How to catch my finch without giving us both a heart attack!

[Zebrafincher]

Hello there,

If need be you can try catching the finch at night and use a small flashlight as they are less likely to move when they are supposed to be asleep. I also catch my birds early in the morning, when their cages are still covered. Whatever you do, make it as quick as possible as finches and canaries hate being picked up. My star finch squeals whenever I pick him up, and all my birds bite me if I have to handle them.

Good luck

Zebrafincher

[Nerien]

But I've never seen a "square"
net.....where might one look for that

I took one of the round butterfly nets and reshaped it. Bent it to be square/rectangular by straightening out sides and bending corners in it, so that it fits tight against the sides/corners of the cage. Most of the nets I use for the birds have had the handles removed so that they fit into the cages. I have one with a shorter handle, still, I mostly use that in the longer flights, if I don't have a kid or husband available when trying to catch someone in the 5 ft cage, I use the bent-square net in one hand inside the cage to go for the bird I'm after, and the net on the handle outside the cage to reach down towards the other end to drive them back towards me and the catching net at my end.

If your cage is that big, it's better to have a second human available to drive them back towards you, after a bit they figure out the second net is not actually a danger to them, being outside the cage. If that happens and I'm alone, I turn it around and poke the handle through the bars to encourage them back my way.

If you can find a very large fish tank net, that is already shaped for you.

[chirpy]

Nerien yup! That's what I use a medium large fish tank net and I bet the loop part (where they hang it to dry I suppose) so that its shorter.
I don't know how I would of grabbed them with my hands. They are so fast. They first freak out but its very easy and shorter than me grabbing them with my hands so in all I see it as the best solution for me.

On my way to the apartment after I caught them (driving) they were eating like nothing happened the whole trip there. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought I had stressed them out lol

[lovezebs]

ml830
Hi Mary. See now you started something lol, and everyone will want one. It is a cool idea and must have been a fun project. Now there are all sorts of ideas floating through my head about furniture that is sitting in the basement unloved and unwanted. Hmmmmmmmmm...

@nelloyello11
Nelissa hi. The idea with the face cloth brings to mind the day I tried it. OMG!!! Talk about heart attack! Have you ever seen a zebra finch covered with a white face cloth, trying to rise into flight. The rest of his flight mates took one look and all hell broke loose. YYYIIIKKKEES!!! It's a ghost, or at least that's what I translated out of all the hysterical screaming. Not doing that again, not ever.

Regarding where to find square nets, sometimes you can find them in the fish departmets in pet stores.

I still like my ninja grab when I manage it. No chasing involved. You just put your hand up as they're going by and bingo. They don't even know that something happened untill you release them.

[ml830]

All the advise on bird catching is great. Thank you! Now, I just need to do it!! I'm such a chicken. Sorry for the delay in typing a response, but school has me bound to the books and I have a research paper I'm working on. We'll see if this old girl makes it. I have my computer facing the bird cage because they're so interesting to watch. They never cease to amaze me. They will be laying again soon because they're rebuilding the nest I removed when I moved them in their new home. I'm gonna look at some other topics to see what a finch who is egg bound looks like. My little Betty looks fine and is flying around, but she's doing something weird with her back end while perched on one of the branches.

[Sunbay]

If you have a nest in there, and they sleep in it - reach in and cover the opening of the nest with your hand or a net. Take the whole nest, with birds in it - to a small room, bathroom or utility room.
Either put them in a tiny travel cage, or leave the net over the whole nest with birds in it. Take them out one at at time and do a quick exam, and nail trim.
I will gather supplies first: nail clippers, Kwik Stop in case of a too close nip, reading glasses, and I use a strap-on head lamp.

Be careful to gently but firmly put leg and foot between your fingers. If they zig, when you zag, that could mean a cut off toe. But, that's rare and not fatal.

The more you do, the faster and easier, and less stressful it will be!

It will be fine. Long, curly toenails are not only unsightly, they are unhealthy and dangerous. Let us know how it goes.

[rancho2]

Lady Gouldian carries round 4" bird nets which I have used several times now. the birds pretty much fly into the net safely and fairly stress free what used to take quite awhile to do with major anxiety now takes a couple of minutes.

[Ginene]

I use a decent sized fish net. I also catch my guys right after a bath or spritz them with bird bath h spray. Being wet slows them down a bit. I LOVE YOUR SET UP!!! I'm a huge fan of shabby chic!

[lovezebs]

ml830
Hello Mary.
Any luck grabbing your little guys? How is little Betty? You mentioned something about being possibly egg bound??? That could be a big Emergency and something to looked into like yesterday! They can and will die if they can't pass an egg, if I remember right.

