Suggestions please!

Phatfinch · Post by **Phatfinch** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:00 am

I am going to make a BIG aviary soon and want to fill it up with lots of different finches!

I've always wanted European Gold finches can you mix them with others or are they not very compatible?

Any good suggestions of other finches to mix?

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:08 am

among the things for you to consider before building a large outdoor aviary are
the types of finches you plan to keep. dont just read books or listen to what people have to say on here but also visit your local avain vet & ask for advice, find out the address of your nearest bird club or society and make a point to attend one of their meetings from here you should be able to gain a lot of information that is pertinent to your area.
do you have access to all the different types of feed that is required for example dry seed, live food (mealworms/termites), fresh green food.
how will you rodent/vermin proof the aviary. will you be putting live plants in the aviary and if so what types. how fast & to what size do things grow. if your birds breed do you have an outlet for the offspring.

as to what birds to have in there that comes down to individual choice, up to a point. a couple of finches I will never again keep in a mixed aviary include diamond firetails and cubans although I do have them in seperate aviaries as they are such beautiful birds.

zebras would have to be the biggest problem there could be with a mixed aviary, they just are not suitable at all.

the finch info centre has some great advice & lists of compatible birds.

not trying to put you off having a large aviary, I say go for it, just want to make you aware of some of the types of things that need to be thought out before taking the final step.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:37 am

That's it Mick....put off a fellow countryman.They'll probably go back to kangaroo breeding now.

Paul.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:28 pm

I want a baby kangaroo, errr... cat, errr...

Phatfinch · Post by **Phatfinch** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:13 am

mickp wrote:among the things for you to consider before building a large outdoor aviary are
the types of finches you plan to keep. dont just read books or listen to what people have to say on here but also visit your local avain vet & ask for advice, find out the address of your nearest bird club or society and make a point to attend one of their meetings from here you should be able to gain a lot of information that is pertinent to your area.
do you have access to all the different types of feed that is required for example dry seed, live food (mealworms/termites), fresh green food.
how will you rodent/vermin proof the aviary. will you be putting live plants in the aviary and if so what types. how fast & to what size do things grow. if your birds breed do you have an outlet for the offspring.

as to what birds to have in there that comes down to individual choice, up to a point. a couple of finches I will never again keep in a mixed aviary include diamond firetails and cubans although I do have them in seperate aviaries as they are such beautiful birds.

zebras would have to be the biggest problem there could be with a mixed aviary, they just are not suitable at all.

the finch info centre has some great advice & lists of compatible birds.

not trying to put you off having a large aviary, I say go for it, just want to make you aware of some of the types of things that need to be thought out before taking the final step.

Thank you for pointing out all those things. I will consider all those factors.

I been thinking about this for ahwile so I'll definnatley get it right! As far as making the aviary, everything will be ok it's mainly deciding which finches I'd like to put in there! There's so many beautiful finches to choose from!
I have visited finchinfo but I sorta wanted to hear what you guys recommend.

Yes I see what you mean about zebs they can be a pain in the butt even just with others of thier own species! OK so NO zebras, diamonds or cuban... okay.. anymore to add? lol

Phatfinch · Post by **Phatfinch** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:16 am

poohbear wrote:That's it Mick....put off a fellow countryman.They'll probably go back to kangaroo breeding now.
Paul.

No way I'm not put off actually I think I might breed kangaroo finches instead!

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:31 pm

you also need to take your climate into consideration, will the birds be able to cope with the extremes of weather in your area.
one of the hardest things that I have found to get right when setting up an aviary is which plants to put in.
it is better initially to purchase the plants at a larger size (have to forget the extra cost involved

) as this makes the aviary immediately more bird friendly.
Mike Fidler's dvd's and books are a great help in what plants are best and also the just finches magazine when it does articles on peoples aviaries.
would be great to see pics of the aviary as you go about setting it up let alone when you add your birds.

as for myself I have gouldians, RCCB's, orange breasted waxbill's. st helena waxbills, societies, yellow stars, painted's, red billed firefinches in the aviary at present. did have owls in there a while ago and hope to have some again soon. zebras have been & gone and will never be returning. before the end of this year I am hoping to add red faced parrot finches, plumheads, more gouldians, auroras.

Phatfinch · Post by **Phatfinch** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:35 am

Thanks again for pointing out important factors!

Hmmm yes ummm just so you know I do already have some finches..

They seem to cope allright with the weather... I live in Victoria, in a suburb not far from melbourne. When it gets cold or windy we cover the cage up with clear plastic. In summer they get plenty off shade and water and seem to cope ok.

Yes picking plants will be a challenge.. I had a list of suitable aviary plants from a native nursary but lost it

I'll have to get another! We also might incorparate some plants that are already where we are planning the aviary construction. Yes I'll be sure to check they are safe.
By the way what plants did you use?

I'll be sure to post pics and what not when the project officiallly begins.
Today we figured out the size and area the new big aviary will be. We basically know what we are doing and need but we need my brother to have free time to help start. (he's a carpender!)

Impressive collection of finch species! So do all your finches get along allright?

-Sarah. K