# Aviary Animals



## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

I am going to be building a 10ft square aviary in the summer, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on animals I could keep in there. The animals would live outside all year long, and I could build a house type thing attached incase it gets really cold. I am open to any animal, exotic would be nice, but not something too expensive or hard to come across. Something not too noisy as well because of the neighbours. I am used to feeding live food to my bearded dragon, so feeding frozen mice or something would not really be a problem. I would like something that could be handled.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

It really depends on what kinda thing takes your fancy really 

also for exotics you would be looking at a heated area too within the house/inside area


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Chipmunks, Ferrets or birds


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Shell195 said:


> Chipmunks, Ferrets or birds


 

yeah i was gonna say that as 10ft square aint as big as it sounds :lol2:


specially when you put in a large type of indoor house then thats gonna take alot of the floor space up


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## ferretman (May 11, 2008)

Ferrets will do really well in that they are great fun, love to be handled and intresting to watch. Or probabaly chipmunks.


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## africa (Sep 12, 2008)

Definitely ferrets!!:2thumb:


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## Soulwax (Jan 6, 2009)

I'd say ferrets, but hang a bed sheet about half way up, they have a tendancy to climb right to the top and then drop lol


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

The house would be on the outside and would not take up the space. Are chipmunks handleable? I have heard ferrets can bit and get bored very easily. If I were to get ferrets they like to live in groups dont they? How easy is it to keep genets and coatimundis? I would love to have a family of marmosets but would they require a bigger space?


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## vickylolage (Oct 5, 2008)

pish posh you cant let a big enclosure like that be used for ferrets lol (no offence to people) a nice harris hawk or something. Even a pair in that space!


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

All the people I have asked about raptors is that it is not enough space for them. I would like a planted enclosure which would look nice with shrubs and trees. What type of animal would suite something like that?


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## tokay (Mar 13, 2007)

it could be used as a nice outdoor enclosure for a monitor (salvator for example ) if you get nice hot weather in the summer


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> The house would be on the outside and would not take up the space. Are chipmunks handleable? I have heard ferrets can bit and get bored very easily. If I were to get ferrets they like to live in groups dont they? How easy is it to keep genets and coatimundis? I would love to have a family of marmosets but would they require a bigger space?


 
all of them animals would need a larger space than that to live in.............may be okies temps but not forever 

any animal can bite...............even the tamest of pets can bite so wether its a ferret or a coatie then your at risk of being bitten at some point wether it be accidental or an attack


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

well it gets to about 25c in the summer but a couple of days ago it got to -6c and I dnt thnk a monitor would work in that, even if it was in a shed or something. I would like to build something like this but put a piece of plastic or something on the roof so rain did not get in, and had the floor bare like this one but with plants and shrubs and maybe some trees. Would chinchillas work? The floor would probably not get water logged but would get wet so that could be an issue for some animals.


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## Soulwax (Jan 6, 2009)

Shove an elephant in there like the Kleenex advert. Looks like a nice aviary though


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> well it gets to about 25c in the summer but a couple of days ago it got to -6c and I dnt thnk a monitor would work in that, even if it was in a shed or something. I would like to build something like this but put a piece of plastic or something on the roof so rain did not get in, and had the floor bare like this one but with plants and shrubs and maybe some trees. Would chinchillas work? The floor would probably not get water logged but would get wet so that could be an issue for some animals.


 
a point you may have to take on board is digging.............you would be safer to put it on a solid base to prevent that : victory:


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

By solid base you mean like a concrete floor? I was thinking of putting either mesh or concrete under the edges of the aviary if you get what I mean. It will be about 7 or 8ft tall so an animal that would utilize the height would be nice.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> By solid base you mean like a concrete floor? I was thinking of putting either mesh or concrete under the edges of the aviary if you get what I mean. It will be about 7 or 8ft tall so an animal that would utilize the height would be nice.


 
well i cant comment on chins as i have never kept them 

but ferrets or pole cats something along that line would love something like that they use the height too as they like to climb


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

You will need it anchored down on a concrete base or rats will invade it, nice aviary though


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

Kaush said:


> The house would be on the outside and would not take up the space. Are chipmunks handleable? I have heard ferrets can bit and get bored very easily. If I were to get ferrets they like to live in groups dont they? How easy is it to keep genets and coatimundis? I would love to have a family of marmosets but would they require a bigger space?


Coatis and Genets need more room and heating, also the consideration of expensive animals outside where undesirables may get to them.

