• Zebra & Hecks Grassfinches
  • Easy to look after and keep
  • A good starter bird.
  • Neighbour friendly!
  • Only drawback if they are in an Aviary with other birds that are nesting ~ they will build their nests on top of eggs/chicks already in that Nest
     
• Bengalese
  • Easy to look after, Feed and keep
  • A good starter bird
  • Neighbour friendly!
  • They are often used as Foster mums to Gouldian Finches Eggs/chicks

• Canaries
  • Easy to look after - hardy.
  • Neighbour friendly!
  • Cock birds have lovely vibrant song.
  • Fifes are probably the easiest and best size to start with
  • Will live happily in a mixed Aviary
  • Love and need fruit and veg
  • Love to Bathe - so make sure you provide a bath/bowl with fresh water daily.
  • A bit more specialised when it comes to breeding, as they really need to be in Breeding cages
  • You provide a Nest pan and they build their own nests from nesting material (moss & jute)
  • You have to remove the first 3 eggs they lay (every day) put Dummy eggs in nest and replace when 4th egg laid.
  • They need special soft, egg foods when feeding chicks.

• Budgies are a delight to watch and own.
• Hardy & Neighbour friendly!
• Pet Budgies are a lot smaller and easier to breed than the bigger "Show" variety.
• They tend to feed and preen other budgies in the colony, regardless of whether they are cocks or hens. 
  • It means nothing other than they are very friendly little birds.
• They come in lots of vibrant colours - blues / greens / lutinos / albinos & lots of variations.
  • Any colour ending in "ino" means the bird has Red-eyes and lacks any dark colouring in its feathers.
• LUTINO Budgies ~ all yellow with Red eyes
• ALBINOS Budgies ~ all white with Red eyes
   
• The Hens have Brown Ceres (the fleshy bit above their beaks) ~ Cockbirds have Blue Ceres.
• One way to "sex" a baby budgie in the nest is the bite!! 
  • Hens bite as though they mean it and Cocks will bite but with no real conviction!
     
• They will breed "en-colony" i.e. lots of pairs together in the same Aviary.
• In fact, they seem to breed better if there are lots of them - the more noise the better!
• Once they chose a mate they tend to "mate for life".
• They don't really need any special food when breeding - just good quality seed and water
• Plenty of Fruit & Veg - all year round.
• Also during spring and summer dandelion leaves, chickweed, shepherds purse, spinich, and other safe greenfoods.
• Anything a Rabbit would eat your Budgie will eat too!
• Budgies DON't need a Calcium supplement (Powder or liquid) except for Cuttlefish bone (they will use this at Breeding time)
• They DO NEED Iodine (provide Pink Iodine block)
• They eat a Budgie seed + Plain canary and millet sprays
• Too much millet is very fattening.
• They love fruit & veg.
• They like to bathe

• I love watching these birds - they are just slightly smaller than a blackbird.
• Colour in the Wild is a dark green with red on top of forehead and red slash behind eye.
• In Captivity they come in Buttercup, Pied and Cinnamon
• They are always very active and can run up and down Aviary Mesh just using their feet!
• They make a lovely melodic call and are non-aggressive.
• Hardy & Neighbour friendly!
• Aviary birds only - too active to be caged.
• They rarely bite, even the hens
• They breed all year round -
  • but it's better not to let them breed thru winter months as this can cause problems i.e. egg-binding.
• They will also have 3 - 4 clutches a year if you let them
  • This is not good for them. 
  • Two rounds is more than enough.
• They have big clutches anything from 4 - 8 eggs/chicks
• When Breeding - just one pair of Kakis per Aviary
• They love just about ALL Fruit and Veg esp. Red Berries - they are a delight to feed.
• They love to bathe and must ALWAYS have a bath available otherwise they will bathe in their water dish.
• They will even break ice to bathe!
• They must be wormed (x2 per year) regularly as they are Floor Scavengers.
  • Usually b4 and after Breeding season.
• They eat a small Parakeet Mix - not keen on millet sprays

  ---

• Rosellas (inc. G.M.R's) easy enough to look after (similar to Kaki's in their needs)  BUT not at Breeding time - they can be very aggressive towards other Breeds as well as their own kind. 
• They need an Aviary to each pair of birds which must be double-meshed between adjoining Aviaries to prevent toes being bitten off!! 
• You also need another spare Aviary to put any youngsters in that you breed, as the father can attack any young males once they leave the nest if he wants his hen to go back to nest again.

