Mixed aviary breeding advice

[Rox]

I've always been told for aviary breeding that we should work on 1 pair per sqm. The calculator on the finch info site is for cage breeding and gives a very skewed picture when trying to calculate birds for an aviary setting.

I have pushed up my pairs by 2 - 3 pairs over the 1 pair per sqm rule, but there are other considerations like mentioned above. For example my one aviary is 3x2x2m = 6sqm. I have 8 breeding pairs in this aviary. 3 pairs gouldians (use nest boxes), 3 pairs golden-breasts (use wicker baskets) and 2 pairs blue-breasted cordon bleu's (build their own nest in shrubbery). If you can find a good mix between what nest types the birds use, level of nesting site in the aviary (ie orange-cheeks build at ground level, while cordons build up high) and can keep everyone happy in terms of their food requirements, then you can push the pairs up a bit. In this aviary I mention, all the birds are currently brooding, par 1 pair of GB's.

Good luck with your decision and you should definitely look into getting some cages if you don't have space for another aviary. We get too attached to these little birds just to rehome them because of space issues

[Shark]

You never mentioned cuttlefish, baked egg shell or charcoal grit, if you don't have these you need to get some.
Also how many mealworms per day? Best to breed bush fly maggots then you'll have more than enough live food.
Also ripe and semi ripe grass seed daily, a lot of folk can't be bothered going fossicking for grass seed and they simply breed less finches.
I get people all the time come to buy birds and they are amazed at how many I have bred, then they ask, "how do you breed so many" when I tell them, "Grass seed is the reason" they often ask "what can I do instead".
They are Grass finches feed them grass seed, simple.

[Jenk]

[quote="finchbreeder"]Keep the Ruddies, they have bred so are happy and will continue to do so. Orange breasteds, Painteds and Double Bars laid so willing to breed if the problem is solved, so again I would go with them. That will still leave you with a fullish avairy, but if you do everything right it could work out. And if you do not have room for another avairy, how about a breeding cage type? It could be used as a holding cage for those you breed and sell, as long as it is a short term transitional residence.
LML[/quote

Thanks FB I was thinking of keeping the same and maybe the stars too I just can't part with them... I'm also looking at a breeding cage.

Cheers

[Jenk]

I've always been told for aviary breeding that we should work on 1 pair per sqm. The calculator on the finch info site is for cage breeding and gives a very skewed picture when trying to calculate birds for an aviary setting.

I have pushed up my pairs by 2 - 3 pairs over the 1 pair per sqm rule, but there are other considerations like mentioned above. For example my one aviary is 3x2x2m = 6sqm. I have 8 breeding pairs in this aviary. 3 pairs gouldians (use nest boxes), 3 pairs golden-breasts (use wicker baskets) and 2 pairs blue-breasted cordon bleu's (build their own nest in shrubbery). If you can find a good mix between what nest types the birds use, level of nesting site in the aviary (ie orange-cheeks build at ground level, while cordons build up high) and can keep everyone happy in terms of their food requirements, then you can push the pairs up a bit. In this aviary I mention, all the birds are currently brooding, par 1 pair of GB's.

Good luck with your decision and you should definitely look into getting some cages if you don't have space for another aviary. We get too attached to these little birds just to rehome them because of space issues

Thanks Rox,
I have various nests at various hights aswel as brush so I think I have this part covered, I'm looking at getting cages as you advised.

Cheers

[Jenk]

You never mentioned cuttlefish, baked egg shell or charcoal grit, if you don't have these you need to get some.
Also how many mealworms per day? Best to breed bush fly maggots then you'll have more than enough live food.
Also ripe and semi ripe grass seed daily, a lot of folk can't be bothered going fossicking for grass seed and they simply breed less finches.
I get people all the time come to buy birds and they are amazed at how many I have bred, then they ask, "how do you breed so many" when I tell them, "Grass seed is the reason" they often ask "what can I do instead".
They are Grass finches feed them grass seed, simple.

Hi shark,

All my birds have cuttlefish and a grit mixture which contains charcoal and eggshell, I feed around 15 to 20 mealworms over the 8 pairs which I think is plenty as not all of them eat mealworms and some worms are often left uneaten the next day.

As fars as grass seed goes I play a lot of golf and often fossick through the rough of the bush picking seeding grasses which is served up 3 to 4 times a week.

Thanks for the advice
Cheers.

[BOF33]

Hi shark,

All my birds have cuttlefish and a grit mixture which contains charcoal and eggshell, I feed around 15 to 20 mealworms over the 8 pairs which I think is plenty as not all of them eat mealworms and some worms are often left uneaten the next day.

As fars as grass seed goes I play a lot of golf and often fossick through the rough of the bush picking seeding grasses which is served up 3 to 4 times a week.

Thanks for the advice
Cheers.

Hi Jenk,

Sharks advice is spot-on. I don't count out any of my live-food sources on my fingers. I provide limitless amounts bushfly maggots and handfuls of mealworms at a time. You will find that you achieve better breeding results if you don't let yourself runout of live-food.

Cheers.