I would ask one of our breeders for advice right away, if you suspect a problem.

Goodluck.

[ml830]

Lovezebs, thanks for checking. I believe she was just resting. I forgot that when I had my previous cage (with a little basket-weave hat for a nest) that sometimes they would just sit in it for a rest. I don't have that in this one, so I'm pretty sure that's what she was doing. My husband thinks I should put it in this cage. She's been doing fine, flying and eating. Someone is going to lay eggs soon, because they've been doin' some dirty dancing .

I'm going to try to catch them this afternoon after work to cut nails, or maybe Friday. All the input and ideas have been great.

[FinchFan]

My finches really need a nail trim too! I tried catching one of them this evening. I caught my female Goldbreast 3 times, frantically chasing her around the room with a bird net that I got from the bird fair (a fine mesh that doesn't allow for nail trims through the net). However, all 3 times she got away by squirming out of my hands. I'm afraid to crush her so my grip is loose. I just can't keep ahold of her, and when I had her in my hand, I can't seem flip her around so that her back is flush against my hand with her head between my fingers like experts suggest. She's constantly squirming. She also draws her legs up against her body so I can't cut her claws. I'm so scared I will hurt her because finches are so very delicate. I didn't have a heart to try again after the 3rd time. I was worried I traumatized her (and myself too). I give up and am not sure if there's an alternative. Maybe I will have to get some nail sanding perches and corral my birds into the smaller cage with these perches for a few weeks to wear their nails down that way.

[ml830]

Finchfan, I finally caught one of my finches after he got out of the cage and my husband and I worked together to get him. Then, I cut 3 nails, and couldn't cut the rest. He has some white and some black toenails. So, I put him back in the cage and before I got the door shut, he got out again. He and I both were having a rough time. I'm not going to ever attempt that again. He was afraid of me for several weeks after that, and would fly to another part of the cage every time I came near.

I've read that sandpaper perches are bad for their feet and can cause damage, but I thought about gluing it to the bottom part of the perch where their toenails touch. I'm just not sure what to do. They definitely need to be shorter, but we were both traumatized when I tried to cut them. What a disaster!

[FinchFan]

Mary, I'm so sorry to hear how difficult it was for you! I really do feel your pain! My Goldbreasts probably think I'm the devil (LOL), as I've caught them several times since my last post only to lose them again. They fly all around the room avoiding me until I give up. I am very good, however, at herding them and will probably get them into a travel cage and take them to a vet skilled at clipping nails and have them do it there. Sounds like an ordeal but I don't know what else to do. Besides being bad for them in the long term, I know now that rough perches wont help them at this point. Hopefully it's not too expensive and difficult to find someone who can cut my finches claws.

Good luck!

[MiaCarter]

I have a fish net, but I hate using it because if their nails need clipping, they get caught up in the net and it's a mess.

And I'm awful at the mid-air ninja catch.

Most of mine are hand-friendly, which makes life easier. I'm one of the nutty people who spent hours and hours "taming" finches. LOL

But I've used the fabric toss method with nice results. I took a piece of light cotton fabric and I'll lure them to the bottom of the cage, usually with fresh food and the little foraging bin (it's Timothy hay with seeds sprinkled in there.)
But I bet just lifting the fabric into the upper part of the cage would likely do the trick to get them to fly down.
Once they're down, you quickly toss the fabric over the bird you want and gently pick him up. I keep them sort of wrapped up in the fabric and just expose the legs and that tends to keep them pretty calm since they can't see what's going on.

You just need a light, sheer fabric so it's not heavy when you toss it over the bird. I used a sheer cotton that I got for quilting and trimmed the edges with pinking shears so there wouldn't be any lose strings to get caught up.

I have one of those grit perches and that seems to do the trick. It's smooth on the top and gritty on the sides and bottom. I've never had to trim any of my zebras. They naturally stay short, I think.

[Sitting Duck]

PROBLEM SOLVED

I read this post before looking for a viable solution but it still came down to stressing them and me out trying to net them, (or soak them with a hose LOL).

I went old school and did a modified box-stick-string technique.

The nails on my bird's feet were getting way too long but I could not catch them. so I placed a small travel cage inside my 8'x8'x8' aviary. Inside the travel cage I placed a small cup with some meal worms in it. I placed one of the small perches that came with the travel cage between the cage door and the cage. The cage door is spring loaded so it shuts automatically. I tied a thin fishing line to the perch, (stick proping door open). I ran the line out the door and waited. When a finch hopped into the travel cage I pulled the string and the perch came away from the door, which shut and trapped the bird. I clipped their nails and rest the trap, waiting for the next victim.