September 2012

Atrocious weather in Adelaide with high winds and rainfall have helped us beat our
previously set record. Adelaide has now had its wettest day since 1998. Its caused a
couple of casualties in my aviary thats for sure. My poor birds have been locked
away for at least one day every week for quite a number of weeks now. Roll on
Spring!
We have a survey running on the forum and need a few more participants to
complete it, its an anonymous survey although many members have indicated they
have taken part. It just asks how you access the forum and a few other related
questions
The survey can be found at the top or bottom of just about every page on the forum.
Breeding Gouldian Finches in Cabinet Cages
by pdg

Being a Belgian Gouldian finch breeder (moving to Australia), I have been asked by
Diane to write an article about breeding Gouldian or other finches in cabinet cages in
Belgium and The Netherlands. Cabinet breeding is very common in Europe in
general.
I will say a few things about the structure of cabinet cages, some pros and cons,
where to have or put them, and finally how to breed Gouldian or other finches in
cabinet cages. I will take the Gouldian finch as example, because this is the bird I
breed as well. However, I will also have something to say about breeding other
finches in cabinets. Most pictures in this article are taken – with consent - from Henk
Lomulder’s website, a well-known Dutch Gouldian finch breeder. I think his setup is a
very good general example for Belgium and the Netherlands.

Cabinet cages

Size is the first thing most people think about when building or buying cabinet cages.
Size will depend on a number of related factors:

Health of the birds

Birds need enough space to spread their wings to be able to stay healthy. The cage
must be large enough for one pair of Gouldian finches to breed. This means that for
a period of three weeks there can be up to 9 birds in that cage until the young are
weaned.
Birds seem to be less stressed when bred one pair in a cage. There are no other birds
to disturb the breeding process.
Stress is also reduced when the birds are kept in cabinet cages which have only the
front of the cage in wire. Although, the reason for this might be habit! Most birds
here are only used to that kind of cage. There are very few breeders in Belgium or
The Netherlands who breed them in all wire cages, which is more common in
Southern Europe. Moving birds to a new environment can make them vulnerable to
stress. It will take time and patience (often underestimated) when introducing new
birds to your stock if your breeding aviary or cage setup is very different from the
one the birds were used too. You have to take into account that a first breeding
season with new birds might not be very successful.

The amount of space that is available in the bird room or shed

Since the climate in The Netherlands and Belgium is too cold for the birds to breed in
winter (summer time in their original natural habitat in Australia), most breeders
breed them indoors. As a consequence, you need to change a room in your house
into a bird room or build a shed that can be heated or where you won’t have frost.
Few breeders will breed during the European summer.
It speaks for itself that building a large aviary or a dozen of 2x2x1 flights indoors is
impossible. However, this does not mean that the cages should be so small that the
bird’s health is compromised. I’d say less room or space, means less birds, not
necessarily less room per bird. The bird’s health should be the first concern.
Gouldian finches can be kept in excellent condition using cabinet cages, thousands of
breeders in Europe prove it every day.

Number of cages

Most Gouldian breeders breed their birds to a set standard, even if they do not want
to take their birds to shows. Trying to reach that standard (which takes many years)
you need quite a few breeding cages; about a dozen of cages when you only breed
naturals. When breeding mutations you’ll even need more. The underlying reason is
that the breeder needs to be able to choose which birds to pair up, since certain
features need to bred into your stock.

Taking these factors into consideration, it is generally agreed that the most
favourable or ideal size for a cabinet cage is: 80 cm long, 50 cm high and 40 to 50 cm
deep.
If you can build your cabinet cages yourself, it is wise to use dividers in between the
cages. This way you can have a very small flight or longer cage which is useful for the
few weeks before actually pairing up the birds. Henk Lomulder’s cages ( picture
below) don’t have dividers. The cages are a special brand: Van Keulen cages.
Imagine the walls in between the cages are dividers.
So, except for the cage fronts, the common cabinet cage has solid walls and/or
dividers. The walls can be wood, plastic or trespa (High Pressure Laminate). The most
important thing is that the cages are built from lasting materials which are easy to
clean. The walls of the cages you can buy in shops or from specialised dealers are
white. It is wise to have one or two walls in de a different, less stressful colour like a
soft green or brown; especially if each cage has an individual light source! Because in
that case there is no way the birds can escape from the intense light.

