Electricity is laid on in the aviary. Lights come on at 6:00 in the morning and go off at 08:00.
The lights come on at 17:00 in the afternoon and go off at 21:00. The lights are on an automatic
timer and the times remain the same all year round. Red night lights are used to provide
light during the night in case of night fright. Plugs are available for the radio and vacuum cleaner.

Radio and Vacuum cleaner

The aviary has a radio which is switched on when the aviary is opened in the morning and is
switched off when the aviary is closed at night. This is mainly used to make the birds used to
different sounds so that they are more relaxed at shows. A vacuum cleaner is used to clean
the breeding area daily and used to clean the flights once a week when the aviary is cleaned.

Seed

We use a seed mix from AviPlus called Seed for Small Seed Eaters.
Various seed are soaked and left to germinate. This is mixed with the AviPlus seed.
The AviPlus seed is first soaked in water for about 20 minutes then washed until
the water runs clear.
Vegatables are provided regularly from our garden or purchased.
The seed mixture and vegatables are fed in the morning and late afternoon.

Softfood

No softfood is fed as the seed mix is sufficient.

Supplementary feed

Calcium and grit is always available in the flights as well as in the breeding cages. These are
replenished weekly. A locally made grit, consisting of iodine, shell, charcoal, etc, is fed.
Iodine blocks are also always available and made using Gert Pieters recipe.

Water

Water is replaced daily and all water holders are cleaned.
Water is taken straight from the water purifier.

Additives

Probiotic is added to the water as per program.