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So handy-gaians, as i'm sure there's got to be at least one out there, i'm working with...

-10 Gallon Tanksx3 (Which I do not wish to cut apart or obliterate in any way, shape, or form, just add to them)
-Can get Plexiglass (Any shape/size)/aquarium sealant as needed
-Can get most materials/items that people can throw ideas out for rather it be store bought, or better yet, something in the home.

So now that i've said that, here's what I want to do xD
I've got these tanks, and i've got dwarf hamsters. The 3rd 10 gallon tank I decided to throw out there because I actually also have mice, and I think they'd like something neat added to their home as well. Anyhow, I have Robos and Winter Whites in the way of dwarf hamsters.

So, let's hear some ideas out there. Yes i'd like to keep with 10 gallon tanks. I do know that bin cages are great and large but I don't have anywhere to put bin cages right now. But yes, you may throw out ideas with bin cages as well.

Let's see YOUR home made cages! What do you keep in them? ALL Cages welcome, rather it be birds, fuzzy things, reptiles, or even fish!

Here are a few things I found interesting while googling, just thought i'd share these...

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What type of hamsters? I am going to assume it might be drawves (think that is what I have seen from your posts....)

but either way I would maybe suggest getting hard ware cloth and building up...and making a cage topper if you don't wanna buy one. the floor of it can either be wire or use Plexiglas/something solid as the shelving for it.

Bad thing with the store bought ones is the door is on the top... so makes it hard to get into it.

If you want to hook aquariums together you could get tubes and run them cage to cage. (either with normal lids or modifying cage toppers.

I wouldn't do a full Plexiglas unless there were a lot of holes for ventilation. (and I am sure you know that XD)
Yeah xD 3 Winter White Hamsters, 3 Robo Hamsters. (And 4 mice, if I decide on doing anything there)

Let me take pictures briefly and update this thread, should be done within a few moments after this post is made here.

I really HATE store bought cage toppers. We had one set up in the pet shop for a while on a reptile tank, and we had THAT on a desk, and I couldn't reach down into it to get anything out. =/ I disassembled that and sent it back where it came from. xD Not everyone is short like me, though.

But yes, I would like to keep it easy to access. I haven't even thought about building up to be honest!

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looking around I just found an awesome bin cage set up!!!!! (at least for smaller creatures.... that care fine with one lvl.

https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice079sm.jpg

inside:
https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice080sm.jpg

I think using one of the wide ones would be good for making ones like these...

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on cage toppers, yeah I'm 5'8ish... and i couldn't have it sitting on my dresser. I ended up always taking off the topper to get to my gerbils.
Here are 2 Tanks (One is not up as it's in the garage at the moment, I need to buy a screen top to use it)
Winter White Hamster Tank--
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If anyone knows how to get rid of years old duct tape remains, let me know. x__x I mean honestly. That has been on there for years. At least since I was about 10. And that's been a long time ago.

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Old picture of my mouse tank. But roughly the same, just a little different.


My Robos are in a stupidly small regular hamster cage, at the moment. =/ No excuse here, bad ownership, they need transferred, and I will be doing so.
Mistress of Rain
looking around I just found an awesome bin cage set up!!!!! (at least for smaller creatures.... that care fine with one lvl.

https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice079sm.jpg

inside:
https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice080sm.jpg

I think using one of the wide ones would be good for making ones like these...


Holy crap i'm in love with this D: This would be space saving to top it off, and those doubles are pretty cheap to top it off. I'd only worry about chewing, the plastic on those drawers is usually a little shoddy. I know I wouldn't use it for my mice, as I have plastic drawers, mini ones, that I use for hamster food, and a wild mouse ate through a drawer at my old house...xDD

Besides that, on the cage topper thing, i'm 4'11"....xD So nothing works out for me. There's a ladder in the pet shop that I have to tote around with me for all sorts of things. I even use a broom to get things off the top shelves when i'm restocking...xDD

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Morphine Kiss
Here are 2 Tanks (One is not up as it's in the garage at the moment, I need to buy a screen top to use it)
Winter White Hamster Tank--
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

If anyone knows how to get rid of years old duct tape remains, let me know. x__x I mean honestly. That has been on there for years. At least since I was about 10. And that's been a long time ago.

