Avian Conversations

(November/December, 1999)

by: Tom Riggs and Ross Bishop

KNOW YOUR BIRDS

Ross: This may sound a little strange, but I think that dogs and cats are a problem for new bird owners. Not, as you might expect, because they threaten or scare birds, but because they set a standard of care that people project onto birds. Dogs and cats are largely self sustaining creatures. You feed them, occasionally open the door for them, take them for shots once a year and occasionally clean the cat's litter box. That's about all you have to do unless there is a problem. I think this creates an unspoken expectation in people's minds - they expect birds to be like cats and dogs, and that is not the case. And frankly, pet stores don't tell people the truth when they sell them birds, either.

Most people see a bird at a show or a pet store or a friend's house, fall in love with it, take it home, and then try to figure out how to care for it.

If you were going to give the novice bird keeper some basic advice, what would be the most important thing you would say to them?

Tom: The most important thing that I would suggest is to research the literature and find out as much as you can about the birds you are intending to buy. But in the real world very few people do this, including many experienced aviculturists. Trial and error seems to be the most popular form of bird education, much to the detriment of the unfortunate birds being experimented with. If you are a beginner I would certainly suggest that you buy a good general book on Finches and Softbills before buying any birds.

Also, start with birds that have flexibility and hardiness. I'd certainly recommend Zebra Finches, Societies, etc. But, also I find that many experienced aviculturists will add a bird to their collection without really knowing about the bird, either in nature or in aviculture.

Ross: When you see a bird that you want, I can understand the motivation to have it, but I am just not sure that to just buy it on the spot is always the smartest approach. Pet shops will hold a bird for a day for you. If you are at a show find someone there, other than the seller, who knows about the type of bird you are considering and ask questions. Bird people are usually willing to help and they are always full of opinions. Get at least some basic information so that you are not creating problems for yourself or your flock. Find out about things like compatibility, diet, aggressiveness, space requirements, etc. of the birds you are considering.

Tom: I could not agree more. The literature of aviculture is fascinating to me, and we do have a long history with birds, so there is a good deal of information available if you are willing to look for it. Our knowledge goes back a long way. Montezuma had 600 slaves that did nothing but tend the birds in his aviaries, and of course, we know that the ancient Egyptians kept birds.

The books in my library go all the way back to the 1800's, starting with Beckstein's "History of Cage Birds" and right on up to the present with books like "Estrildid Finches of the World", and Ross, I know you use Russell Kingston's "Keeping and Breeding Finches and Seed Eaters" which is also a very good book.

It is fascinating to see how aviculture has changed and to find the history of birds in aviculture. You must remember that at one time Lories were fed bread soaked in milk and that was it! They had a very high mortality rate! And people kept birds like Dippers and sky larks and they kept them in rooms. Outdoor aviaries were rare. People kept birds in large rooms where the birds were either kept in cages or allowed to fly free.

Anyway, there are a lot of good books out nowadays and I want to mention some of them. The classic, and it may be out of print, is "Finches and Soft-Billed Birds" by Bates and Busenbark. I have a quarrel with the book in that the illustrations for the most part are terrible and the information on care of the birds is in the front of the book separated from information on the specific species, but it was and is, and excellent book. In its day it was the most comprehensive book available. Also, just for history, Carl Naether's "Softbill Birds" was for a long time the only book published on softbills, and is still very good. Derek Goodwin's "Estrilid Finches of the World" is another excellent reference, but it may be hard to find today. There is another interesting book called "Foreign Birds for Garden Aviaries" by Alan Brooksbank of the famous Keston Bird Farm in England. My copy was written in 1939. The book focuses on the building of planted outdoor aviaries and the birds suitable for them. Also, one of the standards for finches many years was a book simply called "Finches" by Ian Harman. Ian is an Australian, and this is an excellent book. More recently, two books have come out on softbills both of which I like very much: David Alderton's, "A Birdkeeper's Guide to Softbills" and Martin Vince's, "Softbills, Care Breeding and Conservation."

In addition to some of this established literature, it is very important to get the most up to date information available. I find the articles by various breeders in publications like "The Bulletin" of the National Finch and Softbill Society, The American Federation of Aviculture's "Watchbird", etc. to be very valuable. These are generally articles of recent breedings and rearing techniques have been successful.

Some people might say, well then, what is the use of a book, particularly this old stuff? Well, the fundamentals don't change that much, and this information is at least going to get you started on the right path. This is not to say that I agree with everything that has been written, because I don't, but you will at least get the basic concepts like: caging, basic diet, things like not to put parrots together with finches or not to house weavers with goldbreasts. Simple basic things like that. If you are not familiar with birds it is unlikely that you will know these things. And despite what the pet shop tells you, Pekin Robins will not live well on a seed only diet.

Ross: There is one other piece of advice I would like to pass on to new bird keepers. Make sure your birds are banded. If they are not banded when you buy them, get some split bands and band them. It's not that hard to do. Then get yourself a notebook and note any information you have about your birds when they were fledged, who you bought them from, etc. Then record every clutch, band colors and numbers.

