FINCHforum

Ok so i now realise that ribbon is not good for birds, even though mine are fine with it. My young zebra finch Twiggy, well she's my nan's now, got her foot caught up in a bit of ribbon that had frayed and was flying about with it stuck on its toes. My nan cut most of the ribbon off however, its legs are slightly stuck together with ribbon , she can move about and fly and drink and eat however its obviously a problem. She's fairly tame however we can't pick her up without her squirming alot and fear we may cut her leg by accident while trying to cut the ribbon. Any advice please.
Ps i realise how stupid i was giving a young bird ribbon, i have learnt its not good, even though its pretty obvious anyway..

Sorry to hear of the mishap. You're going to have to catch up the bird again and hold her steady. Get a helper to use a pair of small scissors or even nail clippers to cut the string off.

Also - get a magnifying glass and check each of the legs and toes to make sure no strands got wrapped around them. It is very important as the strands can cut off the circulation.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Accidents happen and sometimes we learn that certain things are just best left out of the cage.
You must get the string off as it will cut into the flesh or cut off circulation and the feet/toe die and fall off
Cuticule scissors may be small enough to insert under the string and snip...you may have ti snip one string at a time.... but do not delay, time is of the essence.

Ok , what is the easiest way to catch her? We having no luck

What is she in now? A small cage - use your hands. An aviary - use a net (if it will fit) A room - use a net.

If all else fails, spray the bird with water with a CLEAN garden spray,this slows them down.
Hold the bird upside down cupped in the hand with the head between two fingers,they tend to struggle less.

Remove ALL the perches, they will get in your way.
Use a towel held open w both hands. If you have krinolen, that works even better, at least for me.
Try to guide the bird to a corner or side of the cage w the towel.
When you get it into a corner or bottom edge of one side, drop the towel over the bird.
This takes a while to develop the technique, and you may need to try it many time, but it works and you will catch it.

I have also used poohbears method. Get a spray bottle of water, and spray the bird. When it is wet, it has a harder time flying, and is easier to catch. But put a desk lamp with a 40 or 60 watt light bulb close to the cage, so the bird can get warm. Being soaked with water can give them the chills.

When you are cutting off the ribbon, hold the leg, NOT the toes.

This is a LOT easier if 2 people do it. One to hold the bird and the other to cut off the ribbon.

Read this about catching and handling
http://www.finchinfo.com/general/catchi ... ndling.php
Look at the pix of how the bird is being held for banding, similar to what you will to to cut off the ribbon.
http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_banding.mgi
http://www.finchinfo.com/general/catchi ... ndling.php

Thankyou so much everyone. Me and my family have spent the last hour 20 mins catching her, she's a fast one. My uncle tried catching her by dimming the lights, putting a towell over the top of the cage, keeping his hand still and hoping she'd hop on it, using a goldfish net no luck. Thankfully when i tried she was all worn out and let me pick her up, after a few attempts and a few pecks in protest. My uncle cut the thread off with nail scissors.
She has a bit of fray around one part of her not directly around her foot and are wondering what to do now, will putting perch covers in steadily rub the frayed ribbon off or make it worse also would i bath help her or make it worse.

I'm so proud of little twiggy she was so brave and didnt fidget alot at all. I think i held her totally wrong tbh, it was my first time holding a bird ever so i'm quite happy i at least held her, at least she can move properly now.

Thanks so much to everyone you really helped. =)

Hey you did good.
When I first put bands on my birds, my hands were shaking enough that it was hard to put the band on. Same thing when I had to cut their nails/claws...I think I was more nervous than the birds.

Do NOT use perch covers.
I did when I started and did not know better. I later learned it is not a good idea. The problem is the bottom of the foot where they land and place their weight will become abraded and might start bleeding. Kind of like you standing bare feed on gravel. The benefit of wearing the claws is offset by the possible injury to the bottom of the foot, leading to bleeding.

BTW, I have this exact problem. But the cause was not perch covers, but the dried HARD poop on the perches that became just like rough sandpaper or a perch cover. I discovered it when I saw blood on all the perches. He is OK now, but his feet has to heal and now he needs to be treated w antibiotics, just in case bacteria from the poop got into him.

A fray does not sound good. A fray is a thread, or more than one thread. Where is the fray? The danger is if the thread closes on the leg or toe and strangles the toe, like a torniquet. I would remove the fray also.

Providing a bath is normally good.
BUT in this case, if the ribbon is wet, it will be HARDER for you to remove it. Leave the bath until after you get ALL the ribbon off.