Marmosets same reasoning as above.

And dear lord i hope that monitor answer was a joke or someone needs a slap.

Chipmunks ssem to be the best option. Have you thought about a small owl if you like raptor, or even something like a parakeet or dove species


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

there aren't any rats where I live but there are a couple of foxes so yer some concrete would be needed. Does anyone have any experience keeping ferrets or polecats outside in something like this all year round? What is the difference between the two,and can someone give me a good site care info. Woul;d they be able to survive in a set up with lots of trees and shrubs, some of which may be tropical, because I dont know if they will chew on the plants or not.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> there aren't any rats where I live but there are a couple of foxes so yer some concrete would be needed. Does anyone have any experience keeping ferrets or polecats outside in something like this all year round? What is the difference between the two,and can someone give me a good site care info. Woul;d they be able to survive in a set up with lots of trees and shrubs, some of which may be tropical, because I dont know if they will chew on the plants or not.


 
try fix an loulou i know they have pole cats so they can help on that one not sure where they house them though in or out 

i know bobbie has a ferret court outside too so she may be able to give you some tips and advice on housing them outside also : victory:


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

it wouldnt be long before rats invade, they find there way if theres feed out somehow or other, even if its after a year or so, they come! haha


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

farmercoope said:


> it wouldnt be long before rats invade, they find there way if theres feed out somehow or other, even if its after a year or so, they come! haha


 

yips thats very true : victory:


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

lol yer the monitor one was funny. A small colony or so of chipmunks would be nice but I have read that they can be quite distant and are not handleable. A pair of little owls would be nice but I cant find any info on them or where I could by one. Could parakeets be kept outside in all year, because they come from the tropics I guess where it rains, but it will be cold when it rains where. Does anyone know where I could by birds of prey in the surrey area, or near and any good websites for info and buying raptors?


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Kaush said:


> I am going to be building a 10ft square aviary in the summer, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on animals I could keep in there. The animals would live outside all year long, and I could build a house type thing attached incase it gets really cold. I am open to any animal, exotic would be nice, but not something too expensive or hard to come across. Something not too noisy as well because of the neighbours. I am used to feeding live food to my bearded dragon, so feeding frozen mice or something would not really be a problem. I would like something that could be handled.


 Are you keeping birds in it too? Will it have shelter? I don't know of any animal which will just live completely exposed to all weathers inclusinding wind, rains and snow. I have a feeling that the new animal welfare laws insist you have a shelter. When you say 'aviary' do you really mean you have space to build an enclosure? As to what animals, do you mean mammals? What gauge wire and how big will the squares be?How tall will it be? Will it be roofed and what will it sit on? On bare earth? (impossible to clean), or concrete or gravel?
What experience do you have with exotics? Do you prefer mammal, bird, fowl or what?
I don't think anyone can really offer any advice based on the fact that you have space for a 10 foot by 10 foot enclosure.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> lol yer the monitor one was funny. A small colony or so of chipmunks would be nice but I have read that they can be quite distant and are not handleable. A pair of little owls would be nice but I cant find any info on them or where I could by one. Could parakeets be kept outside in all year, because they come from the tropics I guess where it rains, but it will be cold when it rains where. Does anyone know where I could by birds of prey in the surrey area, or near and any good websites for info and buying raptors?


 
if i remember rightly im sure that fix has a little owl too could be another species but i think its a lil owl


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

It will be 7ft tall, and has a shed next to it which can be used for shelter. Not sure about roof yet but I am thinking about having a plastic roof so sunlight can get in but rain cannot. The mesh can be as big or as small as needed, and I was thinking of bare earth with plants, but maybe plants with gravel in the areas without plants would be easier to clean, or maybe some form of bark which is safe for animals? As for exotics I have a bearded dragon and have worked with many other exotics like peackocks and a few small marmosets. I dont really have a preference but I would like something that would look nicce in a tropical set up with a lot of plants, but the animal does not necesairliy have to be from the tropics.


