One aviary for all birds.. good idea, bad idea?

[mrshorn]

I mentioned before that we were going to be building an indoor aviary for our birds in my Dad's workshop. My Dad just retired at the end of last month, and once he has finished the cabinets for their downstairs bathroom, the aviary is next. We were planning on giving each group of birds a 3'w2'h3'd section. As I mentioned before, the breakdown for sections would be as follows.

1. Six Society Females
2. Seven Society Males
3. One Gould Male/One Gould Female + Two Shafttail Males
4. My hubby's Christmas gift of Two RCCB, Two Fires, and Two St. Helenas. I don't have these yet, but I think I'm going to go get them within the next week.

I know many of you have mixed aviaries, and I was wondering what you all thought about just putting them all together? Wouldn't it be nicer for all of them to share a 6'w4'h3'd aviary? We are not trying to breed, so there would be no nests. It's just a thought, and I'd really like to know what your thoughts are. My biggest concern is fighting. Would this be something straight out of the UFC? Or with all the space and no nests to squabble over, would they be okay?

[JohnBoy]

I don't see a problem at all with the selection you mention. Good luck!

[isabird]

I say one big aviary.
It is so much nicer to house the birds together. You can make it really nice with plants too. I think it is less work to only feed and clean one large cage as opposed to several small cages. The only thing is you may end up with a lot of societies with that many pairs.


Here is a picture of my avairy I built last summer, since this photo was taken I have added more birds, plants, feeders, and nests. I house all my birds in it.

[mrshorn]

I myself am leaning toward one aviary. I just want to make sure all the birds are going to be happy with the arrangement. Right now I have them all in different cages.

Natalie- how many birds do you have in your aviary? I know you have a list of birds in your signature, but I was wondering if they are all in the aviary (breeders + babies)? Will you be keeping all of them? I also love the idea of one cage floor instead of four etc. Do your birds get along?

So the fighting does not seem to be an issue? What if we added Owl finches later?

[isabird]

All my birds are in my aviary except my societies who were going through quarantine and decided to have babies. I am waiting till the babies are weaned and then I will move the parents to the aviary. The babies will go to good homes. Although I might keep 1 or 2

All the other birds in the aviary are getting along great and I love to see them interact. I plan to sell my last scarlet baby when I find the right home. I will gift, trade, and sell my 8 gouldian babies when they are colored out. Once they are weaned I plan to move them to the flight I have built that is currently uninhabited. I may keep a pair depending on their colors.


I have never kept owls, but have heard that they get along great with other birds, I plan to trade a pair when I find someone who wants to trade with me.

This link will tell you how many birds you can fit in your cage:
http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/cage_s ... ulator.php

[cindy]

Ms Horn,

When the St Helena go into breeding mode the male gets a little pushy and chases other birds, just keep an eye on him. Mine got a bit out of control so I gave the pair a single 30 x 18 cage and all was well.

Keep us posted, can't wait to see the finished aviary and all your birds flitting around!

[mrshorn]

Thanks for the tip Cindy! I don't have to get the St. Helenas either. The hubs said they were cool looking, but he prefers the RCCBs and the Fires. He'd go out of his mind if I got him some Owls, but Magnolia doesn't seem to have them in stock very often. They charge $160 a pair there for Owls, and I could get all three other breeds for just $40 more than that. Would you say it would be wise to skip the St. Helenas?

[cindy]

At first the male was a bit aggressive and once I gave them nesting material and they started courting and building they turned out to be one of the nicest pair of birds. I posted a few times about what their nests look like, it is really neat the way the male builds out the top nest for himself. They also have a very interesting song.

They are not a messy bird at all. If you get them be warned bathing is something they love ALOT!!!!!

[mrshorn]

So do you think all will be well if there are no nests to fight over? If we did one big aviary, there would be no nests or nesting material. We don't want the fighting over them, or the aviary to become overrun with babies.

[cindy]

When I had nest in there he went right into the mating mode and got bossy. They are beautiful birds and very neat to watch. They should be fine.

If you decide to add nest give them all extra to chose from and lots of nesting material. The Helena check out every one of them and then settle on one. You will enjoy them.

[trljr14]

I have some goulds,stars,and society in one large cage.There are nest boxes in there and two pair of goulds are sitting on eggs and also the stars,tom.

[cindy]

I tried to get pictures for you but they were flitting around some.

[dfcauley]

I love a mixed aviary!!! I keep all the birds that you see listed in my signature in the same aviary. I have no agression at all. If you give them enough space and plants it should work out fine. And it is very fun to watch them interact!!

[cindy]

I had them in with a pair of Gold Breast and a pair of orange cheek in the flight cage the shaftail are in now.

I think if they were in a large planted aviary it may have been a different outcome and everyone would have been happy with plenty of elbow room.

[poohbear]

The important thing when planning a mixed aviary is not to put all your eggs in one basket as they say...
Be prepared in case of problems to have alternative accomodation for any birds that won't fit into the community.
It's no good going to all the trouble of providing a nice new set up if you haven't provided a back up cage.Hopefully you won't need it.