Lady Gouldian Finches | Housing

Meadowlark Farms

Lady Gouldian Finches - Accessories

FOOD DISHES

PERCHES

Healthy feet make for happy birds! Foot problems can be a real issue. Improper perch sizes can lead to overgrown nails,
calluses, and deformed feet. These issues can cause your bird to act sick even though it is his feet bugging him. I had to
learn this the hard way when I was first starting out and using only the same size, too thin, smooth perches!

If you use hardwood perches, be sure to select those that are appropriate for your birds size and give them a good sanding
with a heavy grit sandpaper to rough them up a bit.

Food and water dishes, perches, nesting supplies, and other equipment can be expensive.
Follow these tips to help you decide what to buy and where!

Food dishes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They may be plastic, ceramic, or stainless steel.
When you are first starting out, the task of choosing the appropriate dishes can be daunting! But it's
really not a difficult thing to decide. To make things easier, many retailers will sell cages that come
complete with a couple of perches and food dishes. These food dishes are usually ample for a pair of
birds, but you may decide - after watching your birds - that they need additional dishes in order to keep
the foodstuff clean, and to be able to offer a variety of foods.

I use a combination of all of the dishes pictured at the left, and keep
multiples of each type. I use the plastic dishes that come with the
cages for seed and grit. I use ceramic for live insects and egg food,
and stainless steel for fresh fruits and vegetables. I also use
smaller, shallow seed cups for treats like Niger seed and powdered
supplements. (My kids made the ceramic bowls!)

I will also use shallow aluminum pie pans for seed. These larger
pans allow the birds to feed as a flock. I never use them for wet
foods, however. While it's never been said anywhere and I certainly
can't prove it, I am always worried that the aluminum will be
absorbed into the wetter foods. I just don't like to take chances with
my "babies"!

WATERING DEVICES

As with food dishes, watering devices also come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are plastic and glass in a variety of
sizes and for a variety of needs.

The picture at the right shows the variety of water bottles I use on a regular basis.
The blue and white bottles are my favorite for every day use. They are easy to
clean, easy to attach to the cage, and easy to use with medications. I have at
least a dozen of each. I use these short water bottles for daily water. I know
exactly how much they hold (4.2 oz, and 4 oz, respectively) and can administer
meds directly into the bottles. When I use these smaller bottles, I am able to
medicate when necessary, knowing that my birds will get ALL of the medication! A
single pair of birds will empty one of these short bottles in a day. I can then mix
fresh meds and administer them until the course of treatment is over. The only
drawback is that I MUST replace them every single day. However, it does force me
to wash them more frequently as I can only support 12 of my cages for two days
with my favorite bottles. Because I have more than 12 cages, I wash bottles daily.

The picture on the left only shows a mere fraction of the perches I use for my
birds. At the time of this photo, many were in the dishwasher or in my many
cages, however, this photo will give you some ideas for the variety of perches
you can use. You may also choose to add sand, cement, or natural branch
perches to their cage.

I like to use majestic palm branches. The palm has an interesting texture and
gives both young and adult birds something to pick at, play with, chew on, and
hide in while exercising their feet and leg muscles. I find that using palm
branches also forces the birds to learn to maneuver better while flying. They
get very proficient at ducking through the branches as they traverse their large
flight cage.

Another good natural perch source are fruit trees. It is important that branches
be cleaned and scraped of any wild bird droppings and feathers. The branches
should not have been sprayed with pesticides, and they should be of varying
sizes.

The tall bottle in the tan holder is an aviary feeder. I use this bottle when I go out of town for more than a few days. I add Aviclens solution, or
another anti-bacterial, to the water to keep it clean enough to drink. I have 5 of These particular bottles. They will water approximately 25 birds for
a week. The drawback is that they are difficult to clean. They do not come clean in the dishwasher and must be washed by hand.

The soda bottle is sitting on a dispenser. If you use one of these dispensers to water your birds, be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN it does not contain
zinc or lead. Zinc and lead poisoning is one of the biggest killers of pet birds. If you don't know if the device contains lead or zinc DON'T BUY IT!
My dispensers are made of stainless steel.

The tube feeders on the right are perfect for multiple birds. While it has been said that they keep the water cleaner, I have found this to be untrue.
My birds love to bathe from the drip. I also find bits of food in the water that travels up when the bird drinks. These bottles, while convenient if
you'll be away from home, take some time for the birds to learn how to use and are a pain in the patooty to clean! If you don't have the right tools
for the job, you may make your birds sick if the bottles and/or tubes are not completely clean before using them.

Using fruit tree branches ensures your bird will not be poisoned if they eat the wood or bark (again, as long as it hasn't been sprayed with
pesticides). While most experienced bird keepers will tell you to strip the branches of leaves, I find that leaving them on - after a few precautions -
gives the birds something more interesting in their cage.

When I use natural branches, I wash the leaves and branch parts with warm soapy water. I then rinse thoroughly and allow to dry in the sun. After
inspecting the branches for bird droppings and/or feathers, I spray the entire thing with a bird-safe external parasite spray (like Pestex or Scalex).
After the spray dries, I place the branches in the cages. My birds love them!

TOYS

Uh...no. Finches don't need toys. Toys merely clutter up the cage and use up valuable flying space. If you choose to put toys in their
cage, be certain they are lead and zinc free (such as bell clappers). If you give them natural branches, they will be kept busy for hours!

That's all I have to say about that!

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

The optional equipment list is just that...optional. Needing the items on this list really depends on how you plan to use your birds,
whether as pets, or as breeders for profit. See the Optional Equipment page for a full list of my recommended optional equipment.

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