The Great Escape!

[Sojourner]

Last night I lost one of my Bengalese finches (eggbound, by the time I figured it out, she was gone), so while I was out today I stopped at a couple of pet stores to begin considerations for a new friend for the remaining finch. I was not planning to bring home another bird yet so I didn't take the travel cage with me.

Apparently the person in charge of birds - for a change, someone who actually DOES know a thing or two about birds - was reassured enough by the way I was watching the birds (in order to evaluate temperament, and maybe make a guess about gender) that she thought I would be a good "bird mom" to a little fawn Bengalese who had been getting beat up by every other bird in the store and had had all her tail feathers pulled out. So she offered that bird to me for a free adoption. She is alert, bright, active - and small even for a society.

Unfortunately it turns out I am not such a good bird mom after all, because she is now loose and hiding in my bedroom. She got out of the cardboard box past my wrist and is hiding somewhere in the room and neither I nor my son can find her. Obviously I should have tried this in my son's bathroom where there is nothing but a toilet and the toilet paper roll.

I have had birds get loose before but they've always fluttered up to a nearby perch and sat there and jeered at me. This one has totally disappeared.

Right now I have the travel cage in there with the door propped open and food and water in the seed cups. She is actually hiding somewhere. Plus, we have cats. I'm feeling some urgency here. The door is closed to that room - but it's still a terrible accident waiting to happen.

What else can I do to bring her out of hiding and get her safely ensconced in the quarantine cage? Now I wish I had just put the whole box in the other cage and skipped quarantine altogether, she's essentially been in quarantine for almost 4 months anyway.

I am a bad bad bird mom. I kill them, then I lose them.

[lovezebs]

Sojourner

Bring your other Societie in with his cage. Leave him in there with a light on, and the door closed. She'll hear him and come out.

You're not a bad bird mama. We have all lost birds. We have also all had birds pull a disappearing act.

[Sojourner]

OK, that was embarrassing. I already caught her.

I got the idea to play finch song in hopes she might answer back, which both she and my little white one did immediately. I finally found her on the floor between some shelves. She isn't flying well (no tail feathers) so she wasn't getting more than a foot or two off the ground, which did tend to make things easier.

After carefully removing all obstacles, with breaks for dashing back to my laptop and starting the finch song video every time it hit the end, I was able to scoop her up in a (buttonless zipperless hanging-thread-less) silk shirt and get her into the travel/quarantine cage.

I have high hopes that these guys will get along once she comes out of quarantine. I mean, its about time for something to go right. I hope.

@lovezebs, thanks for the kind words. I've lost so many pets over the years and it always feels like there should have been something more I could have done. I've about come to the conclusion that the only "safe" pets for me are fish. I cannot recall ever actually weeping over a fish the way I do cats, dogs, and now, apparently, teeny little birds.

[lovezebs]

Sojourner

Glad you found your tailless little girl (I have one of those too at the moment, lol. Tried to catch her a couple of days ago, caught the tail, bird flew away ). These guys, can drop their tails at a drop of a hat. The first time this happened to one of my Socies, it almost gave me a heart attack. Luckily, their tails grow back very quickly with a good diet.

As to your other Socie liking this new one . I haven't met a Society yet, who doesn't like (LOVE) another Society.

We all lose our beloved pets at some point or another. It never gets easier, but that's the price we have to pay, for the joy of having them in our lives. We do our best, to give them the best life that we can, and that at least can offer some sollace and consolation at times of sorrow and loss.

[Sally]

Sojourner You're not a bad bird mom, we've all had this type accident/loose bird from time to time. My latest was when I was going to a bird show. Show cages packed in the back seat, I was on my way. I didn't know that one of the birds had gotten out of its show cage, and when I opened the door to my truck, out flew the bird, never to be seen again. Glad you found your new little adoptee!

[Babs _Owner]

Sojourner

Oh hun, dont feel bad. This weekend I had one of my birdies fly straight out of the birdroom, through the baby gate that keeps the dogs out, into the hallway where my dog's mouth quickly intercepted it. Thankfully the dog spit out the bird on command the bird is ok......but it could have been much worse.

These little guys are fast and can wiz right by your head with you barely seeing it, even when you are being diligent in making sure they dont get out.