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## Bobbie (Jun 25, 2008)

=O my name was mensioned ^_^

hehe, thank you emmaj :2thumb:

yeh i has a court, ive got picks of it up actually..

if you have nothing in the aviary, then get ferts, ferts ferts ferts and more ferts =D


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Kaush said:


> It will be 7ft tall, and has a shed next to it which can be used for shelter. Not sure about roof yet but I am thinking about having a plastic roof so sunlight can get in but rain cannot. The mesh can be as big or as small as needed, and I was thinking of bare earth with plants, but maybe plants with gravel in the areas without plants would be easier to clean, or maybe some form of bark which is safe for animals? As for exotics I have a bearded dragon and have worked with many other exotics like peackocks and a few small marmosets. I dont really have a preference but I would like something that would look nicce in a tropical set up with a lot of plants, but the animal does not necesairliy have to be from the tropics.


is your garden or yard secure ? or is it easy to acess by the public ? 

cos the other thing your going to have to consider is security for which ever animals you do decide on 

there are some pretty heartless people in the world who wouldnt think twice about stealing or harming animals


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Bobbie said:


> =O my name was mensioned ^_^
> 
> hehe, thank you emmaj :2thumb:
> 
> ...


 
your welcome hunni i saw your pics the other day thats why i thought you may be a good person for advice on housing ferrets outside : victory:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Personally I think you need to sit down and think about what sort of animal or bird you would like. Mostly, aviary kept birds and animals are not particularly handleable. Parakeets would be fine in the aviary but again you cannot keep anything in it unless you have a secure structure as a shelter.There is no point in anyone advising anything really since you don't even seem to have a clue about whether you want a mammal or bird. Start thinking less about exotics, as you have zero experience and they cost a lot of money which is a lot to lose if you manage to kill them. If your idea of ferrets is that they bite and you have no idea about how to make such an enclosure safe for them forget about that too. Parakeets won't fit the bill because they are noisy. So perhaps chipmunks, but then, what will you do with all the babies which get bred and nobody wants to buy?
I might have suggested some ornamental pheasants but they are strictly to look at and not handleable. The description of the enclosure is too vague, your lack of any idea as to what takes your fancy is confusing.
I doubt you'd find any marmoset breeder who would be willing to sell you some, and again, a troop of them generally won't be happy to be handled and again, do you have primate experience?
Perhaps forget about the enclosure and get a couple of pet rats to keep indoors which get tame and are handleable?


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## Bobbie (Jun 25, 2008)

Emmaj said:


> your welcome hunni i saw your pics the other day thats why i thought you may be a good person for advice on housing ferrets outside : victory:


absolutly, ask me anything =D


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

Yes my garden is completely secure from anyone. I would like either chipmunks or ferrets, but if the chimpunks had babies could I not keep them in the group? I think I read somewhere that the parents eat the babies sometimes though. Would either ferrets or chipmunks eat any live plants I put in there? If I were to go with birds, would cocketiels be an option?


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## Bobbie (Jun 25, 2008)

Kaush said:


> Yes my garden is completely secure from anyone. I would like either chipmunks or ferrets, but if the chimpunks had babies could I not keep them in the group? I think I read somewhere that the parents eat the babies sometimes though. Would either ferrets or chipmunks eat any live plants I put in there? If I were to go with birds, would cocketiels be an option?


ferrets do tend to eat, well, chew anything.. so its possible they would chew the plants and make them selves sick...

cocks would be a good idea ^_^ i love the cockatiels stunning little birds
not as noisey as budgies either =D


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Bobbie said:


> absolutly, ask me anything =D



Where do flies go in winter?:whistling2:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

fenwoman said:


> Where do flies go in winter?:whistling2:


 
away from my house thank goodness :lol2:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Kaush said:


> Yes my garden is completely secure from anyone. I would like either chipmunks or ferrets, but if the chimpunks had babies could I not keep them in the group? I think I read somewhere that the parents eat the babies sometimes though. Would either ferrets or chipmunks eat any live plants I put in there? If I were to go with birds, would cocketiels be an option?


 Cockatiels can be very noisy and in summer they start making the loudest noise just when the sunrises, at around 4am. Would this bother your neighbours? They would also eat and poop on the plants. You can't keep parakeets in a planted avairy I'm afraid.
If you didn't absolutely have to handle them, howabout a flock of colourful finches? Have a google for Gouldians.
Easy to keep, you won't need strong wire. about inch by half inch 19 gauge will be fine. If you have a bare earth floor you'll need to underwire it. Then put gravel on top so you can run the hose over it to wash all the spilled seed and poo down to the soil underneath. You would also need a safety porch on it if you wanted to keep birds.


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

My idea is to have a house which the animals could go in and out if during the day, but I would shut is during the night so they would be safe and warm at night. Could cocketiels be kept in groups?


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

Yes a group of finches would be nice, and do they sing, or make nicer noises? I know you can mix certain species of finches with others, can gouldians be kept with others, can they survive the cold?


