Can you pick me the perfect finch!?

[ecogreen]

I am creating what could be the ultimate aviary, 1/5th of an acre completing enclosed with 12mm aviary mesh housing 30 fruit trees and 40sqm of vegie gardens. There will be quail and chooks on the ground to turn the soil and fertilise the fruit trees and also to selectively turn unused vegie gardens before they are replanted. The rest of the vegie gardens will be protected from chook/quail/finch attack with screens while planted out. As well as the trees themselves there will of course also be covered in areas for night shelter, etc. I am on the NSW south coast so for the most part our weather is fairly mild and summers are fairly humid for those who dont know this area, certainly not the icy winters and roasting summers of Melbourne where I grew up.


So what am I hoping for in a finch? Well the entire property will operate on organic permaculture principles, everything will have a purpose and I'm hoping that the finches will help me out by removing caterpillars and other pests from the fruit trees. I'm hoping to find a species that's strongly insectivorous and less inclined to punch too many holes in my fruit(although I don't mind sharing a little ) Ultimately if I find they are causing too much damage to the fruit I'll pop them in an aviary for a couple of months each year while the fruit is ripe on the trees but I've got more chance of succeeding if I start off with a species that's more likely to suit my needs. I have a lot of experience with parrots but this will be my first foray into straight beaked species so I welcome the advice of those who are more experienced.

Any thoughts?

[Mickp]

my first concern is the use of 12mm mesh.
usually where there are chickens there are also (&^%#%@*) mice.
to make an aviary this size safe from birdkeepers worst enemy you would need to have fairly substantial foundations.
the use of 6mm mesh would also go a long way to keeping the mice out as well.

[ecogreen]

Hi Mick, I agree with you but there are other considerations, because it is enclosing an orchard I need to be careful not to exclude my pollinators so it's a fine balance unfortunately. As well as that 6mm is substantially more expensive than what I can source 12mm for and when you are talking about having to buy close to 1000m of mesh there's a financial balance to keep as well. As I said I'm experienced with parrots(galah, corella, budgie breeder/showie) so I'm pretty used to dealing with the bane of mice. The aviary will be completely enclosed along the bottom to about 80cm height which I hope will help a bit detering them(although I know how good at climbing/jumping they are and I do actually have some fine stainless steel net mesh which I may use in part of the fencing(one side of the land abutts a plant nursery and this is my main concern for mice so I'll probably use the fine mesh to overlay the cyclone fence that belongs to them). I will be baiting regularly to keep the numbers down.

[Myzomela]

One species worth considering is the jacarini- quite hardy in an open aviary as well as insectivorous. You could try waxbills but you may have to allow for a certain rate of "attrition", particularly in winter. Parrot finches would do well but may attack your fruit. I'm sure others will have better suggestions.

It may be worth considering electric fence wire around the perimeter to help exclude mice too.

[ecogreen]

Thanks, I just had a look at info on the jacarini, my only concrn is that the info seems to tell me they are best housed as a single pair only and given that I need their services if you know what I mean something that lives in flocks would probably be more suitable. Or would those species who prefer to live as pairs be OK in a larger group given the space? The area is approximately 20 metres by 30metres.

[Buzzard-1]

With the size you're considering a lot of the birds will be fine, most information relates to average aviarys, Have a look at what you like and post your preferences and members will comment on compatibility/suitability. Have a go at posting in Introduce yourself so others can say G'day.

[jusdeb]

With that much room to play with I think small flocks of a couple of species would look awesome . Doublebars or Redbrows might be worth considering .

[ecogreen]

Red brows are one I'm seriously considering actually, they seem like they would suit my needs. Do you think they would go alongside a flock of gouldians OK? I like the gouldians because they are fond of eating up higher which means it's easier to keep supplementary food out of the reach of rodents(and chooks for that matter!)

[jusdeb]

Not sure about that one , some of the Gouldian breeders will have to help you out there . Draught proofing would be the only issue I can think of .You would want a fairly robust breed since the conditions will be so close to nature .

I guess you might do well to research what species are found in the wild in your area or as close by as possible then see if they would suit your aviary .

Look forward to hearing what you decide and of course PHOTOS coz we just lurve photos here .

Also have some doubts about chooks and finches together . Chooks can harbor a few nasties that can be transmitted to the finches , having said that I dont know if things would change given that it is such a large aviary , again others can be more helpful with that one.

[ecogreen]

I considered the issue of the chooks too however given past experience with having chooks on a similiar size bit of land they were about the healthiest chooks I've ever come across, never had any issues with them passing anything on to any of my other birds. In such a large space with room to dust bathe, etc lice are rarely an issue and with some sensible supplementation worms, etc can be kept to a minimum.

As far as winter warmth for less robust species I will also have in this area a polyhouse and shadehouse as well as areas specially set up as roosting space for the birds so they should have a good range of options for moving into warmer areas of the space in cooler weather, one advantage of having more space at your disposal I guess.