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

[ml830]

I've been looking at other chats to see how folks catch their finches to cut their nails, but so far what I've read is about people who have large aviaries. I have a large cage in my house that's 5 feet wide and taller than I am, but I can only get my hands/arms in it. Any suggestions? I'm including a picture of it before I finished adding perches and moving them in.

[Nerien]

Oh, that is just too cool! I love it!

I use various butterfly nets, some with the handle, some without, depending on the size cage I'm needing to use it in. Bent one square, so that it fits against the wall of the cage and they don't slip past the curve. Cheap, dollar store butterfly nets that my kids are too old to use anymore.

If you swing it around, chasing and trying to catch them, they get more and more frantic. So, since they will get all upset as soon as you stick the thing in there, I hold it flat (horizontal) below where they are flying back and forth across the cage, then, when I've gotten their pattern down and they aren't quite so frantic, as they take off to fly across the cage again, I flip it up across their path, and they fly right into it before they know what happened. (It may take quite a few tries, but eventually it works.)

Then I grab the net above the bird to make sure it doesn't get out, then remove the net from the cage. Sometimes I put a twist tie around the net, to make sure the bird can't get out, and free up both hands. Then I reposition to hold the bird itself inside the net, to hold it steady so it doesn't hurt itself trying to flap. If you use a net with bigger holes in it, you can sometimes clip the nails right through the net, isolate the foot and let the toenails stick out the net. A small, intense flashlight used to backlight the nails will help you see where the quick is, so that you don't clip them too short.

[lovezebs]

ml830.
Cute little set up. Are all three little cages inter-connected?
As for catching these little guys. LOL. At times I've been known to do the ninja grab in mid air. However if that doesn't 'catch' your fancy, you can do the cat swipe, where you reach in, flip your hand over and catch them from above before they even know what's happening.
The net (as mentioned above) works until the little devils learn to manouver around it, below it or above it, as my Teddy and Timmy could demonstrate. I usually get out of there wild eyed, wild haired, slightly pooped upon but triumphant.

[debbie276]

LOVE LOVE LOVE that set-up!!

Like Nerien I like the butterfly nets when you need help catching.

[ml830]

THANK YOU for the advise and early morning chuckles! I'm still laughing. I think I'll try the squared off kid's net. That's a great idea. I know this is going to be traumatic for all involved, so I'll have all my equipment ready before I go in for the nabbing. I can't EVER imagine myself catching them ninja-style in mid air! LOL.

AND Thanks for the compliments on my "shabby chic" cage. It was so much fun to restore. It was originally an entertainment center that I got at the Goodwill for $25.00. Yes, all three areas are open to the birds. I'll be glad to post a picture at an angle that shows that, if you would like, Lovezebs.

[debbie276]

We can never get enough pictures!!

[mayble]

Love your set up!
Another butterfly net user here. The only thing I suggest if you are going net shopping is to look for a nice deep one - mine isn't quite deep enough to close off the top to keep the bird inside it. It makes it a bit more challenging to get a hand on the bird without it slipping out of the net.

[Jen]

Love your cute set up too!!! People on this forum are so smart I am a netter also. Got mine for a dollar in a kids section at a an Ace Hardware store. Please post more pics. That looks so much nicer in ones Home than a wire cage! Great job.

[wilkifam]

would love to see a pic from another angle!
Great Cage!
Is it hard to clean?

[ml830]

Thanks for the great advice. I will be on the lookout for a deep net and trim their nails while they're in the net. I just love this wonderful forum!

And, thanks for the kind words. I'm not smart, just frugal and get great ideas from the internet. Love technology! I'm attaching a before shot and a couple others (if I can figure out how I did it before). Hate technology! One is my nesting box on the right side of the cage. I'm trying to coax the little boogers in there with their favorite snack. I just moved them in the day before yesterday, so we'll see about the cleaning. I bought oven liners (with edges) from Walmart, hotglued them together for length, put paper in them, and slid them under the wire on the back sides.

Note to self: DON'T use the flash while taking pics of finches!!!!!!!

[finchandlovebird]

ditto on Nerien's comments. But I've never seen a "square"
net.....where might one look for that

[Sally]

Absolutely love your setup! So clever, very original.

[chirpy]

Cuuuute!!!
When I was moving (almost a month ago) and I have a f040. I didn't know how I would catch them since they are so fast. I didn't have a butterfly net or could I get one. So I or the softest softest fish net ican get at petsmart. I made the rectangle net a oval so it would fit through the side doors and what would of been a 8 hour job ended up bein 8 minutes to catch all five. They didn't like it but it was better than spending so log and stressing them out ;)

[Aerithny]

I love the setup! It is soooo cool

[nelloyello11]

I have very little advice in catching really, because I am terrible. I absolutely dread having to do it. When I do, I turn off the lights in the room, and in the cage, first. I usually use a clean cloth (towel, washcloth, etc) over a net, because I am afraid I will knock them out if I accidentally hit them with the rim of the net. With the cloth, you can kind of toss it over them when they land on the floor, and they will usually freeze in place, so you can gently pick them up in the cloth.
Everyone says it gets easier the more you do it, but I'm always super nervous about it, so it's always terrifying...

That said, I LOVE your set-up. That is so super cool, like a huge shadow box. It's absolutely brilliant!