FINCHforum

Hello Everyone,

My name is Tiffany and I am new to the forum. I am a new finch owner. I have six beautiful zebra and society finches and a fairly large cage. It has one large door and two small openings. I am having difficulty in removing perches, food/water bowls, bird bath, toys etc. without birds escaping through the door as I am trying to maneuver around and get things in and out of the cage during cleaning. Is there any tips or tricks you can give me that will help me do this without the birds getting out? It is quite a pain to try and catch one after it is flying around the house! Thank you!

I have small cages for transporting birds, I catch them and put them in. If the weathers nice I sit them outside in the sun for a bit while I'm cleaning. I wash my cages outside with a pressure hose and soap, even my big cockatiel cage.

On to my next question...how do I go about catching them in the cage to transport them over to the other cage?

I don't use nets, I use bare hands. There is a correct way to use a net... here http://www.finchaviary.com/Maintenance/ ... gBirds.htm

And if you get one of those large fish nets, you can bend them into a small, round finch net!

Some of my cages have doors that are quite large, and my little waxbills are great escape artists, so I hold a large net over the door while I reach in to get dishes, etc. If they do make a break for it, they just fly into the net and I then shoo them back into their cage. But heavy cleaning means moving them into another cage temporarily. On a couple of my cage sizes (I have multiple cages in four sizes), I have an extra cage, so when I am doing heavy cleaning, I can set up the extra cage to replace the one I am going to clean. So I take down the dirty cage, set the clean newly-decorated cage in its place, and then just catch the occupants with a small net and move them into their new home.

For normal cleaning, many of my cages are double, with dividers, and I love these! I put in the divider, with the birds on one side, and then I am free to clean away, door wide open, no escapees.

And welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at the Finch Information Center, linked at left, and the members are always ready to help. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier when answering locale-specific questions later on.

tiffanyfinch
Hi Tiffany and welcome.
Regarding your little escape artists. If the door on your cage is really large, could you hang a piece of cloth, like an old pillow case or what not over the opening? Just clip it on there with clips or clothes pins. That way you can reach in, but the little feathered kids don't have such a open opportunity of escape.
Just a thought.

You can also open the doors to two cages held next to each other. The birds will fly into the new cage and the old one can be cleaned while empty.

I use strings of beads hanging in the cage doorway; it inhibits them from flying out.

I catch them inside the case with a cloth. I have a soft cloth, maybe 16" square, muslin or something like that. I drape it over my hand, covering my fingers and palm. It's makes it easier to catch them when they land on the side of the cage, or if they then scoot away down to the floor, I can drop it over them and then gently gather them in my hand. It's also helpful for catching escapees when they land.

I use a face cloth for the parrot finches and Javas. Their bite is strong. I use my bare hands for the societies.

I use a clear plastic sheet used for cutting out your own stencils. I punch a couple of holes at the top and attach it on the top frame of the opening with zip ties. It is slightly larger than the opening and is placed on the inside of the doorway. They can fly into it without hurting themselves, but cannot get out. It is very handy for when you need a second hand to hold something and cannot block the door simultaneously. I found out from minute one that I would need something. I have it on both large doors of both of my large flights. I got the sheeting at an art supply store. I already had it in my stock of supplies. I'm sure you could improvise something similar if you cannot find this. It's really nice because you can see through it. I change it out occasionally after so many water spots, just because I can.

Wow, I wasn't the one who asked but this is a great thread - lots of helpful ideas.

I read on another thread on here somewhere of someone who used clear plastic hung over the door, but cut it into vertical strips. That way he could reach through it, but it still looked like a barrier to the birds. Also I would think it's movement when working through it would also make them keep their distance. I've never done it - I have an extra long flight and they retreat to the other end - but I thought that was a good idea.