Plantings in aviaries

List what type of plants you keep in your aviaries/cages
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colourpurple
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Posts: 11
Joined: 23 Jan 2014, 15:19
Location: Salisbury SA

Hi Everyone I have noticed a lot of breeders say they are planting in their aviaries, What is the best to plans in there and is there anything you shouldnt plant
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finchbreeder
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Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

Teatree and grasses are good. Anything that needs pruning more than once a year to stop it pushing through the roof is bad. Again the search button in the top right corner is good, as this is a regular discussion point.
LML
LML
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Diane
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Posts: 7402
Joined: 05 Apr 2009, 14:23
Location: Northern 'burbs of Adelaide
Location: Northern 'burbs of Adelaide

At one time I used small plant troughs and sowed a variety of the bird seed to offer to my birds but the troughs were a bit awkward and heavy after watering for me to manhandle in and out of the aviary.
So now I sow some of the bird seed in plastic plant pots, I also use the larger yoghurt tubs (put holes in the bottom) and when that has grown its put in the aviary. Each pot gets totally demolished within 3 or 4 days so it pays to have lots of pots growing on. Each time the demolished pot is brought out, whichever seed bin I happen to be closest too I sow that seed in the pot, water and put the pots in the shadehouse.
I have about 30 pots at various stages. There is also different seed in the pots too, I have the normal finch seed mix, the Greens and Grains mix and also plain canary. Ive also tried Amaranth and all those seeds mentioned above in the garden too but with the way the weather is here I find the pots far easier as they can be moved in and out of the shadehouse as required.

Another grass the birds love is Wheatgrass seed, I got mine at the local Health food shop. It was the stuff they put in the heat bags. Make sure it hasnt been treated in any way otherwise it wont sprout. Fairly cheap and a kg goes a long, long way as very little is needed to cover the bottom of the tray. There is a full description on how to grow it (with pics) in the July 2011 newsletter. You will see I used cat litter trays for this as no soil or potting mix is needed.
viewtopic.php?f=185&t=7815

If you want to try some other types of plantings there is also Johnston grass and Guinea grass, normally I would offer some of mine to you but this hot weather has just about seen it all off, hopefully it will come back after the rain. Johnston grass can get quite tall and will run wild in a garden situation so pots are ideal for this. These pots could be left in the aviary but some form of wire cage around the plant would be advisable as the birds will demolish it down to the potting soil in no time at all! Having the protective cage will allow the grass to continue growing and the birds will only be able to eat the parts outside the cage.
At the local bird sales there is usually a guy there who sells pots of seeding grasses and they are quite cheap, so keep an eye out for the local sales, first one is end of March.

These types of plantings are far easier in a smaller aviary, the birds get some interesting food offerings and you wont have to keep trimming back any "want to be wild" bushes!
Diane
The difference between Genius and Stupidity is, Genius has it’s limits
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