Cage Sizing for Finches!

In this video I tackle a somewhat controversial subject: cage sizing for finches!
I’m not trying to offend or upset anyone, just trying to educate and inform, especially for people new to the hobby of finch keeping and breeding. Let’s have a respectful discussion in the comments, I want to hear what you have to say!
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[@Jacobggxp4488]

i like the privacy perches, never thought of that.

[@thejayviary]

A good solution to help birds maintain low stress!

[@Gulfcoastexoticpets]

I really enjoy watching my guys climb around and fly. It definitely helps reduce fighting. They can get away and also work off energy.

[@thejayviary]

Yep, the bigger the cage, the better everyone gets along!

[@mollykempson]

thanks for this! I have been keeping a pair of Gouldians for 5 years and just expanded with some males and females I may breed next year, this is really helpful.

[@thejayviary]

Awesome! Welcome to the channel! Always here if you have questions!

[@sassyh154]

Happy Fathers Day Jay, our breeding cages are 3ft x 3ft x 3ft for two finches only... we have Strawberries or red avadavat , Ruddy's or Red-billed Fire Finch, Orange Breasted Waxbills, Cinnamons, Black headed Nuns and the good old Zebra's, the Red and Yellow faced Stars two pair each share a 5ft x 4ft x 2ft cage, oh and one White Bengalese female (the male escaped) and one Jacarina female (male escaped), Pair Rosey Bourkes and a Pair Eclectus Parrots. We also have Budgies that breed like rabbits... lol...one large hexagon aviary for some of the budgies and what seems like hundreds of other sizes of cages 🤣with baby budgies and finches... and we live on a small lot... They rule our lives and we love it... Thanks for sharing...

[@thejayviary]

Yeah! All sounds good! That’s a fun collection! Are you in Australia?

[@Luigi4950]

Nice setup you have good suggestions good work lotta nice bird's. 👍

[@thejayviary]

Thank you!

[@ThePurpleLotus1]

Love this! Space is at a premium in my townhome and I don’t currently have any outdoor options but I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of my birds having free-flight time in my living room. SuperFunBirdyFlyTime, I call it 😂. They’re out of their cages for a couple hours a day, most days. Elliot has been doing really well being cage-free the majority of the time, but might have to change that when his flight feathers come back in. The bourkes are really interesting; their cage is smaller than I’d like for 3, but I didn’t want to have the new little one be off in another cage alone. Tormund and Rhys love their fly time and they get antsy when it’s time to be let out. But they also know where “home” is and will put themselves back in the cage (which is super convenient, it’s not fun to chase them all over the house with a net) when they’re ready to nap or eat. Newton is an odd duck (Bourke) most of the time he’d rather stay in the cage even when the doors are wide open. The cockatiels have a huge cage, and flight time, but most of it the spend Velcroed to me. 😂. My set up definitely wouldn’t work for everyone, especially for families where multiple people are coming and going and opening doors, but it works for us. it helps that I’m home to monitor them and that they’re all gentle species. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a “perfect” set up, but the goal is to provide the most space and enrichment that you can. Nice shirt! Are you a fireman?

[@thejayviary]

Yeah, I know how you manage yours and you do well, hookbills are totally different too! And no, I am not, I just have that tshirt haha

[@ThePurpleLotus1]

@@thejayviary true, they are very different, but the main thing is everyone has the chance to fly and not be crowded. You have lucky birds! Great job!

[@thejayviary]

Thank you!

[@OhanaFeathers]

Aloha from Hawai’i🌺 You brought a great point. As someone who owns both personal pet finches and breeder finches, I agree with the standards you bring up. I have my society finches in a conure habitat cage (32”h x 24”w x 20”d) 1 pair per cage and they’re very happy to be there. Outside of breeding season, the winger to fly in my main aviary and they’re even happier. Mahalo for your information🤙🏽 Happy Father’s Day!

[@thejayviary]

Awesome! Thanks for the confirmation. You’re doing it right!

[@charlesHC]

Hey Jay; I am in the process of redoing my bird room, so am looking around for more information for my new cages. If you don't mind, could you help me understand what you stated around 7:03 to 7:35? You say the holding cage is 4 ft long by 2 feet wide (8 square feet), and that you'd only consider keeping - at most - 2 pairs if breeding, maybe 3 pairs if not. After that, though, you said 1 square yard per pair is the general rule of thumb, and that with this cage size you are just shy of 2 square yards, so six birds is a stretch. But 8 square feet is only 0.8 square yards, right? So wouldn't that make it just shy of 1 square yard, not 2? If the rule of thumb is one pair per square yard, 8 square feet is not even enough for one pair. For one pair, you would want 9 square feet (1 square yard), two pairs you would want 18 square feet, (2 square yards), and for three pairs, 27 square feet (3 square yards). Am I understanding that correctly? I'm just a tad confused by how 8 square feet (0.8 square yards) is good for 2-3 pairs if the rule of thumb is one pair per one square yard. Not meaning to throw a wall of text at you, but I want to fully understand it. I'd appreciate it!

[@thejayviary]

Yes, you’re right. While I am a bird guy, I am not in fact a math guy. For a cage this size, I would only breed one pair, but I might keep 4-6 birds if they were just in holding. I generally try to keep the birds in the largest possible cage. My actual aviary is 100 sqft, but the rule also expands some when you get into larger cages. I have ~ 30 pairs in my big aviary however.

[@charlesHC]

@@thejayviary Alright, thank you very much! My head was going a bit mush there, was doubting if I caught all that. It's a different size philosophy than I have seen in most cases for US breeders - the touted size being 3-4 square feet per pair, of course - so I wanted to make sure I understood that correctly. I know the Aussie guys go even larger than a square yard per pair, while the UK goes a bit smaller than even 4 square feet. I have never kept my birds in tiny cages, usually around 36" x 23" or so per pair, or maybe a few birds. But I had ran into some health issues this past Summer, so I am re-evaluating how I do things, and happened upon you. Thank you for your information, I appreciate it.

[@thejayviary]

Of course! Happy to help. My videos aren’t perfect, and summer is the worst. It’s about 100f here and I often film after a 4-6 hour cleaning of the aviary, so sometimes I’m mush haha.