The reasons are simple. Finch babies don't take long before they look exactly like their parents. After a while you won't be able to tell who is who. If you use a different color for each clutch and get numbered bands you will be able to tell your birds apart. One trick Tom and I both use is to band clutches from the same parents with related (and numbered) colored bands. For example, one set of my Gouldian parents have blue bands. I band each of their clutches with bands in the "blue" family: light blue, navy, purple, violet, etc. Another pair of parents have red bands and I use "red" colors like: red, dark red, light and dark pink, orange, etc. for their offspring. The third group gets the greens and yellows. The reason I do this is that I can look in the aviary in an instant and know exactly which genetic line a particular bird is from. It makes things a lot easier.

The record book is important. A year or two and 15 birds later you will not remember who came from where and who is related to whom. This information is essential if you ever want to pair your birds up to mate or to sell. If you don't do it from day one, the information can be very difficult to go back and recreate. It is also surprising how fast things can develop. I started out with 3 pairs of Gouldians and after their first breeding season they had become 23 birds. I cannot keep all that in my head. I record lots of information on my birds because I want to be able to go back and see if changes in diet and whatnot have made any difference in clutch size, appearance, health, etc. The computer is great for that sort of record keeping.

BASIC BIRD NEEDS

Tom: What a bird needs is essentially what it has in nature. It needs good light, fresh air, cool, clean water to drink and bathe in, space to fly, minerals and an appropriate diet. I prefer to give birds as large a flight space as possible. My two breeding flights are 12 ft. and 9 ft. Long and that is the smallest that I have. I also like to leave fledglings in the flight as long as is possible because in that important growth period it develops their flight muscles and other organs.

CAGE SIZE

Ross: One thing that bothers me is the idea of housing a bird in a small, "canary" sized cage. In my view, birds are built for flight - that is what they do. They need space to move. I think it is cruel and unhealthy to permanently confine birds to a small cage where they cannot get proper exercise. Would you care to comment on that?

Tom: Well, I guess we got into this habit because canaries could tolerate it, and small cages don't take up much space in city apartments. That doesn't mean that it was good for the birds, though. I consider a 24" x 14" x 20" inch cage to be the absolute minimum for small birds, and no more than 4 to 6 birds in it depending upon their size and aggressive tendencies. Nothing smaller. Larger flights of 8 feet or more are better. Outdoor flights are ideal if you can do it.

In regards to design, a cage or flight should be longer than it is tall. Although a taller cage may be visually appealing, birds need to fly, and flight is a horizontal thing. And, don't confuse "hop space" with "flight space." Round cages are typically tall and narrow, and in my opinion, should be banned. It is impossible to keep food and water dishes clean in these cages because the perches sit right above them. Flight space in these is also minimal.

On a related note, some cages come with wire grates on the bottom. I recommend removing these. Most finches like to spend time on the ground and it is important to make the cage floor amenable to their needs. Over the years I have come to believe that all birds are aviary birds and I try to use cages only for quarantine and temporary housing.

TEMPERATURE

Ross: What about basic bird temperature requirements? Most of the birds we keep are tropical. I'll go into my aviary on a hot summer day and be almost dying of the heat, and the birds are soaking it up!

Tom: Birds have varying requirements, of course. Some are quite tolerant of cold even though they are tropical in origin. Others have very specific temperature requirements and cannot tolerate anything below a 60° nighttime temperature. It is very important that you be aware of each bird's temperature needs. I am not interested in experimenting with just how cold a particular species can endure and survive. I think that is cruel.

A common mistake inexperienced aviculturist's sometimes make is to keep a cage right next to a window. The problem is that all windows leak when it gets cold, and drafts are very rough on birds. Also, direct sun for a long period of time can also induce an artificial molt or heatstroke. It is best to place a cage next to a wall at about eye level. If you have a living room that gets cold at night you can always drop a heat light into or near the cage.

Regarding aviaries, the question is what species you house in them. For instance my outdoor aviary, which is planted and has a shelter, houses tropical birds. The shelter is maintained at night with a heater at a minimum of 50°. It seldom goes that low here and the temperature is more likely to be between 55-60° at night. I also have a standard 7 watt red utility light that serves as a night light. All lighting is controlled by a system that automatically dims them at night and brings them up gradually in the morning.

The planted flight has two, 750 watt radiant heating elements at the back at the roof line. I have a perch 2 feet from the heater. The temperature in the flights must be at least 50° before I will release birds from the shelter.  The heaters will bring the flight to this temperature from 30° in about an hour, plus providing an even warmer place if the birds desire it.

Some softbills can be acclimated to considerably lower temperatures than their origins would indicate. Pekins, Silver Eared Mesias, many of the Jays, etc., can take quite low nighttime temperatures and seem comfortable. Some drop in nighttime temperature is important for birds. Almost all tropical birds experience cool nights, in fact some places in the tropics can become downright chilly at night. Otherwise birds can become soft. But we must remember that at the latitude of North America, conditions are considerably colder than these bird's native habitats.