If you can build your own cages, it is best to make the trays deep enough as to
prevent sand or woodchips and seed (husk) from falling on the floor of your bird
room each time the birds land on the floor of the cage. Special white sand,
newspaper, cat litter and wood chips are all used to cover the bottom of the trays.
Especially the wood chips are used more and more.

Special cabinet fronts can be bought, or come with the cages you can buy (see pics).
All fronts are produced as to be able to attach special trays for seed, grit, minerals,
eggshell, or any other food trays to them, as well as tube drinkers; all on the outside
of the cage. A bath can be attached to the wire fronts as well (see picture of bird
room). The fronts also have doors that allow for a nest box entrance. You actually
never even have to go into the cage. Not even for changing the perches, since there
are perches that can be attached to the wire fronts from the outside: twist perches.
For the bird’s sake it is better to have perches of different thickness in the cage. That
way the bird can exercise the tows.

Below are the all wire cages which are used more often in Southern Europe. In
Belgium these are called Italian cages. The cages in the picture are from a Spanish
breeder. When buying fronts or all wire cages, it is better not to choose black ones. I
don’t know if the birds suffer from it, but it is as if the black colour absorbs the light
and makes it harder to see your birds properly.
Pros and cons

Cabinet cages do not allow for much space. This is compensated by keeping the birds
in aviaries or flight for the rest of the season (approximately 7-8 months).

Lack of space would probably prevent some species from exhibiting their full natural
display, especially mating rituals. It is the breeder’s responsibility to know as much
about the wanted species as possible before actually building aviaries or cages. It is
obvious you cannot breed European Skylarks in breeding cages. This is not a problem
for the Gouldian finch. However, birds do need to get accustomed to cabinet cages if
they are not used to them; Gouldians too.

If the cabinet cages are built inside a shed or bird house, birds cannot profit from
direct sunlight which is important for their general health. However, as will be
explained later on, there are lamps who do have UV-output. Also, lack of certain
vitamins because of absence of sunlight can be compensated by providing vitamins.
Birds here are being kept and bred in excellent condition without ever experiencing
direct sunlight; i.e. not behind glass.

Cabinet cages are used in the first place for allowing the breeder to pair up the birds
as he/she wants. There can be several reasons for wanting to isolate pairs: breeding
mutations, prevent inbreeding, improve your stock, breeding to a standard…etc.
Single aviaries can be used for that too of course. Again it will depend on the species
or other pros or cons that are related to one another.

The above mentioned ideal size makes it easy to catch the birds by hand and inspect
them if you suspect something is going wrong. You are then only disturbing that one
pair, and not your whole colony/stock.

It is obvious that keeping an aviary clean - whatever size - is more difficult than doing
the same for cabinet cages. Perches and trays can be changed and cleaned easily.

Birds tend to be or become calmer and docile in cabinet cages, but there are always
exceptions. This does not mean the birds shouldn’t be lively and active!

Nest boxes, whatever way they are attached to the cage are easier to inspect when
attached to a cabinet cage. It is better not to attach a nest box to the back wall of the
cage, since you have to disturb the birds in the cage too much. Nest inspection is
done – but be patient with birds that are new to your stock – nearly every day to get
the birds used to it. In Belgium and The Netherlands birds need to be rung with
personalised aluminium rings to be able to know what year (colour of the ring) the
bird was born, what number it has and which breeder has bred it.
In the bird room/shed