• Another lovely quiet little bird, slightly smaller than a budgie but similar shape.
• They come in some lovely colours now inc. Lutino, Rubino, Rosa.
• Colour in wild is Brown fused with pink and blue.
• Very similar in lots of ways to a budgie in it's habits and Breeding needs
• FEEDING is slightly different tho as a Bourke doesn't need anything moist i.e. lettuce or fruit etc.
  •  it's from a very arid area of Australia where it derives it's moisture from tree bark, buds & spinefax grasses (very course, dry Aus. grass). 
• So, don't offer moist foods esp at breeding time -
  • if you do then the chicks will have a really nasty, sticky, wet dropping which it will squirt all over the inside of the nest box.                      
    See picture - click to enlarge►
• SEED: They have a small millet seed mix with plain canary seed and groats.
• Keep away from Linseed and Sunflower seeds as these are too rich and fatty for their digestive systems.
• The love Millet Sprays.
• You must offer fresh water but they don't really bathe but do like a shower of rain on them.
• They are "Dawn and Dusk" birds (they have bigger eyes) and are most active at these times.
• They like shaded areas in the Aviary to rest in during the middle part of the day.
• Nest areas must be shaded also.
• They have a lovely tinkley call - Neighbour friendly!
• They will breed en-colony, so long as the colony is well established before the Breeding season starts.
  • If not established the cockbird can be quite aggressive while protecting his Nest.
  • they pair for life
  • they can have 2 - 3 clutches per year.
  • 4 - 8 eggs
  • If you breed with more than one pair in an Aviary the hens can sometimes commandeer another hen's nest/eggs and even chicks - which can be wasteful!
  • so better to have one pair per Aviary

• Quite a big bird although most of their length is their tail
• Quiet by nature - non-aggressive.
• Inoffensive call
• Neighbour friendly!
• Pair for life but only really have one round of chicks per year
• SEED : they will eat most of what a Kakariki would eat.
• Cockbird vibrant markings (Green, yellow and red)
• The hen is green all over
• Youngsters look like hens until approx. 18months old - so lots of "hens" turn out to be cocks!!
• Will breed around 2 years old.
• 3 - 8 eggs.
• Usually only rear one round of chicks.
  • Sometimes they will do two.
     

Cockatiels

• Work well in a Colony and will breed en-colony
• Lots of lovely colours
• Grey is the normal colour in the wild but you can get Lutinos, white-faced, pied, Silvers etc.
• Easy to sex - see page on "Breeds Needs"
• Can be a bit flappy if there are a lot of them in an Aviary and you go in with them
• Have a fairly high pitch call if they are "shouting" but not too bad.
• Will breed most times of the year and have 2 - 4 clutches
  • (3 should be absolute max)!
• Eggs : 4 - 8
• Seed: Small parakeet - they are not as keen on fruit and veg as Kakis and Barrabands.

Lovebirds

• These are little, stocky birds with a very powerful beak!!
• You would never put them into a mixed Aviary with birds that are smaller than them esp. little Finches, as they have been known to nip the legs completely off little birds
• They should be o.k. with birds that are of a similar size or slightly bigger.
• Feed as per Cockatiels.
• They have lots of little pleasant, quirky habits
  • - see Breeds Needs page on them
• Also need nest box with sentry box on side.
  • so the Cockbird can "keep Guard".

• Not for the absolute Beginner
• The name "Softbill" refers to their diet not their beak. 
  • i.e. they eat foods like fruit, insects and nectars and rely less on hard seeds
• They need specialised feeding - so better to give them a miss until you get some experience under your Belt. 
• Separate feed stations required.
• They will keep the Aviary free of ants, earwigs, flies, moths and even spiders.
• (They only tend to eat the spiders' body tho' and leave the legs in a gruesome pile on the floor.)

• o.k. for the Beginner
• Quail can be put in the bottom of an Aviary and will "clean-up" spilled seed. 
• The cock birds are pretty rampant during breeding season so you would always need a "Trio" of Quail
  i.e. 2 hens and 1 cockbird. 
• as the cocks do "bother" the hens quite a lot and one hen on it's own would "suffer"!
•  They will lay regular eggs, which are a delicacy found in Delicatessen shops.

• Not for the Beginner - they are too complex and have special needs nutritionally and Psychologically.
• They need constant attention and if they don't get it can develop major problems i.e. screaming and Feather Plucking and biting.
•  Much better to gain experience on smaller easier to look after breeds.
• You can end up with a major, expensive problem on your hands
  if you take a Parrot on without sufficient knowledge (and this can take years to acquire!)

