch them out when they need cleaning. The large ones are deep so I wad a paper towel in the bottom to bring the level up. Then I will put some layers of ripped paper towels on top of that, smoothing it around to make it comfortable, indented in the middle. I then offer ripped paper towels for the birds to fix my inept nest but at least it's a start for them so they don't have to start from scratch. I just preferred to give them a head start. When they do get dirty, I dump it all out. Soak a short time in hot bleach water. Not too long...just long enough to soften the "pooh" and get a good stiff brush and brush the pooh off. You can use a long handled stiff brush inside, or just use a strong shower sprayer. Mine is removable so it works for me with multiple force settings. I really rinse it well. You should dry it right away so it doesn't warp/swell. Don't leave it in water too long. I have heaters here I can put them on, just hot enough to dry them, not burn them. Everyone does things differently. This is what works for me. I'm sure others may have better ideas. Can't wait to see your new additions!

[4Ellen]

Thanks for telling me how to clean the bamboo nests. I appreciate that!

[4Ellen]

Deborah... I took a look at your link on how to make nests out of milk cartons. Great idea! I'll have to try that!