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.
Old picture of my mouse tank. But roughly the same, just a little different.


My Robos are in a stupidly small regular hamster cage, at the moment. =/ No excuse here, bad ownership, they need transferred, and I will be doing so.


Ugh, so off-topic, but in the picture of your mouse tank...I have the same flash light as you! It's one of those shake-them-to-power-them type things.

I have two homemade cages myself (for birds), and one on the way as well as a DIY aviary in planning. The pictures I have of the homemade cages aren't very recent though, so tomorrow I'll take some new pictures.

Also, just curious, how do you store your small animal foods? Some people refrigerate theirs.
I'm just wondering for the sake of how to store my bird seed- wondering if it would be better if I refrigerated it. At the moment I store it in opaque, closed coffee cans.

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looking around I just found an awesome bin cage set up!!!!! (at least for smaller creatures.... that care fine with one lvl.

https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice079sm.jpg

inside:
https://sites.google.com/a/srr-rescue.org/www/mice080sm.jpg

I think using one of the wide ones would be good for making ones like these...


Holy crap i'm in love with this D: This would be space saving to top it off, and those doubles are pretty cheap to top it off. I'd only worry about chewing, the plastic on those drawers is usually a little shoddy. I know I wouldn't use it for my mice, as I have plastic drawers, mini ones, that I use for hamster food, and a wild mouse ate through a drawer at my old house...xDD

Besides that, on the cage topper thing, i'm 4'11"....xD So nothing works out for me. There's a ladder in the pet shop that I have to tote around with me for all sorts of things. I even use a broom to get things off the top shelves when i'm restocking...xDD


I think I would end up spending a little extra to get the ones that were a little better. smile

But yeah I fell in love with them too. also most bin cages I see for hamsters are from people that get bins that are almost as small as store bought cages and it makes me sad.

hehe. But hey it could be worse!
Moth Feathers
Morphine Kiss
Here are 2 Tanks (One is not up as it's in the garage at the moment, I need to buy a screen top to use it)
Winter White Hamster Tank--
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

If anyone knows how to get rid of years old duct tape remains, let me know. x__x I mean honestly. That has been on there for years. At least since I was about 10. And that's been a long time ago.

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.
Old picture of my mouse tank. But roughly the same, just a little different.


My Robos are in a stupidly small regular hamster cage, at the moment. =/ No excuse here, bad ownership, they need transferred, and I will be doing so.


Ugh, so off-topic, but in the picture of your mouse tank...I have the same flash light as you! It's one of those shake-them-to-power-them type things.

I have two homemade cages myself (for birds), and one on the way as well as a DIY aviary in planning. The pictures I have of the homemade cages aren't very recent though, so tomorrow I'll take some new pictures.

Also, just curious, how do you store your small animal foods? Some people refrigerate theirs.
I'm just wondering for the sake of how to store my bird seed- wondering if it would be better if I refrigerated it. At the moment I store it in opaque, closed coffee cans.


Haha, the shake em up lights are the best thing ever invented. They aren't all-powerful but they're perfect for just about anything i've needed them for. My Dad bought us a bunch a couple Christmases ago, at the time I was like "umm...Okay?" But now i'm like "Thank you, Dad!"

I can't wait to see pictures of the bird cages! Do you keep your finches in them only, or have you made some for your Budgies?

Just took a pic, of how I store current food. By current food I mean, what's in current use?
That hamster food thing will last about a month, the Chinchilla food lasts...2 or 3 months, Rabbit food lasts a couple weeks, Rat food lasts about a month.

