FINCHforum

One of my zebra hens managed to snag her foot in the woven bamboo of her nest a couple days ago. It appears she completely exhausted herself from struggling over the course of several hours. I noticed a problem because she was hanging on the edge of the nest in a strange way. As it turned out, her claw had become trapped between two strips of the nest's woven bamboo. I snipped a bamboo strip to free her, and after a day of recovery time in an isolation cage, she seems pretty much back to normal.

Just wanted to post about this to alert others of the risk. I have difficulty imagining how she managed to get her claw snagged like that, but it can happen!

Yep, it definitely happens and a bird can pass away if not noticed soon enough (as they are unable to eat and drink for long periods of time).

The best prevention is be aware of things they could potentially get hooked on - I won't use rope perches for this very reason. Also, keep an eye on your finch's nails to ensure they don't become too long (or they'll start getting caught on everything). This can be easily done with nail clippers, just be careful to not cut too far up and hit the quick (vein).

Here's a good guide:

http://www.finchniche.com/features_nailandbeak.php

This is the one thing I don't like about the woven nests, because birds can get hung up in them. I seem to have the most trouble with those species that will grow long nails very quickly, so the nails get a bit too long and the bird gets hung up. I recently lost a Strawberry male that was hung up in a plastic plant.

Sorry to hear but glad she's ok now.
BTW LOVE your avatar

I felt a bit lucky the zebra hen pulled through in good fashion. The strain of that episode easily could have been lethal f she had remained trapped like that for much longer. I just happened to sit down next to the flight cage to check on my feathered friends, and noticed the hen positioned on the edge of the nest in an odd way. <phew>

I will check nail lengths all around to make sure that is not a contributing factor. It looked like she had managed to thrust her foot through a small opening in the bamboo weave, then twisted her foot so she couldn't pull it out. I have never had an issue like this before, so I am keeping my bamboo nests for now. I will have eyes peeled for further issues though...

Thanks Debbie re: avatar. I swear that is how the zebras look at me sometimes! C'mon human, get a move on, fresh water and millet. NOW!