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## Lover (Apr 3, 2007)

all birds are noisy specialy in like 5am!! we had a big group of birds a avairy of them.. lovebirds, budgies,cockatiels and quals the lovebirds were most noisy my wakeup call for highschool they were.. after alot of years and years our love birds got out of control with breeding so we sold the hole lot together as we didnt know who was paired with who at that point. 

i would say ferrets would be nice .. just make sure the outdoor avairy is totaly escapable..ferrets have a thing on escaping right? they can get out of almost anything lol! i supose if they have enough fun food and water and everything they wont desire to try make there way out.

i never been a fan of chipmunks not for me my gran had 2 pairs i never saw them they were to fast or asleep in there hiding bed lol

edit-- i just seen someone say get rats i second that i love them just sit with you watch tele with you and love the company of people and not to hard to
keep like exotics.



another edit- you seem to be jumping from animal to animal.. maybe get something you really want..because once you get one of these avairy pets you may think hang on its not what i expected.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Kaush said:


> My idea is to have a house which the animals could go in and out if during the day, but I would shut is during the night so they would be safe and warm at night. Could cocketiels be kept in groups?


 cockatiels could be kept in same sex groups so you won't have the worry of breeding or egg bound females dying. They come in a nice range of colours too.


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## Lover (Apr 3, 2007)

Can parrots live outside or is it way to cold? im not sure as our cockatoo is inside..


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Kaush said:


> Yes a group of finches would be nice, and do they sing, or make nicer noises? I know you can mix certain species of finches with others, can gouldians be kept with others, can they survive the cold?


 Most finches can cope with the cold just fine. You can even keep canaries and finches together. They do make nice noises. Zebra finches in particular, are active, nice to watch, come in a range of colours and make the sweetest little noises which wouldn't bother even the most sensitive neighbour.
They do however breed prolifically which can be a pain.
They are also fairly cheap to buy, starting at around a fiver per pair upwards depending on colour. You can generally mix finch species together with no problems.
As long as they have a strong wooden shed to get into in bad weather they manage fine with cold. Damp is more likely to kill them. I keep zebra finches in an outside aviary but it does have a big shed attached.
Whatever you do, don't get lovebirds. I dunno why they call them lovebirds as they aren't loving. You cannot mix them with anything else or they simply tear them to bits and if you kept a flock of them togetehr, they also rip each others faces off occasionally or bite a leg off. Don't get me wrong, I like lovebirds. Even have a pair indoors but cried buckets when I kept them in an aviary and came across maimed and mutilated ones.
BTW whatever you decide on, get yourself a nice safe rat bait station to put into the aviary because rats will come for the spilled seed but will also kill the birds and end up digging in, spreading disease and your neighbours definately won't like them.:lol2:


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## Lover (Apr 3, 2007)

all my lovebirds were together unaware of them ripping each other to bits we had different parts in our avairy for the different sorts we had but we got over run with lovebirds which is why they went as a job lot together...we never had a case of them killing each other though..we bought about 10 as a job lot to begin with.. we were not on forums at the time so unaware they could do that aswell.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Lover said:


> Can parrots live outside or is it way to cold? im not sure as our cockatoo is inside..


 What is outside? If you mean in a bare flight as pictured then no, but then nothing much could live in that. My parrots all live outside either in the large aviary block or the large mixed aviary near the back door which houses conures, parakeets, canaries, finches etc.
They cope with cold but not damp as long as they are able to get out of the weather.


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## Lover (Apr 3, 2007)

i meant in a avairy lols.. thats cool didnt know if they could go outside... and there is us with 3 heaters inside the conservatory for our cockatoo lol!! thought he wouldnt cope with the cold so built in the heaters oh and its hard to chew proof things from the cockatoo got these wood covers on them lol! there chewed to bits haha


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

vickylolage said:


> pish posh you cant let a big enclosure like that be used for ferrets lol (no offence to people) a nice harris hawk or something. Even a pair in that space!