But, that isn't all I have in the house. xD I actually keep most of my pet food in a giant tote out in the Garage, in the winter. Sealed Tote. Sealed bags, too. I buy 25-50 lbs of food at a time depending on the animal. So, in the summer at my parent's old house I use to keep things in the deep freeze, sealed of course. I'm not sure what i'll do this summer, we don't have a deep freeze here. I mean once I move I can put the deep freeze in our new place hopefully.

I think, if you aren't having any problems with bugs infesting or getting in you should be fine, but if you're worried you can keep it in the freezer. =3 Keeps everything out, just like with Flour.
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I know, I need to seriously clean..xD Things are labeled, for my husband. xD
Mistress of Rain


I think I would end up spending a little extra to get the ones that were a little better. smile

But yeah I fell in love with them too. also most bin cages I see for hamsters are from people that get bins that are almost as small as store bought cages and it makes me sad.

hehe. But hey it could be worse!

Are there any links with details on how they made the screen stick? It looks to me like it's stuck on there with Aquarium sealant, really. Or clear caulking.

And oh I know! Or they get the really tall bins that prove pointless to the animal as it can't climb the sides. xD

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I think I would end up spending a little extra to get the ones that were a little better. smile

But yeah I fell in love with them too. also most bin cages I see for hamsters are from people that get bins that are almost as small as store bought cages and it makes me sad.

hehe. But hey it could be worse!

Are there any links with details on how they made the screen stick? It looks to me like it's stuck on there with Aquarium sealant, really. Or clear caulking.

And oh I know! Or they get the really tall bins that prove pointless to the animal as it can't climb the sides. xD


many that i see is liek this one with washers and short screw/bolts... and over lapping enough that the animal can't get to the plastic to chew. though did come across a fancier one.

http://www.azayles.co.uk/BinCage/060.jpg

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr328/mandahamsters/MYTHIC HAMS/CAGES etc/stuff006.jpg

edit: but yeah in the drawers it looked like aquarium sealant... I don't really like the sealant since I know Jethro can easily dig it up.... i'm sure he would of broken the 10 gallon i had if he kept his corner digging..... it needed to be resealed because of him.

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Morphine Kiss
Moth Feathers
Morphine Kiss
Here are 2 Tanks (One is not up as it's in the garage at the moment, I need to buy a screen top to use it)
Winter White Hamster Tank--
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

If anyone knows how to get rid of years old duct tape remains, let me know. x__x I mean honestly. That has been on there for years. At least since I was about 10. And that's been a long time ago.

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.
Old picture of my mouse tank. But roughly the same, just a little different.


My Robos are in a stupidly small regular hamster cage, at the moment. =/ No excuse here, bad ownership, they need transferred, and I will be doing so.


Ugh, so off-topic, but in the picture of your mouse tank...I have the same flash light as you! It's one of those shake-them-to-power-them type things.

I have two homemade cages myself (for birds), and one on the way as well as a DIY aviary in planning. The pictures I have of the homemade cages aren't very recent though, so tomorrow I'll take some new pictures.

Also, just curious, how do you store your small animal foods? Some people refrigerate theirs.
I'm just wondering for the sake of how to store my bird seed- wondering if it would be better if I refrigerated it. At the moment I store it in opaque, closed coffee cans.


Haha, the shake em up lights are the best thing ever invented. They aren't all-powerful but they're perfect for just about anything i've needed them for. My Dad bought us a bunch a couple Christmases ago, at the time I was like "umm...Okay?" But now i'm like "Thank you, Dad!"

I can't wait to see pictures of the bird cages! Do you keep your finches in them only, or have you made some for your Budgies?

Just took a pic, of how I store current food. By current food I mean, what's in current use?
That hamster food thing will last about a month, the Chinchilla food lasts...2 or 3 months, Rabbit food lasts a couple weeks, Rat food lasts about a month.