Cabinet cages are only used during the breeding season; approximately 4 -5 months
+ (by some) a few weeks prior to pairing the birds up. The rest of the season birds
are kept in small aviaries or flights (indoor) or larger aviaries (outdoor).
In flights or aviaries they go through the moult and gain strength for the next
breeding season. Males and females are generally separated in that period to be
able to form the pairs to breeder preference. It is not necessary, but it makes it
easier to pair up birds. If you’d choose to have hens and cocks in the same aviary
before pairing them up, pairs might already have formed before you even get a
chance. If this happens, it is sometimes impossible to pair them to another partner.
Also, not all birds are in breeding condition at the same time. So when some birds
might already be pairing up, others are far from that. Below is part of H. Lomulder’s
bird room. (only Gouldians - naturals)

Indoor flights or small aviaries should be at least be about 2 m long, 1 m high and 1
m wide. This should give the birds enough space to train their muscles and develop
to maturity. It would be unwise to put more than 25 birds in such a flight. While the
cabinet cages are indoors (shed, house or special building), quite some breeders
have their moulting aviaries outside, attached to a shed for shelter. Birds can enjoy
direct sunlight that way and can take a nap in the shrubs or shed.
The light fixtures in the bird room are often attached to the ceiling of the room/shed
to light the whole room. More and more breeders however use one light fixture per
cage. This allows the breeder to reduce the amount of energy consumed when not
all cages are used.
Nearly all breeders use fluorescent lamps. Some use special bird fluorescent lamps
with UV output to mimic the sun’s UV. Some breeders use High Frequency fixtures
for their fluorescent lamps, because these prevent the lamps from flickering at a
frequency we cannot perceive, but the birds will,
and which might be disturbing to them. Most
breeders don’t use these fixtures or UV lamps and
seem to have very good breeding results too.

During the breeding season the bird room/shed is

mostly only heated if the temperature drops below
10 °C, although I’ve known breeders that have even
lower temperatures during freezing periods. A
thermostat is used to regulate the temperature.
Some breeders prefer to have the same
temperature all year round at about 18-22 °C. In summer time temperatures will of
course be higher. It is generally agreed that it is healthier not to keep temperature
constant all year round.

Fresh air is even more important than light and temperature. Most breeders have a
special powered ventilation system which takes in air near the floor of the
room/shed and disposes of the used and warmer air higher in the room. A timer is
usually connected to this system to have the air refreshed on a regular basis.

Some people will also use an air washer or a humidifier to have a higher degree of
humidity in the bird room during breeding season. This is done to mimic the original
natural humid environment during breeding season, but also because it is believed
higher humidity will bring the birds into breeding condition. Also, if the humidity
level is too low, it could have impact on the eggs.

Breeding (Gouldians) in cabinet cages

Before the start of the breeding season all cages, perches and trays should be
cleaned, if necessary disinfected. Depending on breeder preference, birds are then
put in the breeding cage; both sexes at the same time, female a few days earlier or
the other way round. It is not advisable to put the birds as pairs directly from the
aviary or flight into the breeding cages. The birds should be given time to get used to
their new environment before having to cope with a new partner as well.

The birds are brought into breeding condition by, first of all, having given them
enough rest and a balanced diet during the non-breeding period. If the birds look
healthy and fit they are put in the cabinets in smaller same sex groups about 3-4
weeks before actually pairing them up. While getting used to their new environment
their diet is made richer and richer and this will trigger the breeding condition. The
speed at which this happens will differ from bird to bird and this should of course be
taken into account when pairing the birds up.
Some breeders will have their birds go through an austerity period before putting
them in the cabinet cages. This is done to mimic the austerity period Gouldian
finches have to cope with in nature. It is only done for 3-4 weeks and few breeders
actually do it. Just as important in that austerity period is lack of bathing possibilities.
Give them baths more frequently those 3-4 weeks they’re in the breeding cages;
before actually pairing them up. The birds should have a bath at least once every
two days.