Defintely not.
The aviary has plenty of space however:
There is too much exposed mesh
No double door
No solid roof (ever tried getting a harris hawk to get out of the rain when its -2C ? :devil
And Harris Hawks (or any bird of prey for that matter) takes years of preparation, mentoring, reading books etc aswell as the hunting, flying, training, manning, cleaning, feeding, weight management and so on. They are _not_ the "weekend bird" they are made out to be and need alot of fitness training, flying and hunting to get the best out of them.
As for the sugestion of the little owl, I would say no, not for somebody inexperienced with birds of prey. They take imprinting (NOT an easy task!), handling and they're weights are so little they are very difficult to manage. 
I would go with ferrets, they dont bite if handled often and properly, they dont get bored easy if you give them something to do (and there is ALOT of room in that aviary for toys/huts/tunnels etc) and they are easily entertained. They are honestly perfect pets :flrt:


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## adamntitch (Jun 17, 2007)

i would go with fenwomans idea a nice planted averiy with a mixed lot of finchies look them up theres loads to chose from and then you may even be able to have a few quail in there as well and theres some realy nice quails as well and who needs to handle them. it would be great sitting with a cool drink just watching them go about there busy lifes


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

Thanks for the info the finches thing sound realy nice, but I just wanted to throw an idea in. I found a shop which sells civets. Does anyone have any experience of care info on civets? They look really nice and they are omnivorous.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Kaush said:


> Thanks for the info the finches thing sound realy nice, but I just wanted to throw an idea in. I found a shop which sells civets. Does anyone have any experience of care info on civets? They look really nice and they are omnivorous.


 I think you need to speak to Rory or Nerys since you are wanting to keep this kind of exotics. They are exotic animal brokes so will be able to advise you about their care, what sort of enclosure you'll need and if you'll need a DWA licence. Personally I think you'll need something a little more substantial that a small aviary made with 19g wire if you are looking at civets.
I think as I said before, you need to sit down and think about what interests you, then do some googling rather than keep coming up with new questions several times a day. You can't expect anyone to drip feed you the info on caring for every single species which pops into your head. Try googling for them all or go to the TSKA website and looking for info on their.
Why stop at civets? Why not raccoons or ocelots, prairie dogs, coatis, heck why not a puma or Lynx. They are nice and exotic.
I would stay away from billy goats though as you might have some problems.


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

Agree on the billy goat front, I dont keep a billy goat, but it was something i was looking into doing in the next year or two, I was just worried about the tainting of milk thats the reason I dont keep one at the moment, id have sufficient fencing as I use Heras fencing for all my goats, I have plenty and can get more whenever i need really so the fencing wasnt an Issue, and for just one billy goat i'd be able to have just a small 8x6 foot shed or even smaller depending on the breed i decided to have, I agree with alot of people saying dont get one as there too hard to handle and can be dangerous, but I feel if bought up right, not spoiled and not allowed to get away with stuff, and if kept busy and not bored, then i feel they will be ok. Everyone in the Us keeps there own billy goats even if they just have two or three dairy goats, they do fine with the right care! so why cant we.

Like i say, the only reasons i havnt though about getting one sooner and wouldnt be until atleast a couple of years is because not all my goats are breeding age so it would be a ''waste'' of money so to speak if I couldnt get any use out of him. And the tainting of the milk I'd be worried about.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

farmercoope said:


> Agree on the billy goat front, I dont keep a billy goat, but it was something i was looking into doing in the next year or two, I was just worried about the tainting of milk thats the reason I dont keep one at the moment, id have sufficient fencing as I use Heras fencing for all my goats, I have plenty and can get more whenever i need really so the fencing wasnt an Issue, and for just one billy goat i'd be able to have just a small 8x6 foot shed or even smaller depending on the breed i decided to have, I agree with alot of people saying dont get one as there too hard to handle and can be dangerous, but I feel if bought up right, not spoiled and not allowed to get away with stuff, and if kept busy and not bored, then i feel they will be ok. Everyone in the Us keeps there own billy goats even if they just have two or three dairy goats, they do fine with the right care! so why cant we.
> 
> Like i say, the only reasons i havnt though about getting one sooner and wouldnt be until atleast a couple of years is because not all my goats are breeding age so it would be a ''waste'' of money so to speak if I couldnt get any use out of him. And the tainting of the milk I'd be worried about.


