Aussie Finch Forum

How do most deal with winter and the colder months. I'd be interested to know how you deal with the following;

- leave for work in dark and arrive home in dark. How do you manage feeding etc.
- stopping birds breeding in winter and accommodating breeds that need a roosting nest eg. Longtails.
- do I need a heat or light lamp?
- how late do I allow breeding?

Looking forward to any expert device.

AB

Hi AB,i don't know where you live or where you work but when i was working full time i came home for lunch and checked my birds when possible.My aviaries all had open kitty litter trays for mixed finch seed,probably enough for 1 week,but checked daily.Water was placed in large open dishes around 50mm deep with gutter guard in the bottom.
If i didn't wont the birds to breed,they received no livefood or greens but there is always the odd birds that will breed and this can't be helped,usually the gouldians as i never removed the nest boxes and they were quite successful on this diet.
Another successful breeder i know,setup fluro lights in his feeding area which came on at 4pm and stayed on till he came home to feed them and went out 2 hours later on a timer.The birds got quite used to this and were roosting before the light went out,but imo it's a bit of an over kill to make birds breed in the middle of Winter but he did extremely well with rc cordons.He also had a light in an inverted terracotta pot,suspended from the ceiling 100mm off the floor for young and adult birds if they got too cold,it also acted as a night light.
Anyhow,it can be done,if birds want to breed they will breed no matter how much you try and stop them,sorry about the ramble. Craig....ps,i'm no expert,i'm still learning.

Thanks that's a great help

Lights can help with night feedings. Breeding well that's going to be harder to stop but with no nest or nesting material and no breeding foods this can help stop them but as Craig said some just won't and will keep trying. As for heat I don't give my birds heat unless really needed, most Aussie finches I've kept have done well through winter with little help other than covering my wired areas and a few of my Africans have been brought in the garage with a heat lamp to help them through. Good amount of oil seed for winter is a help with some extra fats.

If breeding in winter could be a problem as said previously remove nest boxes nest material and change the diet, or simply split the cocks and hens.
Bob

thewaxbill wrote:If breeding in winter could be a problem as said previously remove nest boxes nest material and change the diet, or simply split the cocks and hens.
Bob

That's easier said than done here in Oz Bob,most of us have large out door planted aviaries with many finches in them. Craig