New with birds need advice

[star]

Hi i am new to the forum and to birds. Ihave some societies some owls a canary and want to get some gouldians.

My first question is on nail clipping. I am terrified to clip nails, what happens if they do not get clipped? I will not use sandpaper for perches. I read that it can make the birds feet feel like what a paper cut would be.

My second question is on cage cleaning. I clean my cages with the birds in them. I can not imagine having to catch each bird first. Does anyone else do this? The cages are 30 in long 18 wide and 36 tall. The birds fly back and forth while I clean. Would it be more stressful to the bids one way or the other? The canary doesn't care. He even sings while I clean his cage!

MY third question is on night lights. Do finches need nightlights? I
cover all the cages at night and turn off all lights.

My fourth question is on finch seed. Where can I buy very good quality finch seed? If I were to make my own blend what would I put in it and where would I get good quality single seeds?

My next 100 questions will be posted later!

Thank you to all who can help!

[ac12]

I have some birds that seem to wear down their claws/nails, and others that don't. I need to clip some of my birds claws or they will just get too long and curl around. There are other types of maintenance perches that have a smooth top so their foot pad won't be abraded. For example this one:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=15079

I clean the cages w the birds in them. I have some cages where I slide in a divider, so I can clean one side w/o the birds in it. Then I pull out the divider and shoo the birds to the other side, slide in the divider and clean the other half of the cage. Other cages I clean w the birds in the cage.

I use night lights. The birds will sometimes flutter about at night, and the nightlight helps them find their way back to a perch.

Finch seeds can be EXPENSIVE to ship any distance. So it depends on where you live. If you go to a bird show/mart you can get the seeds there w/o having to deal w shipping costs.

[poohbear]

A night light is sensible to avoid panic in say a thunderstorm.And my favourite advice to any newcomer...for heavens sake buy cages with a divider fitted it avoids a hell of a lot of stress for the birds.These UK cages are simply made and avoid the birds going mad during cleaning or checking a nest.

[B CAMP]

Welcome to the forum ,if you fill in your profile with where you live it makes it a lot easier to answer questions sometimes ,have you checked out the finch information center there is a lot of good reading there
http://www.finchinfo.com/index.php
I think most do use a night light of some kind,I use the real small xmas lights hanging on the back of the cages,as for cleaning I would not catch up my birds to clean,try to stand so you block the door they won't escape as bad

[Nagdabit]

We do not cover cages either, just have a small light on the floor that provides a little bit of visibility, but not so much that it interferes with their sleeping habits.

We do clean the cages with birds in them as well. Generally just wipe everything down with white vinegar. One of my favorite tips that someone gave us (can not even begin to remember who) is that if you're worried about birds escaping while working in a cage with the door open is to clothes pin a hand towel or the like over the entrance. It'll drape down and cover the entrance without hindering your movements while you're working. That little tidbit has helped to significantly cut back on all of our escapees.

Since we have a an extra cage or two there are sometimes I'll just clean one up and just transfer everyone over to the new cage. Usually use this tactic when we're switching birds / couples around. Putting everyone in a new environment cuts down on the territorial fighting.

As for perches and nails, really haven't had too much of a problem with our Zebras. They're pretty good about keeping after their own pedicures. Usually give them a nice mix of natural perches (salvaged from our back yard) and concrete. That way if the rough surface of the concrete perch bothers their feet they have the option of going elsewhere.