• Budgies / Cockatiels are ideal starter Pets
  • They can be hand-tamed - the cock birds can be trained to Talk or whistle. 
     
• Senegals & Conures are slightly bigger with bigger beaks, therefore need more experience and knowledge but can be entertaining and friendly.
  • they are natural "Clowns".
  • You can often find Ads for Hand-reared Babies which will make ideal Pets.
     
• Canaries & Finches are quite happy in a cage (healthier in an Aviary) - not usually as easy to hand-tame - don't talk .
  • Cock Canaries can sing
  • Usually Canaries and Finches are pleasant to watch and may interact thru the bars of the cage but not usually let out to fly around - so not an ideal life for the bird, esp. if it's a single bird.
     
• Parrots & Macaws - not for the beginner bird owner ~ for all the reasons stated above.
  Start with a smaller, easier to keep bird.

• My own personal feeling on Pet Birds is that they should never be on their own and should always have a companion, preferably one of it's own species, if not then a constant human companion.
   
• The quickest way to end up with an unhappy Pet is to leave it alone for
  long periods of time -
  •  this can lead to all sorts of psychological problems such as Feather plucking (equivalent to nail-biting in a human) once they start it's very difficult to get them to stop.
  • the bigger parrots can also starts "screaming" (this is for attention) and you shouting at them to "stop" that gives them "attention" so they do it all the more - it's a vicious circle.
     
• If you have a single Pet Bird and have to leave it on it's own do make sure that at least you leave a radio or TV on for it (pref. on cartoons as they like the colourful movement).
  •  Don't have it too loud - just as a background entertainment.
     
• When you are with them - give them lots of attention i.e. talk to them and if they are not going to panic and are used to being out - give them plenty of time out of their cage.
  • The average "Parrot-like" will chew anything wooden - so be aware and preferably give them something that is theirs to perch on.

• CAGES  must always be big enough for the Bird(s) in them.
  • They must be able to stretch their wings out without them hitting either side at the same time
  • i.e. it must be at least as wide if not wider than the birds' full wingspan
  • Wider is more important than higher.
  • Always buy as big a cage as you can happily have in your house.
  • Remember your Pet will spend a lot of it's day in there.
     
• The Cage Bars must be HORIZONTAL on at least 2 sides as birds can't easily climb up and down vertical bars
• You should NEVER put a bird in a round cage and esp. not a round cage with vertical Bars
  • It would just about drive it crazy
• Make sure the width of the bars of the cage are suitable for the bird in it :
  • Too wide apart and a smaller bird can get it's head caught, with poss. disastrous results
  • Too narrow and the bigger birds will find it difficult to climb up and down
    • Also, if too narrow the chances are that the cage is too small for a bigger bird as you usually only find narrow bars on cages intended for smaller breeds of bird.
       
• A cage with a drop down door, like a Draw-Bridge, would be better than a door that has a side opening.
  • This is so that you can fix the drop-down door, with a clip and make it into a platform for the bird to land on and use when it's coming out of its cage and landing on to go back in again.
     
• Some cages, esp. for the bigger bird have Top Openings where you can insert a perch.
  • these are a good idea as the bird is then in the open, has somewhere to land and will do it's droppings into its cage.
  • They can double as a "Play Gym".
     
• PERCHES: Pet birds need natural wood perches (off safe trees) rather than ridged plastic or smooth dowelling, which are bad for a birds feet.
  • If you use an apple tree branch for example - scrub first to remove any bacteria etc.,
  • Leave bark on as your bird will love stripping it and it will also give it a much better surface to balance on.
     
• Sandpaper sleeves for perches, sold to help keep the birds' claws rasped off are close to barbaric, as they only really serve to abrade the bottom of the birds feet and make them sore. (A condition called "Bumblefoot" can ensue)
  • Imagine how you would feel if you had to stand and walk on Sandpaper all day, with bare feet!
     
• Perches should be of different widths too - some narrower than others and if using a small branch some parts can be at different angles.
  • Remember, the ideal width for a perch is so that the birds' foot sits on the top and the feet go 1/2 way down - not round - the perch - so wider rather than narrower for the main perches is the rule of thumb!
  • Make sure the perches have some grip with them - not too smooth as these can also make the feet sore!
  • Dowelling (which is what most cages come with or the ridged plastic perches) are both as bad as each other and best avoided or replaced.
  • also Bamboo canes are not very good as they again are too smooth and don't give enough grip.
  • If you so use a smooth branch and it's a bit slippy you can always cut shallow inverted "V's" into the perch to give extra grip.
  • If the perches don't have grip your bird can lose confidence.
     

