NESTS BOWLS  

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I use a few different types of nest sites for breeding in my shed & Aviary, the one on the left is for British Bird pairs and mule and hybrid pairs where the female is a finch, the standard bowl below is for my canaries and mule pairs where the female is a canary. Finches require a more natural nest bowl but canaries are less fussy and a standard bowl is adequate.  Below I will describe the way to make the nest site on the left and the type of bowl I use for my canaries.

FINCH NEST BASKET

CANARY NEST BOWL

PLASTIC NEST PANS
I use plastic bowls with holes in the bottom for ventilation and a felt liner.  I glue in the liner with 4 dots of silicone sealer and leave overnight to dry. The liner will pull out easily after the breeding cycle, it also pays to spray the liner with a good anti mite spray. Behind the nest bowl I fit a 6"square of plastic tile, between the bowl and the cage, this helps to keep the cage side clean from faeces that the young deposit.
fit a 6"square of linoleum tile with a hole in the middle over the screw in the side of the cage then fit the bowl to keep the cage clean  

FINCH NEST BASKETS

 

To make the Finch nest site I use in my cages you will first need 1 piece of 4mm plywood, 130mm wide by 115mm high, sloped on both sides with a screw slot in the centre top, and 1 piece of 10mm ply, 130mm wide by 100mm deep, drilled with holes in each corner and 2 holes in the centre 30mm apart, then glue and panel pin them together. Then using a standard wicker basket fix the basket by bending the piece of wire that comes with the basket into a u shape, push it through the nest basket and through the 2 centre holes in the base of the wooden frame and twist them from underneath tightly using pliers, then in the 4 corner holes push a small branch of evergreen shrub, the picture on the right is using artificial christmas tree this can be washed and reused year after year,

   

NEST MATERIAL

I use moss from the lawn washed and treated with an anti mite spray and dried, also proprietary pet nest material

 

ALL WIRE NEST SITES

This is another type of nest site that is a favourite of mine both in cage and aviary, these are sold by Wades Cage fronts for bird baths, I take out the plastic bath and replace it with a wicker basket, add some sprigs of artificial Christmas tree and its ready. These baths have hooks front and back so are easy to fix and also easy to lift down when its time to ring the youngsters

The reason I like this type of nest is because it is closed in on all sides and the top so the sitting hen has more protection from an interfering cock or another breeding hen in the same aviary she only has to watch from the front making the sitting hen feel more secure.

This type of nest site can be cheaply made with twill weld but I prefer the plastic coated Bird baths shown

 
 

Young Pastel Chaffinches in the Nest site