Question on new aviary and nests!

[cntrymeadow]

Background:

1 pair of zebra's
1 pair of societies & their 4 offspring
1 pair of gouldians and 3 others (not been paired up yet)

Each type of bird is housed in their own cage...
all with nests.
Now I KNOW birds dont really need nests but Im the type of person who thinks they do!

The zebras sleep in their nest. I remove any eggs they lay as Im not interested in breeding them.

ALL of the societies are crammed into their nest. I remove any eggs they lay as we have enough societies at the moment.

The gouldians dont sleep in the nests. No egg laying.

Hubs is 1/2 way done building a huge (6x6x2) aviary and all of the finch are going to be in there.
Since I dont want them to lay eggs I dont plan on putting nests in the new aviary.

Will this cause the zebras and societies grief since they have always had nests?

[L in Ontario]

Will this cause the zebras and societies grief since they have always had nests?

There will be NO grief as finches do not need nests to be happy.

[dfcauley]

Will this cause the zebras and societies grief since they have always had nests?

There will be NO grief as finches do not need nests to be happy.

Sorry, but I am going to have to go the other way on this one.
I know that they do not NEED nest. But I have a few species that really want their nest when it comes time to roost at night. I have gone as far as to take them down each morning and put them back up in the evening. My little owls LOVE to sleep in their nest. When it was not there they would fly around so confused and look for it over and over.
I think some birds can have a nest without breeding. Just don't give them nesting materials or toss eggs.

[franny]

My goldbreast female was used to a nest, but since she laid some soft shelled eggs I was worried she might die, so no nest now! And after a day of "looking" for it, she settled down. Now she doesn't miss it at all.

IMO, since it can still be harmful for them to be laying eggs (soft shell/egg binding), then I don't think it's worth the risk to their health to let them keep laying, if you don't want babies. My GB is a picky eater, so even though she has lots of calcium available, and gets a liquid supplement twice a week, she still had problems. So if you keep nests in there, I'd say watch out for possible problems with the hens who are continual layers.

[L in Ontario]

Will this cause the zebras and societies grief since they have always had nests?

There will be NO grief as finches do not need nests to be happy.

Sorry, but I am going to have to go the other way on this one.
I know that they do not NEED nest. But I have a few species that really want their nest when it comes time to roost at night.

Perhaps they only want their nests because they are used to having them. They would quickly get used to not having any too.

[cntrymeadow]

LOLOL..you guys are not helping!
hehe

Ok...I have been a little concerned with the zebra and society egg laying. I have no intention of letting have more babies as we have enough of those kind. I just remove the eggs and yes they will stop for a short while then lay again.

So I totaly understand the need for no nest in this regard.

However...
what I think Im having trouble with is that the societies look so damn cozy with all of them packed into one nest!

I guess I will try it without nests. Im hoping they will be so danged happy at being able to actually fly they wont care about any nests. I also have cups that I put carefresh in so that if they needed/wanted to they could all pack into a cup for the night...as long as it didnt promote egg laying.

[L in Ontario]

I also have cups that I put carefresh in so that if they needed/wanted to they could all pack into a cup for the night...as long as it didnt promote egg laying.

It certainly will.

[Ursula]

I don't have nests either but most of my small finches (waxbills) are hiding behind fake ivy at night and seem to huddle up together in there. I guess they do like to have something they can hide in. So if you provide fake or real plants or other hiding spots and not only open perches, that might be ok for them too.

P.S.: Of course even without nests there's no guarantee that they won't lay eggs. They are just harder to find in an aviary. Both my cordon bleus and black-rumped waxbills were building their own nests. I did provide nesting material such as coco fiber though...

[lovemyfinch]

Believe me my friend...zebras will breed in a feed dish...check out the proof.

[Ursula]

That's too cute!!

[cntrymeadow]

How funny!
Yes since the aviary will be huge we plan on putting many fake plants in there!!!

[HoangQuan]

my zebra used to lay eggs in the feed dish, too. not so funny when it becomes a bad habit.
I think finches need places that help them hide and feel safe when sleeping, the nest is one place like that, so, as long as your aviary has enough plants and leaves and branches and other places they can sleep on, I think it's gonna be fine. Basically, birds dont need man-made nest, when they're in aviary with real plants, when they need a nest, they can make one themselves and we cant do anything about that