TOYS are very good to help prevent boredom - but . . .

• DO NOT CLUTTER the cage - the bird must always be able to move about the cage FREELY and safely.
• They do like a swing / mirror and poss a weighted toy on the floor that will rock when they tap it with their beaks.
• Only buy a bell if it won't end up driving you crazy when the bird plays with it and you get the repetitive jingle noise!!
• also, some birds will mimic the sound and you can get a "double-dose" of the sound!!
• Be careful with string/rope Toys as they can get claws caught up in them with disastrous results sometimes.
• African Greys, in particular are very wary of ANYTHING NEW - so never just put a new toy or a new branch etc in without giving the bird time to get used to it
  • Sometimes just leaving the new Toy on the outside of the cage or near to it will help
  • Don't wave it in front of the bird tho.  This will just serve to freak it out and have the opposite effect to the one
    you are trying for.
     

FEED & WATER DISHES

• Do not have them under perches, as they end up full of bird poop.
• If they are fitted into the sides of the cage thru gaps then they need to have a sheet of clear perspex to keep them in place and to stop them spreading seed and water onto your living room floors.
   

CUTTLEFISH HOLDERS  - You can buy ones specially for the job from Pet shops

• or use a clothes peg  to hold the Cuttlefish in place on the bars of the cage. 
• Have it vertical rather than horizontal as if horizontal then the bird will poss use it to perch on and then will poop on it too!
• Cuttlefish is important to supply the bird with it's calcium (esp. for breeding birds)
• It also helps keep the beak trimmed as the bird "gnaws" at it
• Bigger birds don't tend to use it they just chew it up and drop it on the floor.
  • This is an expensive exercise
  • So, bigger birds i.e. Parrots esp. A. Grey who need extra calcium in their diet, would benefit from Calicivet (liquid) put into their water once or twice per week (according to the directions on the bottle).
     
• IODINE NIBBLES - These are the small pink blocks that work in a similar way to cuttlefish and supply iodine
  • (very necessary for budgies who seem to suffer from an iodine deficiency)
  • they also supply other essential minerals
     
• GRIT POTS - Most of the smaller birds do need a supply of Oystershell and or Mineralised Grit (from Pet Shop)
• Birds do not have teeth and therefore need Grit in their crops to help grind up the seeds before they pass on thru their
  digestive system.
• It also helps provide part of their calcium supply in their diet
• A small Pot is ideal - something like the "meat-paste" pots you used to be able to buy.
  • A small egg cup that won't knock over would be ideal too.
• Make sure you place it where it won't end up full of droppings or seed husks.
• Some people scatter a small amount on the cage floor - the birds enjoy scratching about picking it up.
   
• SWINGS - Most birds (even the big ones) love swings
  • Just make sure they are not invasive in the sense that the bird can still move round freely with the swing in place.
  • Also that there is enough room for it to swing
     
• COVERING FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE CAGE
• - I personally use Newspaper as they are easy to roll-up and remove on a daily basis to keep the cage bottom clean
  • And they are Free - once you have read them!!
• You can buy sanded sheets from the Pet shop or supermarket but this can prove to be expensive to try and keep clean.
• Make sure you buy a cage with a Plastic base that is deep enough to keep the seed etc in
• Also a pull-out bottom to make it easy to "muck-out"
• TYPE OF CAGE
• SIZE OF CAGE

ON ROLLERS - good idea for manoeuvrability - if you want to move the cage for cleaning or move it from room to room and
out into the Garden
 

CAGE FOR GARDEN

• Some of the bigger cages come on castors and are easy to push out into the garden on warm sunny days
  • NEVER put your bird in full sun
  • They much prefer to be in a warm shady place
  • If there is no natural shade then make sure the bird has some sort of cover put over the cage to block out the heat of the sun in at least one area of the cage.

   

• If it's too difficult to put your birds normal, big cage outside then you could invest in a smaller oblong cage, so it's easier to carry your bird and it can still enjoy being outside but can stretch it's wings fully too.
• Your Pet bird will benefit enormously from fresh air and sun just as we humans too.
• It's NOT NORMAL for any living thing to be deprived of fresh air and sun (just look at the problems that family they found living in the cellar in Austria had when they were finally brought out and allowed into natural sunlight!!)
• Sunlight is responsible for creating Vit. D naturally and this is essential along with calcium for strong, healthy bones.