When the birds are in breeding condition, the birds are paired up as preferred in
single pair cabinets. But, as all Gouldian finch breeders will know, the hens have a lot
to say in that too. If a hen won’t accept a male instantly, she might do so after a few
days or even weeks; especially if your assessment about breeding condition was
wrong. But in general if a hen won’t accept a cock after a few days, it might be better
to give her another mate or separate the two and try again a few weeks later.

I won’t elaborate on the breeding cycle here, since

that is not what this article is about. It isn’t different
for birds in cabinets anyway. The nest is made in a
nest box that is hung in front of the cage, outside.
Some cages, especially the ones you can buy in
shops or with specialized dealers, will have the nest
box inside, but still in the front (see pic). The
advantage of having the nest box outside the cage is
that it leaves more room for the birds and you disturb them less when checking on
the eggs or chicks. As mentioned before, all chicks are rung with a personalised year
ring on day 5 or 6. Most breeders will put a colour ring on the other leg as well to be
able to identify the bird at first sight; that is, what his/her parents are.

When the young flee the nest they are left in the cabinets until they can eat and
drink themselves. This generally takes about three weeks. This three week period is
the most enjoyable. The young can be made very tame and it is a pleasure to be able
to see them growing up at such close distance. They are very inquisitive.
When they are finally weaned they go into the aviaries and flights until the next
breeding season. The young can be moved to other cages as long as the moulting
hasn’t started. When the young are being moved after the moult has already started,
there is a possibility that they won’t fully moult because of the stress they might
have experienced. Birds are never sold until they have fully moulted.

The diet of the birds bred in cabinet cages is not different from that for birds bred in
aviaries. The birds should be given a diet that provides the birds with all necessary
vitamins, amino acids, minerals, etc. Also, there is no reason for giving your birds a
lighter diet in cabinet cages, because these cages are only used during the breeding
period; they give them what they want, as much as they want! (not in the period
prior to pairing them up, although already in cabinets)

As far as I know there are Australian equivalents for what we feed them up here. But
there are two things I have never come across in literature, or when I lived in Cairns
before, were: pink vitamin-mineral powder and clay block or powder. The birds love
to feed on it when they have chicks, especially the pink powder and more so the first
couple of days after hatching. When I lived in Cairns I bought the powder from a
pigeon racer. It is actually sold as a pigeon additive here in Belgium too.

Other finches/birds bred cabinet cages

In Europe bird breeders have over the years succeeded to breed more and more bird
species in cabinet cages. Not only tropical birds, also native birds like red polls,
linnets, goldfinches, chaffinches, bullfinches, etc. The reason breeders have tried to
do this is because there is a widespread tradition of showing birds. If you want to
win you need a lively but calm bird! Birds bred in cabinet cages are generally more
docile and that is much more enjoyable in any case.

Breeding success in cabinet cages will depend - as I mentioned before - on the

species character and feeding habits and the breeder’s knowledge. The size can be
adapted to the different parameters. Also, birds of which it is not expected can get
used to cabinet breeding with patience and persistence if need be and without
stressing the birds. The question is: “Is it necessary and functional?” This will depend
on your reason for breeding the birds and the goals you have set yourself.

More information or pictures of cabinet cage setups

www.sngn.nl with links to other websites! (In Dutch)

www.lomulder.nl

De Gouldamadine, Praktisch handboek voor de gouldamadinekweker. Speciaalclub

Natuurbroed Gouldamadine Nederland, 2008.

Website links
Finch Society of Australia
Clifton Finch Aviaries - Marcus Pollard
Queensland Finch Society
Auspigeonco
Vetafarm
NutriWing
Birds r Us
Finch Family Tree
By Matthew Meischke

What is a finch? An apparently simple question which is surprisingly difficult to

answer. The classification of birds is a source of endless academic debate, most of
which is completely irrelevant to our birdkeeping. However, the consequent
changing of names and classifications can be confusing. In another article, I hope to
address the reasons why the science keeps changing and the names are so often
revised. In this article, I aim to provide a broad overview of the classification of the
birds we call finches.

