FINCHforum

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post here in the forum. We have four zebra finches, Joey and Peeps. They had babies and that was such a great experience. We now have a family of 4 zebra finches and we love them. My question is about the grate at the bottom of the cage. Right now, we have it covered with newspaper, but the seeds just bounce right out of the cage and make a mess. We've thought about getting a net for around the bottom, but I'm looking for other ideas. If we removed the newspaper and just left the open grate, would the birds be OK? What do most of you do with the grate - cover it, remove it, leave it open? Thanks for helping me figure this out.

Debra

Welcome Debra.
Personally i would take the grates out but that will depend on your cage design if it's even possible.

If you can remove the grates and not have a large gap - then that is an option. What about when you remove the tray for cleaning - would that then leave a big gap?

I just cover all my grates with newspaper and vacuum the mess on the floor.

hi
i totally agree take the grates out if posssible,i put bird sand in the bottom of mine but newspaper is cheaper....unfortunately seed on the floor is something you will have to get used to...i reckon most of the people on here have the same problem i had a 2 inch deep bottom on mine and still had to vacuum up at the end of the day

ken

I keep the grates clean by using kraft paper (shipping brown paper) that comes in a roll....It keeps the grates clean, and is easily changed because it is one big sheet...I agree that the mess on the floor is all a part of keeping birds....A friend on mine used a clear shower curtain, cut it to the desired length (which tucks into the tray at the bottom of the cage) and strung elastic through the holes....It does keep most of the seeds contained but does block the view of the birds a little....I prefer to see my birds clearly and sweep and vacuum as needed...

To keep some of the seeds of the floor-
If you have a sewing machine, you could get some fabric and make a seed guard, like this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5589670_make-bi ... tcher.html
You could choose your fabric and do something birdy and cute, or something that matches the decor of the room where yiu keeo your finches.
Or, as someone else said, you may wish to have a better view of your birds. You could use clear plastic (you can buy this by the yard at any fabric/ craft store, in various weights. Cut it to the right length and width and use the stick-on velcro to secure the ends. No sewing needed!

As far as leaving the grate bare, your birds should be fine, though it may take them a couple days to get used to hopping around on the wire. But as others have said, putting newspaper over the grate will make cleanup a lot easier on you!

Thanks everyone! I'm going to work on this over the weekend and see what I can do to make it a little less messy (if that's possible!). We bought a cordless vaccuum and we use it every dayto quickly clean up the seeds. Love it! Our babies are worth it!
Thanks again my finch loving friends!
Debra

My husband cut and clamped plexiglass to three sides of one of our cages. The plexi goes 3/4 of the way up. It's easy to take off and clean and you can clearly see through it like glass. But ya know, I still have to sweep every day. Like everyone said, it's part of having birds. What I like to call "a labor of love". I took the grate out of that cage and put paper on the floor. But left it in the other one because I can't take it out right now. The coolest thing would be if you had a roll of paper on one end that you could pull through every day like the paper on the doctors examination table. That's my perfect idea for an easy clean set up! hahah... dream on....

Cages like these??
http://www.abbaseed.com/

L in Ontario wrote:I just cover all my grates with newspaper and vacuum the mess on the floor.

I have grate floor on some of my cages and newspaper on other cages. The birds will stumble around the first time they land and walk on the grate, but a couple weeks and they will be just fine.

I like grates because it keeps them out of their poop, and the males can't rip up the newspaper for nesting material. I had to put a 1/2" square mesh over the newspaper floor to keep one zebra from ripping it up for nesting material.

Oh, and almost all of my birds are on pellet food, so I have very little seed hulls on the floor.

I modified a standard cage with grate, to remove grate and put a door on it so I could remove the tray for cleaning, without leaving a gap. Look down near the bottom of this thread to see pictures of how I did it. Very cheap to do, too. Just scrap 1 x 1 and some molding and some little metal mending plates. It was easier than putting together the cage itself!
[url]http://www.
finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4815&start=45[/url]

Welcome, Debra! You've come to the right place for ideas regarding finches... I like the plexiglass alternative myself....!