But, that isn't all I have in the house. xD I actually keep most of my pet food in a giant tote out in the Garage, in the winter. Sealed Tote. Sealed bags, too. I buy 25-50 lbs of food at a time depending on the animal. So, in the summer at my parent's old house I use to keep things in the deep freeze, sealed of course. I'm not sure what i'll do this summer, we don't have a deep freeze here. I mean once I move I can put the deep freeze in our new place hopefully.

I think, if you aren't having any problems with bugs infesting or getting in you should be fine, but if you're worried you can keep it in the freezer. =3 Keeps everything out, just like with Flour.
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.
I know, I need to seriously clean..xD Things are labeled, for my husband. xD


I only keep finches in the PVC cages, since they're such nondestructive little fellows that it's fine for them. Budgies...I've seen pictures of them in PVC cages, but I used to be concerned with the possibility of them chewing out and wouldn't recommend PVC cages for them. But after owning Parsley and seeing her chewing habits, I'm actually not that resistant to the idea. She really doesn't chew all that much, just mostly 'beaks' and couldn't really do all that much damage, and if she had a buddy (which I will be getting her eventually), she would chew even less, since she wouldn't be so bored. Birds do so much better in pairs.
But I don't think she'll ever be in a PVC cage. The plastic hardware cloth is not very kind to certain things such as heavy perches. I have my Prevue flight I'll move her in once the finchies currently inhabiting that have been moved.

I have some pictures, they're just sort of old and things have changed since then. And they're all pretty bad pictures, I've gotten more experience with the camera since then. xD

Here's the girl's cage, the day I put them in it.
Another picture of it.
Sorry for the pictures being so darn bright. I have no clue what I was thinking.

The girl's cage is 30 inches wide, 36 long, and 40 tall. I took some of the chairs we had in the dining room, had the backs removed, and the cage sits on that.
It looks pretty nice in the pictures but structure-wise it was a total flop (though at least it's a spacious flop and the birds don't care, and when people come in and see the cage they think "Wow!" despite the problems). I was really rushed when I was building it and did a poor job. I've had at least four escapes (and I built the cage in like, March), have /many/ areas I've had to patch up due to gaps, and the front is actually bowed because of poor planning, which then makes the front doors all wonky. Making that cage was soo much more complex than my first PVC cage. You learn exponentially with each cage you build, it's really a learning curve.
I've pretty much fixed what I can (no escapees since patching it up really nice), but it still has issues that could never be resolved unless I reduced it to a pile of pipes and hardware cloth.
That's why I'm excited to build my next one, which is using the same exact plans as the first cage, but this time I'll take my time and know how to modify it so it ends up nicer.

Here's Cheep and Squeak's cage. It had to be taken at an angle because of all the other cages in the room being in the way. xD My bird room is getting packed now. It was my first PVC cage. Its simplicity is what has saved me, and I've never had escapees or any problems with it, though there's a lot I still dislike about it. Like I said, it's really a learning curve.

Tomorrow the pictures should be better, though.

I don't have any issues with seed moths or anything, but I was wondering if refrigerating the seed would help conserve more of the nutritional content or something along those lines.
I googled it once and there were websites that said "never refrigerate seed!", but gave no reasons for it, so I was like "whatever".
I like your organization system for your feed storage! It's pretty cool. So, every day you go back there and get the food out, or do you have some sort of temporary thing that you store the food in?
For mine, I have seed in 'longterm storage', which is in the coffee cans, but I also have some short term seed storage, which is just where I get the seed for that day's feeding. It's a small mug on the bird room table that has enough seed in it to last a week. I just have a small scooper and for every day feeding take seed out of the mug, then when the mug empties once a week or so, I go to the coffee cans and fill it back up again. It's just to keep the coffee cans opened as little as possible, which I assume helps it last longer. It's also less time consuming, heh.
Moth Feathers

