Living Room of TERROR

[Atomiklan]

As I anticipated, had a small spat today in the living room. Emma was being adventurous, but keeping close by (doing laps around my head near the cage). Well Charlie finally built up enough courage and charged full steam ahead out of the cage and around the corner. Emma of course decided to follow. I wasn't too worried about Emma. I felt confident I could get her back to the playstand, but I have not had luck with Charlie yet so I was gearing up for a little bit of a chase. I didn't want to chase too much though (predator/prey). The problem today was their bond. Charlie was scared on the other side of the room and Emma at first did not want to leave him (awww). I did finally get her back to the playstand at which point she finally decided to stay put and just call for Charlie. I wasn't able to really get Charlie on my finger or in the food bowl for "bird transportation" back to cage as I have done in the past with Emma. I think he was just too scared. Instead, I just encouraged him back in the direction of his home and let Emma call for him.

In the end it worked out. Had a few terror poops to clean up though which brings me to a question I was thinking about last night. For anyone out there that free flights their finches indoors, what have you done to control the poop problem? I feel like I have seen people in the past use baskets with handles and other perching places as landing spots for them to poop at. It seems they generaly only poop when not flying. So all I would really have to do is train them to fly between certain designated spots/perches. At least that is my thought process. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for following along with my progress!

~Andrew

 

[sunnysmom]

I think we need pictures! I'm glad things worked out with getting him back to the cage.

 

[finchly]

Andrew I'm glad you were able to coax them back! I put perches around in different places and newspapers underneath, which I secure down by putting the table leg or the cage leg on them. My birds have a whole room of their own so all cages have an outside perch. In the office I have a big plastic runner under the cage (it used to be under my chair but I switched to bamboo). Hope this helps!

 

[Natalia]

I'm glad it all worked out I'm scared of leaving Neo out of his cage because my ceiling is HIGH. And there's a ceiling fan at the highest part and I fear that if he goes up there he won't come down... Anyways. As a new owner too I really enjoy reading your posts

 

[Atomiklan]

Andrew I'm glad you were able to coax them back! I put perches around in different places and newspapers underneath, which I secure down by putting the table leg or the cage leg on them. My birds have a whole room of their own so all cages have an outside perch.

Yeah they have gone on several adventures today. Its so funny, when they dart off, they always immediately turn 90 degrees around the corner and go land on some of the research equipment I have stored in my dining room temporarily. Its gotten to the point that if I see them disappear around the corner, without getting up, I already know exactly where they both are sitting. They have the entire downstairs to explore and they always choose that right turn haha. I will work on putting some perches a few places. Going to be required now since I have created two little monsters (My little dinosaurs). Not crazy about putting newspaper down on the ground under every spot since this is my downstairs and primary room (open floor plan) where I entertain guests. I'll have to come up with something functional yet elegant, and for everywhere else, I'll just have to watch them closely and spot clean behind them. We'll see how this works out. Hopefully once they get really comfortable outside the cage they will form habits and favorite spots. This is why I am trying to encourage them to use the play stand. Makes for a dedicated landing (and pooping spot) that I am ok with. I also have a perch right outside their cage door that they use when exiting the cage. Now there I do put a folded over paper towel as they like to hang out and poop there before deciding to float off somewhere else.

I'm glad it all worked out I'm scared of leaving Neo out of his cage because my ceiling is HIGH. And there's a ceiling fan at the highest part and I fear that if he goes up there he won't come down... Anyways. As a new owner too I really enjoy reading your posts

Glad you are enjoying them. Its been a journey for me. Hopefully they have been helpful. I'm learning slowly that if you just have patience and not freak out when they fly out, they will eventually work their way back. You may have to follow them a little bit, but not chase. The first time Charlie got out (described above on first post), I could tell they were both getting stressed out as I was ever so slightly panicked that I would have trouble getting Charlie back in. He has ventured out several more times today and I just calmly corralled him back in the direction of the cage. Eventually I am sure they will get to know the floor plan and wont be flying around lost and scared, but for now this technique is working until they get to that point. Like I said above too, hopefully once they know the floor plan, they will pick favorite spots and I can do something creative like baskets. This so far seems like the best option. Got the idea here (3min 45sec):

As for tall ceilings, yeah I understand your concern. I thankfully don't have that problem downstairs. To be honest though, I really don't think they would go up there are just stay up there. Generally they fly side to side it seems and less vertically and even if one did end up on the fan (off I assume), just give it a minute. They will come down.

How long have you had them so far? I'm curious what your experience has been like, especially if you have had them for awhile, ie more than 12 days lol which is where I think I am at right now.

 

[Atomiklan]

I think we need pictures!

Haha yeah I was just being cute. I'm sure this BIG open new territory was quite frightening to Charlie. TERROR from the finch point of view. Otherwise just a regular family room. Their "spot around the corner" I have been referring to above and in previous posts is on those equipment racks. I guess they are kinda like BIG play stands hahaha. If/when they make it to the other side of the room, they usually go straight for the planters. They love hiding under the leaves once they realize (after a few failed landing attempts) that the leaves and stems are not strong enough to support their weight.

 

[Natalia]

How long have you had them so far? I'm curious what your experience has been like, especially if you have had them for awhile, ie more than 12 days lol which is where I think I am at right now.

lol This is my third day with Neo... but I had been visiting him for a few weeks since my grandma breeds canaries and Neo is one of her babies. He's only around one and a half months old... Right now I'm seeing what changes I can do in my room, since that's the only place where he'll be able to fly thanks to my two psycho cats. I guess I'll install branches on the walls... I was even thinking on making a small indoor aviary just for him, we'll see

 

[Atomiklan]

Ah, sounds like he may have been hand raised. I'm sure you will have a MUCH easier time taming him then I did with my two little dinos.

 

[finchly]

@Natalia Sometimes they find something to land on up high. This is Skittles last year selecting which Christmas house he's going to live in. That shelf is about 8-10 feet up.

 

[Atomiklan]

Aww he's house hunting lol

 

[Odin]

My birds have the whole house when I am home. I have a box of tissues in every room... That's how I deal with the poop... LOL!