“L” brackets are fastened to each side of the nest box with tiny screws and in turn to the outside of the box cage so that the opening to the nest is centered about 1 ½” below the underside of the lid. A hole with 1 ½” diameter is drilled into the box cage panel where the nest box is to be mounted. Alternatively, a hinge can be added but is really unnecessary. The lid, with the addition of a small handle, will simply be placed on top and will sit square by adding small retaining strips of wood on the inside face of the lid. The sections, with the exception of the lid, can now be glued and nailed together to form a 5-sided cube with one side mostly open and the top completely open. Because the opening to the nest from the cage is through a plywood panel, the only front to the nest box that is required is a strip with a dimension of 7 ¼” by ¾” connecting the two gables at the very top. Cut a piece with the dimensions of 7 ¼” by 8″ for the back and a piece 7-1/4″ by 7-5/8″ for the bottom panel. Using a table or radial saw cut two pieces of plywood of 8″ by 8″ for the two gable ends. You will need a section of 3/8″ G2S fir plywood about 16″ by 24″ in size to complete the project. Variations of this nest box that can be mounted to cage wire can also be easily built. I am also assuming that the nest will be mounted on a solid panel of a box cage or aviary. Since an outside mount is the preferred setup, the instructions that follow are based on that premise. The construction of the box is dictated by the eventual location for mounting. There are some dangers to overly large boxes also in that occasionally the clutch of eggs is split into two and some of the eggs may end up not being properly incubated. Some of the smaller boxes available commercially are not suitable as when they are stuffed with nesting materials by the parents there is insufficient space inside. Box dimensions will vary between species but an 8″ cubed overall size seems to be a good average. If plywood must be used, as is normally the case, then it may be wise to seal the box, inside and out, with a good quality plastic enamel paint. If plank wood is available that is the ideal material for this project so as to minimize the risk of toxic gases emitted by plywood glues. The advantage of a nest box is that it is very easy to construct and clean and it can be mounted outside the cage or aviary for easy access. It is important to obtain as much information as possible, about the species we are trying to breed, so that we may emulate their nesting environment as closely as we can.Ĭavity nesters such as the Gouldian Finch are perhaps the easiest finches to accommodate in that they are quite happy in a nest box. There are however some generalities we can make. I suppose we could say that are as many types of nests as there are species of finches and we could take it even further and note that there are preferences from one pair to another within a species.
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