FINCHES,CANARIES AND PLANTS

[mick1933]

Hi. I am putting together an aviary that will have a combination of finches and canaries. My aviary has a concrete floor. I intend cutting some of the cement out and putting in an old cast iron bath, or something similar, lowered to the level of the floor. I am thinking of putting ornamental grasses etc in the bath tub and have some large concrete pots with native shrubs such as small bottle brushes etc. Would also like a pot of bamboo. What I want to know is will the canaries and or the finches attach and destroy the plants. If so what plants are suggested that would survive the canaries and/or finches.

Thanks Mick Arnold

[Craig52]

In my opinion finches will do very little damage to your plants, canaries will demolish the lot. I also think it is not a good idea to house canaries with finches due the diseases they carry and mites especially airsac mite.
I have tried growing plants in a bath tub but the soil goes off very quick usually because the water sits in the bottom even if the plug hole is open it still wont drain properly.
I have noticed a lot of breeders are now using plastic look a like plants in particular ivies and disused real like Christmas trees for nesting that that work real well, after use they can removed and hosed down and placed back in the aviary. Just my thoughts. Craig

[vettepilot_6]

Better of to cut hole in concrete and make a planter box out of sleepers and use vermin mesh as a base...which is exactly what I am doing in my new aviary. ...

[finchbreeder]

I would think the large pots of native plants would provide excellent nesting sites for the finches and not be at risk from the canaries. And you can grow seeding grasses in a number of smaller plastic pots, and rotate them in and out of the avairy as the birds eat them down.
LML

[mick1933]

Hi Thanks for the advice. If I used a bath I would have put at least 10 or 15cm of blue metal between the bottom of the bath and the subsoil to provide drainage. It stands to reason if you put the plughole of the bath directly on he subsoil there would be no drainage. However the use of sleepers is a good idea that I might run with. My problem with the bath would be the weight and getting it into the aviary. I will take the risk of putting canaries and finches together. I have had budgerigars for 30 years now and they are the ones that really get diseases. What I have done in the past to get over the disease problem is I get the droppings from my aviaries examined by Rob Marshall twice a year and that tends to nip any problems in the bud before they take hold. Hopefully the same will apply with finches and canaries.

Again thanks for the advice.