FINCHforum

Hello: I purchased a new large cage for my Gouldies. It was all wonderful until I had to catch them. I was afraid they would have a heart attack before it was all done - or I would! I noticed they were sleepy early in the morning when it was still dark, so I thought if I covered them in the evening and waited a bit that it would be easier to catch them. I waited about an hour, lifted their cover partially, and put my hand in. It really upset them. Is there any easier way to accomplish this? Thanks for any suggestions.

Untamed birds do not like to be handled. Just catch them as quickly as possible o lessen the stress on the birds.

If you are quick enough you can try to grab one. There are two methods that work better and less stressful to the birds.

One way is to turn off all the lights and make sure it is pitch black. Then with a flash light quickly flash the light on the one you want to grab and turn off the flashlight right before you grab the bird. They won't move if they can't see you.

Another way if you can't wait for the dark is to get a spray bottle and fill it with water and just spray the birds enough to slow them down and its the easiest most effective way.

This may sound silly, but I use a thin cotton sarong. I know that when I try to catch my finches by hand, I often flinch and don't get them on the first try. That stresses us both out. I just drape the thin sarong over the bird, hold it gently while safely snuggled in the sarong, and deliver it to its new destination. Easy as can be.

I usually wait until it's dark before catching my birds either from a flight cage or from the aviary. It's much easier that way. However, if I have to catch them during the day, I use a medium sized aquarium net to catch birds in the flight cage and a butterfly net to catch birds in the aviary.

I had the same question as Gouldian Lover. I was able to catch mine because they were in a tiny canary cage. But soon will need to be moved to the aviary. I saw a net at the dollar store for butterflies and wondered if that would work. Thanks for the answers.

All of my birds are in a 16 foot outdoor aviary. If it is not an emergency, I put an older cage onto the food tray with the door open and all of their food inside. Leave it for a day or two (or at least several hours) until they are used to going inside the cage to eat. When it is time to catch whomever I want, I attach a string to the door, thread it through the aviary wire and wait outside the aviary until the bird I want is inside the cage. Pull the string that closes the door and voila! No stress for the other birds. This method works best (meaning it's quickest) early in the morning when everybody is hungry and I put out the new food.
I can also subdivide my aviary into two 8 foot sections by hanging a door in the middle. This is what I do if I need to catch a bird right then and there. This way some of the birds end up on the left side, some on the right and I only have to stress the ones that are on the same side as the bird I need to catch. Also the space available for them to get away from me is much smaller. I use a bigger butterfly net to catch them.
I hope this helps.
Iso

dunker817 yep. That what I use. The butterfly nets from the dollar tree store.

In the cage, i do the lights off technique, and in my experience it didn't have to be pitch black, i just very calmly quietly reached in and grabbed him (he was facing me, watching my face) but it was dark enough that he didn't see my hand coming, which btw he hates me now... lost all trust i had gained since I caught him... but just work to get it back, that's all!!! I wish they could understand that you are only catching them for THEIR own good, or to help them... its those times I wish i 1. had a tame finch or 2. they could talk, and understand !!! when they were not in a cage i waited til they were on top of the cage turned out the lights (again it wasn't pitch black) took a light weight towel, and threw it over one at a time, wrapped them lightly in it, and put them towel and all) in the cage, then pulled the towel out and caught the second one not sure what kind of finch you have, but mine are zebras and they made this HORRIBLE screeching noise like I had hurt them which I KNOW i didn't, as I hadn't even picked him up yet, it was just a "i don't wanna be caught" scared screech, however it worked, cuz I let him go!!! So just warning you they may screech as long as you know you aren't holding them tight, then it's just a scared screech. Good luck, hope this helped (sorry i know it's kind of redundant, but i figured I'd share my experience)