I only keep finches in the PVC cages, since they're such nondestructive little fellows that it's fine for them. Budgies...I've seen pictures of them in PVC cages, but I used to be concerned with the possibility of them chewing out and wouldn't recommend PVC cages for them. But after owning Parsley and seeing her chewing habits, I'm actually not that resistant to the idea. She really doesn't chew all that much, just mostly 'beaks' and couldn't really do all that much damage, and if she had a buddy (which I will be getting her eventually), she would chew even less, since she wouldn't be so bored. Birds do so much better in pairs.
But I don't think she'll ever be in a PVC cage. The plastic hardware cloth is not very kind to certain things such as heavy perches. I have my Prevue flight I'll move her in once the finchies currently inhabiting that have been moved.

I have some pictures, they're just sort of old and things have changed since then. And they're all pretty bad pictures, I've gotten more experience with the camera since then. xD

Here's the girl's cage, the day I put them in it.
Another picture of it.
Sorry for the pictures being so darn bright. I have no clue what I was thinking.

The girl's cage is 30 inches wide, 36 long, and 40 tall. I took some of the chairs we had in the dining room, had the backs removed, and the cage sits on that.
It looks pretty nice in the pictures but structure-wise it was a total flop (though at least it's a spacious flop and the birds don't care, and when people come in and see the cage they think "Wow!" despite the problems). I was really rushed when I was building it and did a poor job. I've had at least four escapes (and I built the cage in like, March), have /many/ areas I've had to patch up due to gaps, and the front is actually bowed because of poor planning, which then makes the front doors all wonky. Making that cage was soo much more complex than my first PVC cage. You learn exponentially with each cage you build, it's really a learning curve.
I've pretty much fixed what I can (no escapees since patching it up really nice), but it still has issues that could never be resolved unless I reduced it to a pile of pipes and hardware cloth.
That's why I'm excited to build my next one, which is using the same exact plans as the first cage, but this time I'll take my time and know how to modify it so it ends up nicer.

Here's Cheep and Squeak's cage. It had to be taken at an angle because of all the other cages in the room being in the way. xD My bird room is getting packed now. It was my first PVC cage. Its simplicity is what has saved me, and I've never had escapees or any problems with it, though there's a lot I still dislike about it. Like I said, it's really a learning curve.

Tomorrow the pictures should be better, though.

I don't have any issues with seed moths or anything, but I was wondering if refrigerating the seed would help conserve more of the nutritional content or something along those lines.
I googled it once and there were websites that said "never refrigerate seed!", but gave no reasons for it, so I was like "whatever".
I like your organization system for your feed storage! It's pretty cool. So, every day you go back there and get the food out, or do you have some sort of temporary thing that you store the food in?
For mine, I have seed in 'longterm storage', which is in the coffee cans, but I also have some short term seed storage, which is just where I get the seed for that day's feeding. It's a small mug on the bird room table that has enough seed in it to last a week. I just have a small scooper and for every day feeding take seed out of the mug, then when the mug empties once a week or so, I go to the coffee cans and fill it back up again. It's just to keep the coffee cans opened as little as possible, which I assume helps it last longer. It's also less time consuming, heh.


I love how natural those cages are, truly, truly, very much, love them. Do you keep male and female finches separated? (If so, why? I actually don't know anything about finches to be honest)

But seriously those cages are great. I can't wait to see updated pictures. If I ever did get into birds, i'm more than sure i'd want to go for a look a lot like that.

Do finches bond to humans like say, a budgie would? They seem so small and fragile.

The things as shown that are labeled, are my temporary food bins. Which, the time lengths mentioned are how long food stays in them. It's fairly air tight so I have no problems with anything getting in or anything going stale. The actual bags I get last soo long. My 25 lb chinchilla bag, I got last August, and it's still not really even dented. xD

I'd say, more than anything, if seed can go stale, I would keep it in the freezer. Though I have hamster seed, and I haven't had any problems with it. I'm not sure if nutrition could dissipate but i'm sure that if it could, it'd be if it went stale. And i'll assume hamster seed is very similar, while not the same thing of course. I know that sunflower seeds however, easily go stale. And black oil sunflower seeds as well.

