FINCHforum

How many minutes/hours does it take to catch a Finch?

Answer: I don't know...I am still trying....argh!

And this is just IN the flight cage...not an escapee....for goodness sakes....how DO you catch those little Mach 1 Jets!!! I tried covering up the cage to make it dark but they still escape me. Is there some other trick or method to catch'em?

I gave up for today....

Too bad you can't use smoke like they do to calm the bees down. Maybe I need a smoke...but I don't smoke....next best thing....Chocolate....Mmmmm!

The last time I had to catch a finch, I used a large aquarium net. I waited till the bird was clinging to the side, brought up the net, and popped it right over her. It surprised me that it was actually pretty easy.

Like the last post said, a net can work wonders, but my bird net is large and not for use in a cage. I have smaller cages for now (although I am planning to buy a cage almost just like yours tomorrow, SO excited!) and if I can get them in a corner and/or under a perch sometimes I can grab them easily.

When they get out of the cage and in the apartment I just chase them until they are too tired to move too quickly for me and I either get them with a net, but more often than not they get themselves into a small corner and I just grab 'em. Or when he's home, my husband just grabs them mid flight, which is amazing to me.

I bought a huge butterfly net to catch any finch escapees I may have. I didn't fee comfortable using a small net because I didn't want the finch to make a sudden move and get caught under the net rimming and get hurt. Though in tight quarters like a cage or something, I much prefer, and am much better at, catching them by hand.

I've actually never caught any of my finches using the butterfly net, even though I have it. Even when I've had finches get loose into big areas, I somehow can catch them better with just my hands. Probably just me though. The nets there if I need it.

I have a large net for catching escapees around the house, and a small one with a short handle for larger cages. I just make sure to be gentle, which means it takes a little longer sometimes. Small cages I can just catch them by hand.

You can also try letting them out and turning down the lights and then using a towel to throw over them and then stick your hand under it and grab them. I'm pretty quick with my hands, I also have a large net. I think it takes time to catch them over and over again to get better at it.

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess my hands just aren't fast enough....yet! But I might try the net in the cage as I do have a smallish finch net (still in the bag yet).

I guess I am afraid of smashing them or hurting them since they are so tiny. I am used to catching my lovebirds parakeets but they are slowww compared to the finches.

They are just getting used to me now and when I put my hands in the cage to change out water and seed they don't even fly around much....I suppose they will be scared of me after all this.

Beccafigs...can't wait to see your new cage! And I may need to borrow your Hubby to help catch the Finches...lol!

I've found that it has taken practice. I am so sure that I'm going to hurt the finches that I've been too tentative about catching them.

When I'm going in after a specific finch in my one group of fifteen I will put my hand in the cage and open my fingers fairly wide. I wait for the finches to stop flying about and then will swoop in on the one that I want.

I can usually get the finch I want in two or three tries. Be a little careful not to panic the birds too much. They can drop dead from exhaustion or fear.

I trap them when they get a little worn out and land in a corner or on the floor of the cage. But I think its better to be just a bit more aggressive rather than chasing them around for an hour, because I'd be worried about them getting stressed (imagine their little hearts pounding from the fright). I had a rare escape just two days ago: I didn't panic, thought about retrieving my net (which is still in a wrapper in a closet), but the little guy flew 12 foot up to a corner of the ceiling then turned around and flew right onto my chest. I took him gently and put him back in his cage. I wonder whether he flew back because he recognized that I was his keeper or just rebounded out of the corner. Hmmm. Anyway, just be gentle but don't be afraid of moving in and taking them in a very, very light but closed grip.

I bought a red headed parrot finch and was (stupidly) showing my sister (outdoors) and I heard a little fliffle of feathers, felt a puff of wind past my elbow and poof! it was out of the box. I saw it land on the side of a cockatile cage and I told my sister, quick, we have exactly ONE chance to catch this bird! I went and got the garden hose and set the dial to shower and turned it up pretty high, and handed it to my sister and eased up to within six feet of the bird and said "SPRAY IT!" and the second she sprayed it it got wet and fluttered against the cage and was confused for a second and I jumped in there and grabbed it before it fell. It was no worse for the wear, and right now I have four fertile eggs from her being fostered under societies. YAY! these will be my first RHPF babies. They will be split to pied. I know a garden hose is not much help in the house, just thought i would share in case anyone ever makes the same dumb mistake, or one gets out with the front door open or something.

a suggestion for the original poster... you might try building a "trap" inside the flight and put the food and water in it. depending on the size of your flight, you might have room for a little standard cage. Put their food and water in there and leave the big door open until they get the hang of it, then when they are comfortable, make them use a little door, which you can rig to stay open and trip it to trap whatever bird you need to handle for whatever reason. Probably ten times faster and only one hundredth as stressful for it and the other birds in the flight.

FeatherHarp, have you tried removing the perches in the flight cage? Depending on the size of the cage, I found it easy to catch the birds by hand if I remove the perches; with no high place to sit they eventually sit on the ground or against the side of the cage making it much easier the catch them

If anyone is still reading this post... I haven't caught my finches much at all prefering not to stress them out too much but I have been told by people that know better to not chase them for more than 3 minutes at a time for stress reasons (so if you haven't caught it by then, give it a rest for a while so it settles down) and also a net with lots of padding around the hard edges. In a cage might be different with a net but if you are trying to catch them while flying around the room the last thing you want is to knock the poor thing out! I do find that its easy once they are a bit tired but not too much stress is the key! I have to say, the people who do it often make it look so easy!!

It's funny to see this question posted. I needed to move my male out of the cage today because he was picking on his Mrs.

I took the cage into the bathroom, dark of course. I left the bathroom door open just a crack so that I could just barely make out the birds. Put my hand in and got him first try. I just think the trick is - make sure they don't see you coming.

)

Christine

I use my big aquarium net to catch my zebra finches. One time all four of mine got out the cage when i was cleaning it and they all flew up to the ceiling fan, that was turned off ofcourse, and they flew around the room and all i did was put the net in the air and eventually i was able to catch each one as they tried to fly pass me.