During the cool periods, my flight is covered with insulated plastic panels that slide into place. This works very well, except in our intense sun here at 7,500 feet in Santa Fe, the flight can overheat quickly and then the panels must be opened for ventilation. I don't worry a lot about temperature highs in this climate. Some birds enjoy the heat, others retire to the shelter when it gets hot.

My aviary is misted at least twice, sometimes three times a day, depending upon the ambient temperature. Indoor birds are provided with fresh bathing water several times each day, beginning about 2:00 in the afternoon. Treated drinking water is withdrawn at that time and not replaced until the following morning.

PERCHES

Ross: It seems to me that one of the most overlooked areas in bird keeping is that of perches.

Tom: Perches should be kept clean because birds sit on them, clean their beaks on them and rub their eyes on them. If a perch is dirty it is just an invitation to infection. And foot and eye infections can be really hard to treat. The perch is the bird's living space. Would you want to stand around barefoot in feces all day, day after day?  Then don't expect your birds to! How often have you seen cages where the paper has been changed and yet the birds are sitting on filthy perches? I see this a lot in stores, and it bothers me.

Regarding perch placement, some people over-perch their flights. I believe that a cage or aviary should be perched as minimally as possible, encouraging the birds to stretch out and get exercise. Otherwise they will mostly hop. As a standard, I recommend one perch at each end of standard flight cage at a high level and a third in the middle at a lower level. This encourages the birds to fly. The idea is to place perches to maximize flight space.

Lower perches are important, too. Sometimes a bird that is introduced to a flight will be nervous about going down from a high perch to eat, or whatever. A low perch perch gives them a place to hang out and decide when they want to go down. Perches should always be placed so that the birds' tails clear the sides of the cage.

I like to use natural branches for perches. I especially like fruit tree branches. Branches have varying diameters so the birds get good foot exercise. The drawbacks to natural branches are that they can be difficult to clean and they become brittle with time and must be replaced more frequently. It is essential to sterilize natural branches (either with a disinfectant or in the oven at 350° for 1/2 hour) before putting them into a flight.

Ross: One thing that is not well understood is perch diameter. People tend to use perches that are too thin. Ideally, a bird should not be able to wrap its foot around a perch. They should only be able to rest on its top half. This is much better for foot exercise and perching safety.

Tom: Doweling is easy to remove and clean. I use doweling mixed with natural branches in my in holding cages. But doweling is hard and smooth so I like to soak it in hot water a little and then take a serrated knife and score it to rough the surface up a bit. This gives the birds more traction and is more comfortable for them. Birds need foot exercise. That is why having different diameter perches is important.

Ross: When I started out, like many bird keepers, I went out and found some gorgeous branches to put in my flights - they looked great, the aviary looked so natural! Then I had to start to regularly clean the darned things, and the complex branches soon got drastically pared down. Now we're down to basically a single stem with no side branches. I do that for two reasons First, I found that my birds weren't really flying. They were hopping from branch to branch because there were so many perches available. The birds needed all the exercise they could get, and my desire for a "natural looking" environment was giving them a way to avoid exercise. Secondly, the natural branches were rough and they just didn't clean as easily as dowels.

Incidentally, many people do not realize that doweling comes in both hardwood and softwood. Softwood dowels are much better for perches. Perches made with serrated plastic are soft and also work well. They allow for good traction. I understand, though, that they can splinter with exposure to the sun, so that would be something to consider.

Tom: Some aviculturists use lengths of rope for perching. I have never used it, but rope is soft and comes in many diameters. But, it must be kept clean and I have always wondered if it wasn't too smooth to help wear down claws.

Ross: How often would you suggest that people remove and clean their perches?

Tom: Often! Perches should of course, be cleaned when they are dirty, but I prefer to see them not get dirty at all. This depends somewhat upon the species you are working with and the number of birds in the cage or aviary. My rule of thumb is: don't let the dirt accumulate.

Ross: I think it is also important to treat perches with a disinfectant after cleaning them. I scrub my perches with Oxyfresh Cleansing Gel and then treat them with Dent-A-Gene disinfectant. I like to dry mine in the sun before returning them to the aviary. You use a different technique don't you?

Tom: I use boiling water to sterilize them and then scrub them with a wire brush. However, scraping perches doesn't disinfect them. You have to wash and treat them. Make absolutely certain that perches are dry before returning them to the flight. You can dry in the oven (don't overcook!) or dry them in the sun. Putting damp perches in a cage can cause chilling and lead to bird colds and other problems.

Ross: When I built my aviaries I did not think about perch cleaning and disinfecting and so I simply wired my perches in. I thought I could adequately clean them in place. I was wrong! I had to redesign my perches so that they could be removed for cleaning. I find that a second set of perches is a really good idea. You can swap out one set with the second and then you can clean and disinfect the dirty set at your leisure. And, they then have plenty of time to dry thoroughly.

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Last modified: January 07, 2004
Copyright © 1999 National Finch and Softbill Society