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Moth Feathers

I only keep finches in the PVC cages, since they're such nondestructive little fellows that it's fine for them. Budgies...I've seen pictures of them in PVC cages, but I used to be concerned with the possibility of them chewing out and wouldn't recommend PVC cages for them. But after owning Parsley and seeing her chewing habits, I'm actually not that resistant to the idea. She really doesn't chew all that much, just mostly 'beaks' and couldn't really do all that much damage, and if she had a buddy (which I will be getting her eventually), she would chew even less, since she wouldn't be so bored. Birds do so much better in pairs.
But I don't think she'll ever be in a PVC cage. The plastic hardware cloth is not very kind to certain things such as heavy perches. I have my Prevue flight I'll move her in once the finchies currently inhabiting that have been moved.

I have some pictures, they're just sort of old and things have changed since then. And they're all pretty bad pictures, I've gotten more experience with the camera since then. xD

Here's the girl's cage, the day I put them in it.
Another picture of it.
Sorry for the pictures being so darn bright. I have no clue what I was thinking.

The girl's cage is 30 inches wide, 36 long, and 40 tall. I took some of the chairs we had in the dining room, had the backs removed, and the cage sits on that.
It looks pretty nice in the pictures but structure-wise it was a total flop (though at least it's a spacious flop and the birds don't care, and when people come in and see the cage they think "Wow!" despite the problems). I was really rushed when I was building it and did a poor job. I've had at least four escapes (and I built the cage in like, March), have /many/ areas I've had to patch up due to gaps, and the front is actually bowed because of poor planning, which then makes the front doors all wonky. Making that cage was soo much more complex than my first PVC cage. You learn exponentially with each cage you build, it's really a learning curve.
I've pretty much fixed what I can (no escapees since patching it up really nice), but it still has issues that could never be resolved unless I reduced it to a pile of pipes and hardware cloth.
That's why I'm excited to build my next one, which is using the same exact plans as the first cage, but this time I'll take my time and know how to modify it so it ends up nicer.

Here's Cheep and Squeak's cage. It had to be taken at an angle because of all the other cages in the room being in the way. xD My bird room is getting packed now. It was my first PVC cage. Its simplicity is what has saved me, and I've never had escapees or any problems with it, though there's a lot I still dislike about it. Like I said, it's really a learning curve.

Tomorrow the pictures should be better, though.

I don't have any issues with seed moths or anything, but I was wondering if refrigerating the seed would help conserve more of the nutritional content or something along those lines.
I googled it once and there were websites that said "never refrigerate seed!", but gave no reasons for it, so I was like "whatever".
I like your organization system for your feed storage! It's pretty cool. So, every day you go back there and get the food out, or do you have some sort of temporary thing that you store the food in?
For mine, I have seed in 'longterm storage', which is in the coffee cans, but I also have some short term seed storage, which is just where I get the seed for that day's feeding. It's a small mug on the bird room table that has enough seed in it to last a week. I just have a small scooper and for every day feeding take seed out of the mug, then when the mug empties once a week or so, I go to the coffee cans and fill it back up again. It's just to keep the coffee cans opened as little as possible, which I assume helps it last longer. It's also less time consuming, heh.


I love how natural those cages are, truly, truly, very much, love them. Do you keep male and female finches separated? (If so, why? I actually don't know anything about finches to be honest)

But seriously those cages are great. I can't wait to see updated pictures. If I ever did get into birds, i'm more than sure i'd want to go for a look a lot like that.

Do finches bond to humans like say, a budgie would? They seem so small and fragile.

