Richard Prosser's housing

My pairs are in a variety of cages - all more double breeder size (two shown on the right)

Richard had his pairs in normal single cages.   Numerous unpaired birds were kept in 5' cages

The pair that has bred so far is in a double breeder with a large bob-hole connection to a single breeder with a screened front

This set-up is a throw back from Pin-tailed Parrot finch breeding so these birds could escape from me and feel secure

Richard didn't have this and it is noticeable that his birds became more secretive and less friendly in my set-up

 
large cage for a pair of Lavender finche
large cage for a pair of Lavender finche

 

Cage or aviary is your choice.  I prefer flights

 

Some articles report 2 to 3 pairs occupying the same territory in the wild, even when breeding

This is somewhat hard to reconcile with the aggression that can be seen with more than one pair in a flight

In the wild the territory is invariably larger than the space available in even a quite large aviary

One pair per enclosure is not recommended

A minor problem is that feather-plucking is common even with a few birds in a large cage.  It can even occur between pairs housed singly

The main danger is birds living peaceably in a cage suddenly begin serious fighting when a pair forms and they decide to nest

At this stage I don't know what is best ie cage, flights or aviary, but who can argue with Richard's cage breeding results

Personally, I agree with those who report Lavenders being active and needing space

They look so much more interesting, and interested, when in flights


 

Temperature & Lighting

Termperature is less controversial.  No lower than 15°C/ 60°F, ideally minimum of 18°C - 20°C/ 70°F , for breeding

Light should be at least 12 hours a day (mine is 14), from full spectrum fluorescent tubes

Link here to Arcadia for explanation of the benefits of their Bird Lamps/ tubes

These tubes also bring out the Lavender's colour nicely but need to be replaced annually

Ideally electronic ballast flicker-free fluorescent battens (~ 20,000cps)


 
Richard Prosser's housing

My pairs are in a variety of cages - all more double breeder size (two shown on the right)

Richard had his pairs in normal single cages.   Numerous unpaired birds were kept in 5' cages

The pair that has bred so far is in a double breeder with a large bob-hole connection to a single breeder with a screened front

This set-up is a throw back from Pin-tailed Parrot finch breeding so these birds could escape from me and feel secure

 
 
large cage for a pair of Lavender finche

Richard didn't have this and it is noticeable that his birds became more secretive and less friendly in my set-up


 

Cage or aviary is your choice. I prefer flights

Some articles report 2 to 3 pairs occupying the same territory in the wild, even when breeding

This is somewhat hard to reconcile with the aggression that can be seen with more than one pair in a flight

In the wild the territory is invariably larger than the space available in even a quite large aviary

One pair per enclosure is not recommended

A minor problem is that feather-plucking is common even with a few birds in a large cage.  It can even occur between pairs housed singly

The main danger is birds living peaceably in a cage suddenly begin serious fighting when a pair forms and they decide to nest

At this stage I don't know what is best ie cage, flights or aviary, but who can argue with Richard's cage breeding results

Personally, I agree with those who report Lavenders being active and needing space

They look so much more interesting, and interested, when in flights


 

Temperature & Lighting

Termperature is less controversial.  No lower than 15°C/ 60°F, ideally minimum of 18°C - 20°C/ 70°F , for breeding

Light should be at least 12 hours a day (mine is 14), from full spectrum fluorescent tubes

Link here to Arcadia for explanation of the benefits of their Bird Lamps/ tubes

These tubes also bring out the Lavender's colour nicely

They need to be replaced annually

Ideally electronic ballast flicker-free fluorescent battens (~ 20,000cps)


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