Whats getting my finches?

[lstyles]

Judging by the wounds and remains of the birds I am now pretty convinced it is rats. I agree that the rope would not stop them and really the only way to stop them is to use a wire mesh that is 1/2 X 1/2. I know they cant get through that....which is why this is a new problem...because I have always had my outside birds in aviaries with 1/2 x 1/2 mesh not the 1/2 spaced bars. I like the flour idea but don't want to risk losing any other birds. I am going to try and take apart one of my larger outdoor aviaries from my old house (I left it there after the fire cuz it was too big to move) and move it to the rental house. It has 1/2 x 1/2 wire mesh and cement cinder blocks for floor so they cant get in there. Not sure I will be able to take it apart successfully but gonna try anyway. I think its good for the zebras to be outside even during winter because they seem more vigorous when they fly more and have exposure to elements. I have used a heat lamp in there in the winter when it gets below 50 degrees (it never really gets below 38-40 degrees at night). I dont put my gouldians outside much because they seem so sensitive to climate changes. Although if I had had them outside before the fire I wouldn't have lost most of my gouldians in the fire (the outside birds did fine in fire).
thanks for all the suggestions,
Lori

[debbie276]

Your set up sounds very similar to mine except my heater keeps the coop about 50F in the cold winters of NJ. I have gouldians, owls and diamond doves out there. This year I left a little doorway open so they can go in and out, I'm curious to see who ventures outside when it's really cold. So far with night time temps in the 40's they all are zipping in and out.
Best of luck

[lstyles]

Just wanted to post a picture (although a not very clear one) of the bird that survived the attack. She had several wounds on her rump, left wing and around left eye. I thought her left eye was a goner and even was completely closed over. BUT...with time that area has healed and lo and behold there is still an eye under there! It continues to heal and I am optimistic that even the eyelid will get back to normal. Makes a big difference for her though having that second eye to watch for things...changes her behavior a lot. She is a BB CCFW and very beautiful! I plan to breed her when she is old enough.



Lori

[debbie276]

So glad her eye seems to be healing!
best of luck for a complete recovery

[skyjump100]

Well done with the zeb, great to see her eyes healing well and she is very lucky to have someone like you looking after her!!!!

I hope you can stop the predators soon!

[kcdozy]

I used to use 1/2 x 1/2" hardware cloth and a few years ago re-wired to 1/4 x 1/4" because of mice -rats and snakes. One summer I had 2 small snakes get through the 1/2" wire and ate 5 just fledged owl finches. Mice would get through with no problems and also had a few rats. I saw 2 rats one night go through a slightly larger hole 5/8 x 5/8 that I used for my tube waterer,s in about 2 seconds and could not believe it. I have had many people tell me that their birds lay eggs and the eggs disappear and insist they have no mice and rats. I insist that they do and after a few months 3 guys have called me back to tell me that they did and no have baby birds hatching. I started to use the bait boxes 2 years ago and never see mice or rats anymore.
Another problem with outdoor aviaries is cats -possums - and other critters that scare the birds at night. For several years about every couple of months I would go out in the morning to feed and would find a dead bird, usually an owl finch but a bird that I knew was not sick. One guy told me to put up night lights so the birds could see at night if they were startled by a critter. I used a 20 watt malibu yard light on each aviary which is on a timer and put it on the outside. There is just enough light so they can get around at night in case they are startled. It has been about 5 years and I have never found a dead in the morning since. Also used to have a lot of dead in shell eggs outdoors since adding lights the problem has went away. If they are scarred off their nest at night the eggs will go bad and they may fly into a perch or wall and kill themselves.
Rich

[DanteD716]

Poor girl.. I hope you catch whatever it is.. Possible a rat, mink, weasel...

[lyzzyjayne]

Sweet baby girl! So glad she is recovering!

[ac12]

Oh Sorry to hear that Lori.
Even where I live we have too many predators (cats, racoons, skunks, rats, and who know what else) for an outside cage.

[tinysparrow]

BUT...with time that area has healed and lo and behold there is still an eye under there! It continues to heal and I am optimistic that even the eyelid will get back to normal.

I hope she will make a full recovery lori!