Because classifications change so quickly, different books or other sources will use a
variety of names, some of which are obsolete and some of which are not universally
supported. In this article I have used the current scientific names after Christidis and
Boles (2008) and HANZAB Volume 7, Part B (2006). If anyone is interested in why a
particular bird has been included or excluded from a particular genus, or how these
decisions are made, I would be delighted to write a case study for next months
newsletter.

In strict scientific terms, a ‘true’ finch is a member of the Fringillidae, a family of

birds including canaries and other northern hemisphere finches. None of our
Australian ‘finches’ are ‘true finches’ by this definition, nor are any munias or
waxbills. Aviculturalists use the term ‘finch’ more broadly, to refer to small birds
with cone-shaped bills that mainly eat seed.

Following recent conversations on the forum about variation within species of

Australian ‘finches’, I thought I might write an article about the differences within
species, but it seems that the relationships between the various species we keep are
not entirely clear to many members. So instead I have written first about how the
different species are related to each other. Here is a simple finch family tree:

‘Finches’

Fringillidae Estrildidae Passeridae Emberizidae

These are the families of birds which include our ‘finches’. Families of birds contain
birds with similar features. For example, emus and cassowaries are members of the
Casuariidae, a group of very large flightless birds with simple feathers and precocious
young. The 10,000 or so species of birds are divided into about 82 families,
depending on who is counting. We shall look at these four finchy families one at a
time, starting with the Estrildidae as this is the family which contains all the
Australian grass finches, the African waxbills and all munias.

Estrildidae

Tribe: Estrildini Tribe: Lonchurini Tribe: Poephilini

African Waxbills Munias/mannikins Australian grassfinches

The family Estrildidae as currently classified contains three tribes as shown above.
The Australian grass finches, or Poephilini, include most of our native ‘finches’; 15
species divided among six genera. Species belonging to the same genus often share
many features of diet, behaviour and husbandry; they often are more likely to
hybridise than more distantly related birds. For example, the genus Poephila
(meaning ‘grass lovers’) contains Longtails, Maskeds and Parson’s finches. These
birds have similar colouring, similar dietary needs, mostly live in Northern Australia
and are monomorphic. They can all interbreed, creating infertile hybrids, and
therefore should not be housed together. The genus Stagonopleura (‘spotty sides’)
contains Diamond, Red-eared and Beautiful Firetails. These birds are largely
granivorous birds of temperate heath and woodland of Southern Australia. The
painted firetail has been deemed sufficiently different to these to warrant its own
genus: Emblema (inlaid mosaic).

The Gouldian finch was in its own genus Chloebia, but has recently been included
with the parrotfinches in the genus Erythura (‘red tail’). As well as the Gouldian and
the blue-face parrot finch, this genus contains all of the nonaustralian parrot finches.
The zebra and double bar comprise the genus Taeniopygia (‘stripey bum’), and again
are birds with similar habitats, diet and behaviour. The last of the Australian grass
finch genera is Neochmia (‘new, phenomenal’), which includes Stars, Redbrows,
Plumheads and Bloods.

The munias, or tribe Lonchurini, is distributed across southern Asia as well as Africa
and Australia. This contains all of the munias/nuns/mannikins we keep including
silverbills, as well as the Java finch and the Pictorella mannikin. They are gregarious
small birds commonly associated with open grassy habitats and are largely
granivorous. Most of these birds are in the genus Lonchura (‘spear-tail’), reflecting
their close relatedness. They are easily able to hybridise and should be housed
separately for this reason. The similar husbandry requirements of the various
munias also reflect their close relatedness. This large genus includes:
- Bengalese aka Society finches
- White-headed, Black-headed and Tricolour nuns
 - Spice finches
- Chestnut-breasted and Yellow-rumped mannikins (our two native Lonchura
species)
- African and Indian silverbills
- Rufous-backed manikins

Pictorellas and, arguably, Javas are slightly less closely related and are unlikely to
hybridise with Lonchura species.

