FINCHforum

Tragically, my 3 zebra finches (an adult pair and 1 female about 2 months old) escaped while I was moving the cage outside to hose it off and give it a good cleaning. The bottom popped on the cage and in an instant, all 3 birds flew away like bullets.

I live in a suburb of Los Angeles and was curious as to the probability of their survival out in the open on their own.

Fortunately for them you live in a warm climate. My sis-in-law once had a zeb escape in the same manner, but it was doomed, as we live in the midwest.

I'm curious to hear what Crystal and others think about the birds chances of survival. I personally feel it is 50/50.

Let this serve as an example for everyone... DO NOT clean your cages outside with the birds still in it.

I have no real experience tracking captive finches released to the wild, but some species seem to do pretty well for themselves when they escape. Zebra finches are pretty hardy, and if they are able to find a source of food and water, they at least have a shot.

Of course there are many, many things which could hinder their survival from bad weather to hawks and cats to coccidia and pseudomonas.

I'm also curious to hear about others' opinions/experiences with this situation.

If you were to place a feeder outside in the area the birds escaped, I wonder if the zebs would find it. I've read about keepers having a bird escape an aviary and then the bird hang around the area before eventually disappearing.

I hate to think of those birds trying to fend for themselves out in the big bad world.

I gave my neighbor a pair of zebras and one escaped in October of 2004. I live in the mid-Atlantic. The next spring I went out side to feed my bird in the aviary and thought I had left the aviary open when I saw a zebra on the fence. On closer look I noticed it was a pied and I no longer had pied in my flock. My neighbor was too upset to tell me what happened initially but when I said I had re-captured (I left a seed bowl in the safety open nad it flew right in and I quickly closed the safety door) what I thought was a bird that I had given him, he then told me his nephew had open the cage and he open the kitchen door not knowing the bird was out. This bird survived a rather rough winter and that year we had two snow falls of eight inches or greater. He was a little light weight wise but quickly regained size and is now living with another friend of mine. My neighbor lost the other bird because it was living alone. Something one should never attempt with finches.

I lost my owl last week...I was so upset with myself....I kept another cage out with food and water hoping the male would coax her back...no luck You were lucky!

Sorry about your Owl. It's heartbreaking to think what their fate might be.