Is it just mine, or are they all incredibly picky/messy eaters??
I'm willing to bet that over half of their food ends up on their cage floor, or the carpet, or the wall....
They are such tiny little birds to make such an incredible mess.
Love them.. really I do - but even my large society bachelor cage doesn't generate that much waste...
Parrot Finches..
- Mozelle
- CocoFiber Craftsman
- Posts: 608
- Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:59 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Parrot Finches..
~ Tracy ~
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!

- monotwine
- Proven
- Posts: 2872
- Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:50 am
- Location: South Africa
Re: Parrot Finches..
Having all my birds in smaller cages for the last few weeks during a house move, I must say that I agree with your conclusion.
I can give 12 Gouldians the same huge, deep food dish as 3 parrot finches and without fail the PF have theirs all over the place and near empty by day two. I've given up trying to contain the mess. They must just pick their seed up off the floor now and get it that way. They waste so much.
My thoughts are along the lines of - "You made your bed, now sleep in it".
I can give 12 Gouldians the same huge, deep food dish as 3 parrot finches and without fail the PF have theirs all over the place and near empty by day two. I've given up trying to contain the mess. They must just pick their seed up off the floor now and get it that way. They waste so much.
My thoughts are along the lines of - "You made your bed, now sleep in it".

- Mozelle
- CocoFiber Craftsman
- Posts: 608
- Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:59 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: Parrot Finches..
HAH! That's about where my head is too. They're stunning active little critters, but OMG..monotwine wrote:They waste so much.
My thoughts are along the lines of - "You made your bed, now sleep in it".
So I"m pulling the grate off the bottom - which I used since it seemed like a good sanitary idea. But since that's where all their darn food is...!
I can see this is a cage I"m going to have clean even more regularly than the others... Sigh..
I'm going to see if I can find the seed cup with the "Catcher" too.. that sounds wonderful!
~ Tracy ~
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!

- finchmix22
- Mod Extraordinaire
- Posts: 6258
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:25 pm
- Location: DFW TX
Re: Parrot Finches..
I put the food on a paper plate and the finches stopped spreading it all over the cage. They still make some mess, but not as bad. I think they have an instinct to eat off the ground, so the paper plate helps. I put paper towels over the grate to help keep the cage cleaning.
DEBORAH

- G8love4finches
- Weaning
- Posts: 1452
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:25 pm
- Location: Airdrie AB Canada
Re: Parrot Finches..
I've started using rubber non-slip mats on the bottom of my cages, over the grates....They wash real easily and dry quickly....It makes a great floor for them to eat off of.....I also use the Tidy Seed feeder on the outside of the cage, it helps when they are shovelling the seed with their beaks....They are great, active little birds!...Never a dull moment in a RH Parrot cage!
I love them!
I love them!
...DeBBie...
www.fuzzyfeatherz.webs.com

An African Grey, an Indian Ringneck, a BC Conure, 15 Lovebirds, 16 Linnies, 2 Turquoisines, 10 Budgies, 4 Parrotlets, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries & many varieties of finch
www.fuzzyfeatherz.webs.com
An African Grey, an Indian Ringneck, a BC Conure, 15 Lovebirds, 16 Linnies, 2 Turquoisines, 10 Budgies, 4 Parrotlets, 3 Cockatiels, 2 Canaries & many varieties of finch
- Mozelle
- CocoFiber Craftsman
- Posts: 608
- Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:59 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: Parrot Finches..
Paper plates and rubber mats....
Off to Walmart!!
Thanks for the advice!
Off to Walmart!!
Thanks for the advice!
~ Tracy ~
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!
3 lovely Societies - Crested and pied, and 1 lovely but lonely Gouldian hen... Looking for a mate!!

-
- Mature
- Posts: 137
- Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:00 am
- Location: Sydney Australia
Re: Parrot Finches..
I put all my feeders on top of small trays with mesh over the top.
When they flick food around out of the feed dish it drops through into the tray below,easy to clean
When they flick food around out of the feed dish it drops through into the tray below,easy to clean
Breeder of Australian and Foreign Finches