The third and final tribe of the Estrildidae is the waxbills, tribe Estrildini. There are
numerous genera including many species familiar in aviculture. The genus Estrilda
(from which the whole family takes its name) includes the St. Helena waxbill as well
as some which are less commonly kept in Australia including orange-cheeked, swee
and black-headed waxbills. The orange-breasted waxbill is in Amandava with red
and green avadavats, also known as strawberry finches in Australia; these three birds
are closely related and can easily hybridise, so should not be housed together.
Uraeginthus includes some of the most desirable and least common finches kept in
Australia: the purple grenadier and the violet-eared waxbill, as well as the red-
cheeked and blue-capped cordon bleu waxbills. The blue-breasted cordon bleu or
blue waxbill is the fifth Uraeginthus species; this has been lost to Australian
aviculture through hybridisation with red-cheeks and bluecaps.

The genus Lagonosticta contains the many African Firefinches, including the
Ruddies kept in Australian aviaries. Pytilia include the Melba and Aurora finches.
Amongst the many other genera of Estrildini, are Hypargos (including Peter’s
twinspot), Euschistospiza (including Dybowski’s twinspot) and Amadina, which
includes cut-throat and red-headed finches. The Australian name for red-headed
finches, ‘Aberdeens’, is a corruption of ‘Amadin’. The Aberdeens are another bird
which is effectively extinct in Australian aviculture due to hybridisation with a
closely-related species, in this case cutties.

Fringillidae
(Old world finches)

Genus: Fringilla Cardueline finches

Chaffinch, Brambling (many genera)

The family Fringillidae contains the ‘true’ finches. These are northern hemisphere
songbirds, and are usually divided into the cardueline and fringillid groups. Of the
fringillids, only the chaffinch is kept in Australia. The cardueline finches include
many of our aviary inhabitants, including all of the canaries and other serins, siskins,
linnet, greenfinches, goldfinches and redpoll. Green singers (and grey singers) are in
Serinus with the canaries and serins. The family also includes hawfinches,
bullfinches, rose finches and some decidedly unfinchy birds, like the diverse array of
Hawaiian honeycreepers.

The Passeridae are the old-world sparrows, including our feral house sparrows and
the Eurasian tree sparrow. The only old world sparrow held commonly in Australia is
the Golden Song Sparrow.

Emberizidae
(New world sparrows)

Many, many other

genera

Genus: Tiaris Genus: Volatinia Coryphosphingus

(Cuban finches) (Jacarini) (Red-crested finch)

The Emberizidae are the new-world sparrows, and are a huge family containing
over 300 species. Among these are the buntings, tanagers, juncos, towhees and
American sparrows and finches. They are mostly granivorous and build cup-shaped
nests. The Emberizid species of interest to us include the Cuban finch, the Jacarinis
and the red-crested finch. Less common in Australian aviculture are the saffron
finches, cardinals and yellowhammer.

So we can see that the birds we call finches are a diverse bunch. Some knowledge
of their relationships is useful to us as birdkeepers as we can better understand the
housing and husbandry requirements if we know what kind of animal we are looking
after. Next months thrilling instalment will look more briefly at some of the many
bird families which include commonly kept softbills. Until then, happy finching!

Jokers Wild

Overheard in a gym: “I've been on a diet for two weeks and so far all I have lost is my
temper.”

A airline clerk was busy checking passengers in at the airport departures counter
when a man rushed up to the counter, ignoring all the queues.
“I'm on the 8.30 flight” he blurted out “Has it gone?”
The clerk responded “Im sorry sir, that flight has already departed”
“But I'm first class” the man insisted. Doesn't that make a difference?”
“No sir” the clerk replied. “Both classes left at the same time.”

Children certainly brighten up a home....whoever saw a child turn off a light?

No one can make you feel smaller than the repairman who finds out you have been
trying to fix it yourself.

The way some houses are built, the only thing that will last 30 years is the mortgage.