CARRYING CAGES for Trips in the Car or to the Vets

• The plastic Cat Carrying Cages that you can get from Argos are ideal, light to carry, easy to clean and dismantle
  and cheap to buy. 
• Just put a layer of newspaper in the bottom.
• The doors hinge any which way to make access easy and hopefully escapes not so easy!!
• Plenty of ventilation too.

• Materials to build out of : Aviaries for smaller birds are usually made from wood. (Metal for bigger Parrots) 
  • 2" x 2" for corner uprights and  2" x 1" (or slate latts) for mid uprights.  Same for roof.
  • The wood is usually pressure- treated or painted with Cuprinol or similar, which is non-toxic to birds.
     
• Min size : 2m (6' 6") long  1m (3'3") wide 2 m (6' 6")   high.  Birds need room to fly.
   
• Aviary Mesh : 19 guage 1" x 1/2" mesh would be ideal for all the above mentioned birds. 
• Once you start getting bigger birds with stronger beaks you need thicker mesh i.e. 16 guage or thicker. 
  • You can get different size mesh from 1/2" x 1/2" upwards.  (you can get smaller but it is very expensive).
  • The Mesh usually comes in 15m - 30m rolls and is 1metre wide
  • New Aviary Mesh should be brushed off with a wire Brush BEFORE you put your birds in the Aviary
    • This helps get rid of any little blobs of zinc that may be on the mesh.
    • Esp. the cheaper foreign mesh.
    • ZINC is highly toxic i.e. poisonous to Birds
  • Then Paint the Mesh with a solution of Vinegar and Water
    • this helps to neutralise the effect of the zinc in the mesh, which is poison to birds
       
• Site - which way the Aviary should face - Make sure if your Aviary faces south where it will get the sun most of the day in the summer that the birds have somewhere to get in the shade and any nest boxes are put in shaded, high areas.
   
• Perspex roof and sides:  Clear sheets of undulating Perspex, should cover the roof to a) stop inclement weather getting into the Aviary b) stop wild birds' droppings   c) protect them from Raptors (i.e. birds of prey) 
  • They do, however need to be able to get under a rain shower, so in the summer it may be a good idea to have a small (or bigger) area at the end of the Aviary where there are no nest boxes to remove the perspex then the birds can get under rain showers which is very good for their health and feather quality.
     

• During winter : when the icy winds blow with torrential rain - it's a good idea to have perspex sheets on the sides of the Aviary as well but NOT all the way round as your birds do need Fresh air (but NEVER Draughts) - you will have to work out which way your bad weather comes in from and protect those sides.
   
• BASE: Concrete is best as anything else, with the exception of Patio Flags set up on 4" square lengths of wood. 
  • A Gravel Base or just soil is not a good idea as this would allow vermin, namely Rats, to burrow up into the Aviary with disastrous consequences.
  •  I often include a round of Breeze blocks on top of the concrete base and the Aviary Panels are fixed to these.  This makes the base more water tight as your mesh and wood don't go down the the ground where it could rot and mice etc., can gain easy access.
     
• Floor covering: Once you have your concrete base down you have to think what you would like to put on the floor to help absorb the seed and droppings. 
  • I quite like Pea Gravel and you can buy 1ton bags from Travis Perkins or similar
  • or you can use "Easibed" - a recycled wood chip bought in 20kg bales from Agricultural merchants.
     

• Escape Porch - this is essential to have on the outside of your Aviary, so that when you go into your Aviary, you close the Outside door behind you BEFORE you open the inside door into the actual Aviary - this is to prevent any birds escaping past you, which they will do, almost faster than you can blink, if you do not take this precaution and once they are out they rarely will be caught, except  possibly by a Bird of Prey!!
   
• Make sure you have a bolt or clip to hold outside door shut while u open the inside door, as many a bird has escaped while the owner has accidentally knocked the outside door while opening the inside door.

• Door open in or out - I have my Escape Porch Door Opening OUT and my Aviary Door opening INWARDS.
   
• Catches / locks - On the Outside Doors I have a sliding bolt + a roller catch + either a hasp and staple with a separate padlock or one of those hasp and staples with a lock already in the middle.  On the Inside Door I have a sliding bolt and on the inside of both inside and outside doors I have hook over catches, so nothing is ever left to chance with the door being pushed open accidentally.

• Swings etc. - Most birds do like non-rigid perches i.e. rope swings or swings you can buy in the pet shop - just make sure you do not position them so that they are in the flight path of the birds - they need a clear space to fly from one end of the Aviary to the other.  Flight is what helps to keep them fit and healthy.  So never clutter cages or Aviaries with perches, swings or Toys.