Aussie Finch Forum

finchbreeder wrote:Totally agree Matty....cold is not the problem. ..drafts and dampness real killer. ..
I 2nd that. Hence the suggestion of cafe blinds to keep out the drafts.
And the 2 locals you have available to you are both beautiful birds, so a great way to start.
LML

So would u suggest instead of doing a bank of 8 1 metre wide by 3 metres long change it to maybe a bank of 4 2 metres wide by 3 metres long and perhaps house them in a smalll colony of say 3 pairs in each flight? I've read a lot that both the Diamonds and Red-Brows breed much better in a colony situation

Or perhaps even 2 x 4mx3m planted ones with a 3pr colony of both species in each.

Tiaris wrote:Or perhaps even 2 x 4mx3m planted ones with a 3pr colony of both species in each.

Great idea! was that a colony of each per aviary? or a colony of each in 2 seperate aviaries? ill try and get a pic of the area i have to work with tomorrow, worse part is its on a slope so I'm assuming its gonna be a pain in the backside trying to build on a slope

I live in Young,which has the same,if not colder winters minus the snow.Our summers here are also hotter.My aviary is 8mt x 6mt and i have an assorted lot of finches.To date,i have not lost any due to either heat stress or cold,so if it helps,i will tell you about my setup.The aviary is fully roofed with 1/3 at the front,opaque polycarbonate.The back 2/3 is iron,but it has insulation under it.The aviary faces north east and the western side has a 2mtr x 2mtr clear window at the front to let the sun in,in the winter.Window has wire over it to stop birds flying into it.I have a large deciduous tree outside just down from the window so in the summer,it throws shade and in the winter,it is bare and lets the warm winter sun in.The whole aviary is also covered in 100% rating shadecloth.This helps with the summer sun[shade] and helps keep frost off the roof.One of the best investments you can make would be clear cafe blinds.Roll them down for those cold windy days and pull up when it is warmer.I take mine completely off in spring and put them back up when the weather-wind gets a bite in it.Only one problem with the cafe blinds,you have to secure them in a couple of places up and across to stop them from flapping.You get snow in Tumba,so i would put a reasonable pitch on your roof.Also,i have a petition that comes down from the roof for about 60cm inside the aviary about halfway back.and this runs along for 2/3 of the aviary and there are perches behind it.This allows the birds to get up behind it should there be a draught.This has worked well for my birds and may help you.Any tall trees on your western side will benefit you with shade in summer as well.

collector_and_buyer wrote:I live in Young,which has the same,if not colder winters minus the snow.Our summers here are also hotter.My aviary is 8mt x 6mt and i have an assorted lot of finches.To date,i have not lost any due to either heat stress or cold,so if it helps,i will tell you about my setup.The aviary is fully roofed with 1/3 at the front,opaque polycarbonate.The back 2/3 is iron,but it has insulation under it.The aviary faces north east and the western side has a 2mtr x 2mtr clear window at the front to let the sun in,in the winter.Window has wire over it to stop birds flying into it.I have a large deciduous tree outside just down from the window so in the summer,it throws shade and in the winter,it is bare and lets the warm winter sun in.The whole aviary is also covered in 100% rating shadecloth.This helps with the summer sun[shade] and helps keep frost off the roof.One of the best investments you can make would be clear cafe blinds.Roll them down for those cold windy days and pull up when it is warmer.I take mine completely off in spring and put them back up when the weather-wind gets a bite in it.Only one problem with the cafe blinds,you have to secure them in a couple of places up and across to stop them from flapping.You get snow in Tumba,so i would put a reasonable pitch on your roof.Also,i have a petition that comes down from the roof for about 60cm inside the aviary about halfway back.and this runs along for 2/3 of the aviary and there are perches behind it.This allows the birds to get up behind it should there be a draught.This has worked well for my birds and may help you.Any tall trees on your western side will benefit you with shade in summer as well.

Thanks so much for all that info! unfortunately have zero trees in the area i have to build the aviaries and mine will have to face North,i can plant trees/shrubs on the western side of the aviaries and within the aviaries although they will obviously take time to growth pitch in the roof sounds like a good idea, my plan was to enclose between a quarter to half the aviary length as shelter for added protection from the drafts and rain, but yours sound awesome, do u have any pictures of ur aviaries?

Go to Housing finches and scroll down to 15 march 2016.You will see my post,Finally finished.It shows it pretty well.

collector_and_buyer wrote:Go to Housing finches and scroll down to 15 march 2016.You will see my post,Finally finished.It shows it pretty well.

Sweet thanks man will check it out now

Just a few pics to give an idea of what area i have to work with,excuse the mess

Wow, wish i had that room to build aviaries. You mentioned earlier about having to face your aviaries North, the perfect direction during Winter when the sun is low in the sky your aviaries will be flooded with natural sunlight. Craig

Craig52 wrote:Wow, wish i had that room to build aviaries. You mentioned earlier about having to face your aviaries North, the perfect direction during Winter when the sun is low in the sky your aviaries will be flooded with natural sunlight. Craig

Yeah i m pretty stoked with the room i have to work with (gotta love the old quarter acre blocks) one half i was thinking of doing a couple of smaller aviaries 4 x 3 and have small colonies of single species and over the other side eventually just do one large mixed aviary, the ideas are endless lol