Anyone in Florida or the south keep society finches outside all year?

[FloridaSal]

Hi
I am interested in society finches , I am in S.Florida where we can get the rare winter nights of low 50s . I would like to build an aviary for society finches but bit worried about chilly nights .

Does anyone house finches outside all year long long?


Thank you

Sal

 

[Rosa moschata]

I don't myself (yet...I plan to move to south Florida in a few years and set up planted outdoor aviaries with finches and other birds), however I did some internet searching for you. If you can provide an area free of drafts (for example by covering in plastic for Winter, or having 1/3 of the aviary with solid walls and some sort of "skylight" roof to allow light), I think they'll be fine even without heat.



http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10313

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5100

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/miami-fl/TGONCFP60ACMR16V0

 

[FloridaSal]

Thank you very much those links are a big help.


I plan to put the aviary against the house in the screened porch under a canvas awning but now also going to put in 2 solid sides and will cover it cooler nights.

This winter we have has like 2 weeks now of nights in 50s even high 40s a few nights and though during day it went back up to 70s , this is still cold.


It is back to normal now with nights in 60s .

I plan on society and zebra or just java rice .

 

[Audio51]

Thank you very much those links are a big help.


I plan to put the aviary against the house in the screened porch under a canvas awning but now also going to put in 2 solid sides and will cover it cooler nights.

This winter we have has like 2 weeks now of nights in 50s even high 40s a few nights and though during day it went back up to 70s , this is still cold.


It is back to normal now with nights in 60s .

I plan on society and zebra or just java rice .

I live in Northern California and keep Gouldian Finches in outside flights all winter. They have an unwarranted (in my opinion) reputation of being "delicate". We have had night in the upper teens and they all did fine. As previously mentioned it is very important that they have a place to get out of rain and wind. Either a small building they can go in and out of or some sort of covering over the wage wires. I have polycarbonate panels on mine that go on in the fall and come off in the spring. They have a roof over them all year. I also offer a heat lamp in a reflector fixture over a perch in the flight so they can warm themselves as needed. The will use it on cool mornings but never sleep under it. The most vital part of keeping them outdoors though is acclimating them. If they come from a place where they were kept indoors or you don't know what they are used to, then I recommend starting them out in the late spring so they can get used to the cooler night temperatures without a sudden extreme change. Overwintering requires at least 8 weeks or so outside so they can gradually get used to the temperatures getting cooler and cooler. I wouls also recommend 1/4" hardware cloth for your flights. It will keep snakes, rats and other vermin out.

 

[Curtiejlee]

I know a lady that keeps zebra finches, gouldians, sugar gliders, button quail, and an orange wing amazon parrot in outdoor aviaries year round here in Eastern Washington. The key is acclimation, thawed water, a lot of food, and a place to get out of the wind. It gets into the negative teens, and this year, twenties here during the winter. Your birds will thrive in southern Florida no problem at all. The water won't even freeze! I don't think they'll really even need acclimation.

 

[FloridaSal]

I know a lady that keeps zebra finches, gouldians, sugar gliders, button quail, and an orange wing amazon parrot in outdoor aviaries year round here in Eastern Washington. The key is acclimation, thawed water, a lot of food, and a place to get out of the wind. It gets into the negative teens, and this year, twenties here during the winter. Your birds will thrive in southern Florida no problem at all. The water won't even freeze! I don't think they'll really even need acclimation.

Wow that is cold , imagine she has a heat source and perhaps aviary connected to a shed, etc.

Funny you mentioned Gliders because a friend has 1 M , 2 F outside all year long but he has parrot type breeding boxes for them with towels, etc inside . In reality they are out every night .

The coldest we saw this year was one night in mid 50s but during day it went back up , now we are back to 80s day 70s nights. N.Florida gets chillier.

I started building the aviary , So far so good . Going to make it bit bigger than I had planned.

Thanks for the info

 

[FloridaSal]

I live in Northern California and keep Gouldian Finches in outside flights all winter. They have an unwarranted (in my opinion) reputation of being "delicate". We have had night in the upper teens and they all did fine. As previously mentioned it is very important that they have a place to get out of rain and wind. Either a small building they can go in and out of or some sort of covering over the wage wires. I have polycarbonate panels on mine that go on in the fall and come off in the spring. They have a roof over them all year. I also offer a heat lamp in a reflector fixture over a perch in the flight so they can warm themselves as needed. The will use it on cool mornings but never sleep under it. The most vital part of keeping them outdoors though is acclimating them. If they come from a place where they were kept indoors or you don't know what they are used to, then I recommend starting them out in the late spring so they can get used to the cooler night temperatures without a sudden extreme change. Overwintering requires at least 8 weeks or so outside so they can gradually get used to the temperatures getting cooler and cooler. I wouls also recommend 1/4" hardware cloth for your flights. It will keep snakes, rats and other vermin out.

" 1/4" hardware cloth for your flights"

Thanks that is what I am using and using reinforced . Some time ago I was at a friends house by Grassy keys and saw a monster of a rat in her yard (she has chickens and aviary with love birds ), I actually took a double take because I thought it was a solid brown opossum .

As far as acclimating I intend to acquire them come late April , Winter here seems to be over but either way the aviary is only 70% finished and still want to paint it so April looks good .

Thanks again.

 

[Audio51]

~~Grassy KeyQuote: April should be perfect!

 

[asher]

I met a guy last week that keeps green singers in an outside aviary all year long. The sides are hardware cloth. No coverings or anything like that. They looked brilliant and he said he hasn't had any issues.

This was near Charlotte, NC.

 

[nature123]

I live in Orlando and have an outdoor aviary with about 20 different species of finches. They are outdoors year round. On the occasional cold nights, I merely plug in a few heat lights (like the one used in a bathroom). I have never lost a finch. My aviary was built around my pond is about 400 square feet. You should be fine.