Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i put a pedicure perch in the cage (10 finches) and it was near their food dish and for the whole day, none of the birds went near the water, nor the food. i had to take it out, it was around 5:30, and then they all flew to the food dish to eat. how do i file their nails down when the minute i get near the cage they flutter all over the place?

well, i just took out a dead finch. his nails got stuck in the nesting material overnight. i think the other finches will take care of the babies in the nest. i don't know what i'm going to do. that finches' nails were not even as long as some of the others. i feel so bad. i've been calling vets all week to try and get someone to come and help with the clipping of the nails. i can't catch them - there's 10 of them - to cart to a the vet.

There are a couple of tricks to catching finches. One has to do with darkening the room and the finches are supposed to be easier to catch. The way that I catch my gouldian finches is to let them fly out the door of the cage one at a time. I find it is easier to catch them after they get tired of flying around the room. You do have to bird proof the room, covering all the glass and mirrors, shutting doors and such.

I am sorry to hear about your poor finch.
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sue

thank you for replying. why do you take the finches out? are you trimming their nails? they get so nervous. does that bother you that they start flying trying to get away from you? they really are no fun, but we hear them singing all day and it's so nice.

I have taken them out so I can take them to the vet, or to take them to a new home. I do not trim their nails. They have two perches in there, one is the sandy perch (not the sandpaper covered one) and a regular branch perch. No, it doesn't bother me that they are trying to get away from me, they are just enjoying flying around. I think they are great, and they have such a nice song. What kind of finches do you have (I forgot).

>>thank you for replying. why do you take the finches out? are you trimming their nails? they get so nervous. does that bother you that they start flying trying to get away from you? they really are no fun, but we hear them singing all day and it's so nice.

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sue

i have finches. i started with one, it was being attacked by other birds in the pet store, so i bought it, found out it needed a friend, was not good alone. now there's 10 friends. don't know if i put that in my first posting. we want to get a new cage, because there's about an inch all along the bottom that they can get out and we have a net around it, but the net is a mess. it seems though, once they get all flustered, they forget fast and start preening themselves, and get back to normal, so maybe i shouldn't worry as much. they have some really nice cage and if you take yours out that much, maybe i should just go ahead and do it. i appreciate your help and interest. thanks.

Do you have zebras, societies, or possibly owl finches? There are tons of finches otu there. And their behavior varies by which type they are. Also their stress levels vary.

Those are my actual finches. They are Gouldian finches, which are grass finches from Australia.

Here is another pix, it is their cage that we built.

I don't take my finches out very often, but when I have to catch one, that is the way that I do it. Most finch species are not made to be handled.

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sue

They're beautiful. and your cage is so CLEAN. can't keep up that nicely with mine. they are society finches. i keep the same routine every single day - feed them after breakfast, same time, same routine. AND STILL - they fly all around really scared.

we have a sulphur medium cockatoo or the other way around, medium sulphur cockatoo, bianco is his name. no problems there except he'll take a chunka meat out of your arm if you don't watch him.
)

are those actual pictures of your birds, or just what they look like?