FINCHforum

Sooooo! I have been vacuum cleaning cleaning cleaning my little head off! My canary, and finches are all moulting, and I have been chasing feathers from morning till night. I am used to finding seed in my shoes, in my car under the mats, near the front door, in the laundary and other areas. Feathers however drive me to distraction as you cannot catch them!

You find floating feathers in mid air, stuck to the back of the loo (spider's web), lodged in the top of the curtains and other equally strange areas. I've given up trying to figure out exactly HOW they get there, but they do! I'm vacuumiung at least one, sometimes twice a day. Luckily my birds aren't scared of the noise. They ARE however, the messiest creatures in all of Creation!

However, I wouldn't have them any other way.....

Zebrafincher
Proud owner of:
*Kevin aka “The Old Man” – very cranky canary – 13 years old and rules the Roost!
*Beaky aka “Beaky Beak” the Zebrafinch – 1 year old – and a real, real cutie!!!
*Merlin aka “Merl” the Starfinch – 3 ½ years old – and “bossy as anything for such a small fry!”

Zebrafincher

Trying sharing your home with thirty-to-forty-something birds who fly freely when moulting time comes around. Sometimes I think it has snowed with all the white society finch feathers everywhere, gathering into tumbleweeds in the corners.

I agree on this, no amount of sweeping or vacuuming can keep up with feathers! I've often wondered about one of those Roomba things that automatically run around the room. My sis-in-law has one, but she said she thinks there are too many obstacles (cage stand legs, extension cords, etc) in my bird room to make it work. Plus they are kind of pricey.

Roomba's don't work! My brother had one and it got clogged up on dog hair! (Labrador). I can only guess what copious amounts of seed and feathers would do to it....

I love their feathers . My cage has small square 1/4 inch mesh, which does a good job capturing most of the feathers, so they gather in soft, fluffy, multi colored piles that are easy to scoop up. Not that they don't end up outside the cage, but it's not too bad. I don't really mind feathers, it's dog/cat hair that I hate and vow my next dog will be of the no shedding kind!
Really, the feathers fascinate me with all their patterns and I feel bad throwing them out. I wish I was artsy and could think of some use for them....how many years would it take for a handful of small birds to provide me with a king size down quilt

Zebrafincher

Oh my dear....
You have three little guys. Try over fifty.... oy!

What I find works, is dampening the brush part on your broom just a tiny bit before sweeping. It seems that it helps catch the clouds of feathers at least a little bit. Also puting a hose attachment on your vacume, helps to catch the little floating fluffies that follow in your wake around the house.

Good luck.

~Elana~

I would love to have more than three, but my partner has said no, no, NO!! Judging on the amount I spend on vets, seed, toys, etc etc I think he thinks it might bankrupt us! LOL

I love my three little birds, but they ARE ratbags! What do you do if you need to go away on holidays?

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

Zebrafincher I am LOL after reading your post....I vacuumat least 4-5 times a day under the flights little finch feathers and bigger Bourke feathers...but I love them and since its only me and my 3 dogs who cares.

I can think of an invention that will work for you. Put a small fan in front of a net. That should catch the feathers and then you only have to clean the net.

MariusStegmann

What a cool idea. I will have to give it a try.

~Elana~

Zebrafincher

Regarding 'holidays'..... what are those???

LOL!!!! One makes choices in life, and when one lives in a zoo, holidays are not really an easy option. I can't imagine leaving all my darlings behind and going off somewhere.

Now that said, I am not saying that pet people should never go on vaca's, but I think you have to find someone you really trust, to come and stay in your house and look after all the critters.

~Elana~

Do they need extra vitamins when moulting? And how much vitamins are too much? I bought some Avian Plus but don't know how much to mix with the seeds......or should I sprinkle it on the millet that they eat right up!?