I have a regular finch named KoJax that loves to sneak by me while cage cleaning and about twice a month he flies out (I know he does it on purpose).

He flies back and forth from cage to cage making fun of me trying to catch him, until he tires of the game. Then he sit atop his cage that has his buddies and "allows" me to put him back.

[Spreckles]

I feel so much better. i love to hear that everyone has the struggles I have. You brought up a good point she has been in quarantine for 4 months so does she need more? Just wondering????? I am new so it's a real question

[Sojourner]

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. It was not the best week ever, but I'm feeling better now.

@Spreckles, I've decided that she doesn't need a full quarantine, but to be on the "safe" side I have them on opposite sides of the room so they can see and hear each other. The little white one has been so sad and utterly silent since her pal died. She huddles up on a perch by herself and hasn't been eating that well.

They both perked right up once they were in the same room. I can hear them talking to each other off and on since I put them in the same room this morning.

I'm going to go ahead and get my "real" finch cage (the Prevue double-breeder, on the stand) and when it comes, I'll put them both in the new cage. Hence, hopefully, no territorial difficulties. Just in case.

Although I am seriously considering turning one shelf of my wire shelves into a cage via the use of window screen and a handmade refuse tray. I'm probably too lazy to get around to that anytime soon, though, LOL! Still - 4L x 2W x 2.5H is a pretty darn good bird cage for the cost of some window screen, plastic, and misc odds and ends to fasten things to the shelves and poles. Sounds like a pretty darn good deal. Except for the required sweat equity, of course.

If I'm going to cry over them when they die, I suppose I ought to go ahead and name them. Not naming them certainly had no effect on the eventual waterworks.

BTW, cats are permanently excluded from whatever room the birds are currently in. While they were in my bedroom (awaiting dissipation of fumes from rehanging a door - the lubricant for the hinges was pretty smelly) the cats were unhappy about being shut out. However they are used to being shut out of the spare bedroom where the birds were residing before (and again now). Nobody goes in there except me, so no worries about somebody forgetting to close the door. Plus sometime soon - 6 or 8 months - I'll be moving into my own place again (now that my health allows for it) and there will be no critters other than the birds then. So a window screen birdcage should be fine, but really the Prevue is the more likely option at this point in time.

[lovezebs]

Sojourner

Glad that the great escape culminated in an even greater capture.

Just a quick word of caution, window screen is a no go when it comes to finches. As I recall, it a good way to end up with birds with broken legs, dislocated toes, and ripped out nails (possibly dead birds).

There is some other stuff which people use for flight building, but can't think what it's called right off, but it will come to me.

I notice that you mentioned a worry regarding possible "territorial difficulties". We are talking Society Finches, are we not? The odds of such problems arrising with two Societies are extremely slim .

[Sojourner]

lovezebs - I shouldn't have said window screen, but game netting. It is commonly used to build aviaries so it ought to do for a (largish) cage.

But as I said I am unlikely to get around to anything like that anytime soon. It would be too much of a hassle to disassemble, move, and then try to reassemble, even if I had the time to rig it up right now.

It is always a risk (fighting-wise) to introduce new birds into an existing habitat. Even societies can be territorial. Given that I tend to select birds that are in trouble (just like all my cats and dogs have been strays), these are birds that have already been challenged, so I don't like to risk additional challenges.

The little brown bird who died was the buddy of my remaining little white bird - but the little white bird was being picked on by the other birds in the cage and had feathers pulled. The little brown one had also obviously been in the midst of some conflict as her tail feathers were all scraggly and damaged. And the current little fawn bird has no tail feathers at all - all signs of aggression from other society finches.

I'm sure that crowding in the cages at the store has something to do with it, as well as the constant comings and goings and kids tapping on the glass and all the other stuff that goes along with being trapped behind glass in a mega-pet-store. I think birds are always going to be more stressed in a commercial environment, which will affect their behavior.

Its true that the odds are that the average Bengalese is likely to be much more pacific than the average zebra - but there are individuals of both species that don't conform to the averages. Since I want the better cage anyway, it seems to me this is the perfect time to get it - and then introduce BOTH birds at the same time. I like hedging my bets, LOL!

[lovezebs]

Sojourner

A bigger flight is always better, no argument there .

Enjoy your birdies.