The things as shown that are labeled, are my temporary food bins. Which, the time lengths mentioned are how long food stays in them. It's fairly air tight so I have no problems with anything getting in or anything going stale. The actual bags I get last soo long. My 25 lb chinchilla bag, I got last August, and it's still not really even dented. xD

I'd say, more than anything, if seed can go stale, I would keep it in the freezer. Though I have hamster seed, and I haven't had any problems with it. I'm not sure if nutrition could dissipate but i'm sure that if it could, it'd be if it went stale. And i'll assume hamster seed is very similar, while not the same thing of course. I know that sunflower seeds however, easily go stale. And black oil sunflower seeds as well.


I keep my males and females separated, yes. I honestly consider it a must-have if you're dealing with Zebras and Societies. Zebra finches (the species I have) are the kind of birds that will try to raise babies in the food dish, they just breed so easily. As I am highly, highly opposed to accidental breeding in birds (since, unlike mammals, it's entirely 100 percent preventable), I keep mine segregated. Even if one was to take precautions to prevent the birds from raising young (such as replacing the fertile eggs with dummy eggs), why bother putting that sort of stress on them in the first place? When females lay eggs, they are literally taking /calcium from their bones/. Keeping the genders together is like one big "breeding" stimulus, and it's really not good to support because the hens /will/ lay eggs, and that's just so hard on their bodies. So I keep them segregated to prevent any breeding.
Even with my genders segregated, the males still get a bit breeding-happy. xD For example, Cheep, one of my boys, currently has a 'nest' of sorts made out of wilted greens and shredded newspaper that sits on top of a fern. Never gave him any nesting material, he made do with what was in the cage.
But a lot of people don't keep their genders segregated. Whatever. There's also a lot of people who also don't give their finches plants for mental enrichment- but I do, because I consider them much more than mindless automata and they need something to do.

For other species beside Zebras (and to a lesser extent Societies), it's really not necessary to keep the genders segregated (and in many species it's nearly impossible to, since they aren't visually sexed) since in those species preventing breeding is as easy as not giving the birds any nest or nesting material.

Aw, thanks for the compliments! I love having plants and such in the cages too. When I build my aviary, it's going to be even better...I'm thinking of having like, /real/ plants, plus like a shallow bird bath in there and a 'wild bird feeder' for their feed, and maybe whatever other things I could find. The bigger the cage, the more fun you can have with it...sort of like with aquariums, where the bigger the tank the bigger/more exotic species you can put into it.

Yeah, finches definitely are small. After owning them for so long I tend to not notice it, but whenever I have to handle them I definitely notice how just itty-bitty they are. Part of the reason I love them so!
No, they don't really bond to humans at all. In fact, they're deathly afraid of humans, and they wouldn't even care if they never saw a human ever again.
Granted, you do get a sort of 'relationship' with them. After a while they learn that you aren't going to try to catch them or anything, and will get fairly close when I'm doing cage maintenance and such. Generally the bigger the environment the more tame they become too- for example, it's not uncommon for finches in aviaries to land on top of your head or your arm. In my cages, even though they may be considered relatively large compared to what some people put birds in, my finches would never dream of doing that. xD

Some people who let their finches out of the cage to fly around also develop more of a relationship to them (such as the birds landing on their hand). You see a lot of videos of that on Youtube. But like I said earlier, it's more of the size of the environment than anything else- birds in big enclosures become much more tame and nice.

Hey, you feed lab blocks/pellet-type things for some of your critters, don't you?
I was wondering if you ever find molasses as one of the ingredients in small mammal pellets, and if you do, is it much of a concern or is it something that you want to stay away from?

I was reading on a budgie forum about some people who gave their birds guinea pig pellets for the fiber/alfalfa in it. It's nothing new, I've heard of racing pigeon breeders doing the same thing. But, the pellets often have molasses in them, so I was wondering if that's bad or good? I also think other pellets beside guinea pig pellets (such as rat blocks, maybe) might have molasses in them too. I know you don't know if it's good or bad for birds, I'm just asking about if it's bad for small mammals.

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