Aussie Finch Forum

One of my aviaries is 4.5m x 0.8m.
This summer I trialled leaving nesting material & boxes in place as not many fledged most of last year.

As of December last I considered I was fully stocked with 14 finches in all. Since then I have had many young fledge and now have 23 with more Gouldians and RFPF close to leaving the nest.

All seem quite happy and unstressed with this number. I know I have to bring the numbers down but have been surprised at the lack of issues with such a large number of finches. I am guessing that if they were stressed breeding would stop, which it certainly hasn't. Others are nest building now

Due to having a small yard, another aviary is out of the question and is the reason I can only have a 0.8m width. Once the current young have fledged, I will be removing nesting until I can reduce numbers.

Dave

If you are happy with 9 young from 7 pairs in that time then that's great.
The notion of overcrowding an aviary is certainly not a myth when looking not only to optimise breeding outcomes but importantly to also minimising serious health and compatibility issues.
If you can find a way to remove independent young from the aviary at least, you are likely to experience better breeding outcomes with fewer problems going forward.

Good luck.

Experience is the best teacher re which birds are more sensitive to crowds. The number of young you are happy breeding is also a personal thing. However. People are a perfect example that slums make great breeding grounds, and have high infant mortality. So. This teaches us that it is cleanliness - cleaning out droppings and replacing perches regularly - that are perhaps most critical in our finch keeping.
LML

Cleanliness is an interesting point.
Due to 80cm width, I have pull out trays in the hard floor section. These make regular cleaning so easy & quick.
Dave