 The problem with a billy is that he'll still need space and companionship. Ideally you'll keep 2. I have my Solomon and at present have Willy in with him, however Willy is horned so is destined for the freezer. However, when Willy goes, I'll shove Betty the none breeding female in with him until such a time as I get a little dehorned billy off my breeder friend who gives me all her surplus billies. Her goats are all champion milkers as she now keeps them for milking trials as opposed to show like she used to.
Since we are not a million miles away from each other, you are more than welcome to use my Solomon when the time comes. He is polled so with a bit of luck you will have polled kids. 
If I hadn't got Solomon, I don't think I'd have bothered keeping a billy. Especially not now that AI for goats has a higher success rate than it did 10 years ago. The only reason I kept him is 
A/ because he was out of Clara, my favourite goat
and 
b/ he is polled.
c/ Apart from my friend I didn't know anyone who had a stud billy.

personally I don't particularly mind the taste of billy in the milk and since I only produce for my own use and to rear pigs etc on, it doesn't matter too much.
The only problem with Solomon is that he is related to Louise so when it's time to have her put in kid, I'll have to schlep over to Norwich to use one of my friends boys,


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

fenwoman said:


> The problem with a billy is that he'll still need space and companionship. Ideally you'll keep 2. I have my Solomon and at present have Willy in with him, however Willy is horned so is destined for the freezer. However, when Willy goes, I'll shove Betty the none breeding female in with him until such a time as I get a little dehorned billy off my breeder friend who gives me all her surplus billies. Her goats are all champion milkers as she now keeps them for milking trials as opposed to show like she used to.
> Since we are not a million miles away from each other, you are more than welcome to use my Solomon when the time comes. He is polled so with a bit of luck you will have polled kids.
> If I hadn't got Solomon, I don't think I'd have bothered keeping a billy. Especially not now that AI for goats has a higher success rate than it did 10 years ago. The only reason I kept him is
> A/ because he was out of Clara, my favourite goat
> ...


 
Thanks for that fenny! If i did end up getting one it wouldnt be until end of next year anyway, so basically 2 years, when i will hopefully have 4 milking goats that will need putting in kid, but if i did end up getting one id probably get a wethered billy of either the same/smaller breed.
Ive never tasted billy in milk but I like the smell, just couldnt imagine drinking the smell! haha.


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

fenwoman said:


> Since we are not a million miles away from each other, you are more than welcome to use my Solomon when the time comes.


Thanks alot, It would just be my dad that I'd have to convince to drive me, goat en transit! I might be driving my when the time comes hopefully!! If i really try hard! haha


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## Chance (Jun 14, 2008)

Personally I used to keep Diamond Doves, Zebra finches and cut-throat finches, some bengalese at one point. In an outdoor aviary in Yorkshire and they thrived. The mixture of sizes looked really good too.

They need shelter and heat but they do really well. And you can plant out too! 

The zebras make a buzzing noise which is really cute! 

: victory:


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## trigger (Jan 6, 2009)

I have Love birds, they are blooming noisy and chew. I keep a group of Chipmunks which are fab fun to watch but not really handable. Although might be it they had been HR. DEF don't put a Harris in that. All\owl species can be noisy and if you want to handle any raptor your going to need lots of time, flying ground etc. My Coatis and Raccoons persistantly dig up the plants in their enclousre and they need plently of space. You cannot keep Chinchillas outside. Agree with every one, a nice avairy of mixed small birds would look greart, you coukld have a small water feature and make it really attractive.


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## Kaush (Jan 12, 2009)

Thanks for all the info and advise. I am definately thinking about the finch aviary. Could you take finch to come to your hand with food? Lovebirds are hook bills right, so you can't keep them with finch right? I am also thinking about keeping some ferrets, but does anyone have a list of plants wich are toxic for them, and plants that are safe?


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Kaush said:


> Thanks for all the info and advise. I am definately thinking about the finch aviary. Could you take finch to come to your hand with food? Lovebirds are hook bills right, so you can't keep them with finch right? I am also thinking about keeping some ferrets, but does anyone have a list of plants wich are toxic for them, and plants that are safe?


I would say with ferrets rule out plants. You will either have to put the aviary on concrete or put fine mesh on the floor of it anyway as they will dig for england aswell as vermin. They will chew, shred, dig at and attack plants making them look messy anyway. If you want to leave it on the grass How about digging out the peice of grass you have under it now and plant loads of different grass/hays like orchard grass, timothy grass, wheat grass, oat hay etc, but mesh over the seeds and let the grass grow really long? and then put in tubes, rope ladders, hammocks, huts, forage cup etc and they will be in heaven. If you are set on having a planted aviary (and a nice looking one) then I would say dont go with ferrets.


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## snoopyfrench87 (Apr 27, 2009)

could try jeweled lizards!? - i have four chipmunks so feel free to ask me any questions..


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## bluefront (Nov 9, 2008)

perfect for flying squirrels . ?? [email protected]


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