Aussie Finch Forum

hi I currently have 2 large aviaries. aviary 1 10*2*2.5 high and aviary 2 8*4*2.4 high I intend to build another one shortly aviary 3 8*3*2.5 high. I also have a holding aviary 6*2*2. Aviary 1 I use for breeding yh and rh gouldians. I dont intend to change this as It works quite well. 2 and 3 will be planted mixed aviaries, the intent being to house the same birds in both so I can sell unrelated pairs to the public. My current proposed bird list is
3pr bhpb gouldians , 1pr bhwb gouldians, grenadier weavers 1c+2h, 1pr blue wrens,1pr painteds,
cuban 1c+2h, 3pr orange breasts,3pr double bars.
other birds i would like but dont think they would fit or be compatible
tricolored parrot finch,crimson , masked, stars.
any imput would be appreciated , I will do a build post when I start to build the last aviary and yes I still may have room for 2 more lol.

shnapper20 wrote:hi I currently have 2 large aviaries. aviary 1 10*2*2.5 high and aviary 2 8*4*2.4 high I intend to build another one shortly aviary 3 8*3*2.5 high. I also have a holding aviary 6*2*2. Aviary 1 I use for breeding yh and rh gouldians. I dont intend to change this as It works quite well. 2 and 3 will be planted mixed aviaries, the intent being to house the same birds in both so I can sell unrelated pairs to the public. My current proposed bird list is
3pr bhpb gouldians , 1pr bhwb gouldians, grenadier weavers 1c+2h, 1pr blue wrens,1pr painteds,
cuban 1c+2h, 3pr orange breasts,3pr double bars.
other birds i would like but dont think they would fit or be compatible
tricolored parrot finch,crimson , masked, stars.
any imput would be appreciated , I will do a build post when I start to build the last aviary and yes I still may have room for 2 more lol.

I think you could house all those species together but only in single prs in those size aviaries. But in saying that double bars breed better in a small colony.
Also, don't house wrens with tri's for obvious reasons, cubans don't work as a trio as the hens fight so one pr. I pr of crimsons should be ok. Wrens take alot of livefood and can clean up every thing and guard it before your finches can access it, result dead chicks.
Trial it all so you can remove any that show aggression. Craig

I would add that keeping white breast goulds with normals will eventually taint the whole flock of offspring after a few years..

vettepilot_6 wrote:I would add that keeping white breast goulds with normals will eventually taint the whole flock of offspring after a few years..

Missed that one VP but he has three aviaries i think, so could/should separate. Cheers Craig.

Haven't expressed my opinion on Wrens for a while . .

But wrens should only be kept as single pairs on their own . . aviary size notwithstanding

Sooner or later, they will 'exert their authority', to put it mildly

thankyou for your replies, its probably to late for the gouldians I have been breeding them together for over 10 yrs. This is my second yr with the wrens and so far they have been behaving. Ill leave the parrot finches out. Have 1 pr of cubans and as you have suggested just watch and wait and introduce slowly.

shnapper20 wrote:thankyou for your replies, its probably to late for the gouldians I have been breeding them together for over 10 yrs. This is my second yr with the wrens and so far they have been behaving. Ill leave the parrot finches out. Have 1 pr of cubans and as you have suggested just watch and wait and introduce slowly.

Then sadly you will have to sell your normal looking gouldians as possible split to white breast. ..

vp you are right, I usually point that out to buyers when they come and purchase them, I have modified my adds to express this possibility thanks john

arthur wrote: 17 Jan 2017, 18:17 Haven't expressed my opinion on Wrens for a while . .

But wrens should only be kept as single pairs on their own . . aviary size notwithstanding

Sooner or later, they will 'exert their authority', to put it mildly

So far arthur Im leaning toward agreeing with you about four years ago I had an older pair of wrens which I purchased from a mate in the 2yrs before they passed they only put 1 bird on the perch. All of my aviary cohabitants bred well. Two yrs ago, I started breeding with a unrelated pr. 1yr old. My Grenie cock went missing last yr his replacement hasnt done much since. The pr of wrens bred 3 young last yr and so far have 4 this yr ., I supply heaps of live food, yet im not sure the other birds are getting a look in, I only ever see the wrens attacking it. I havent found any dead birds and I intend to build another feed station hopefully this will help.

Sooner or later . . Shnapper . . Sooner or later . .
But inevitably



It is a lot easier . . and cheaper . . to learn by the mistakes of others . .

But not many do


In fact I can feel quite a few forumites, even as I type this, warming up to 'shoot the messenger'