Tag Archives: bottom

bottom of cage behavior?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin| 3 Comments

i have recently aquired a pair of peach faced lovebirds that are thought to be a year old. they are very happy with each other, feed and groom each other. question is: they love to be on the bottom of the cage chewing up newspaper and then hiding under it. also, one of them likes to roll paper up under itself (even folds a paper towel if I put it in the cage). the bird rolls the paper with its beak, stuffs it under himself, and them rocks back and forth on it. is this the male or the femal? is this behavior “O>K>”?? thanxs.

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Posted in Bird Feeding

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My Elderly Hen Canary is Dying…?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin| 5 Comments

She’s surprised both of us by making it over the 7 year mark, but her feathers have grown increasingly shabby and she’s done very little flying over the last 6 months. Now she won’t leave the bottom of the cage although up to this morning she was still eating. As I write she sits in a corner, hunched, eyes closed, tail bobbing. She’s ignoring the nest I brought down to the bottom and stuffed with tissues for her. I was hoping it would keep her warm and take the stress off her toes.

Question: should I scoop her up and put her in a box or something enclosed at the bottom of the cage that’s lined with warm tissues or will that stress her even more before she goes? I know there is nothing more that can be done for her but I want her to pass feeling relaxed and happy. Keep in mind I have 4 cats including one teenager that would love to jump on the cage while she’s on the bottom. Her mate of 6 years, Floyd, is staying down on the lower perches to be near her. His concern is obvious, but the cats would freak him out, too. So should I move her into a small box inside the cage or not?

Thanks in advance.

PS: Her name is Geraldine, and for those of you who have interest, canaries are incredibly hardy and easy to care for and they have delightful personalities. Geraldine has been a singer all her life- only about 25% of the females sing. This is how she got her name, actually- we thought she was a Gerald because of the singing, until that first egg. Then Floyd came along and they’ve been together ever since, so he’s not exactly young either. She’s always been a happy and fun bird to have around. I’ll miss her : (
EDIT: Can’t wrap up or heat my cage because it’s a flight cage- 2ft deep 4ft high 4 ft wide. I love this cage- canaries do so well in it. Maybe I’ll try the hot water on top of the radiator in the room- and I’ll up the valve on the radiator. I can’t make her eat if she doesn’t want to…and she’s already over 7 years so I don’t know that any medication can help…the oldest I had a canary live to was 8. Thanks so much for advice…why do lousy people live forever and good pets die so young….?

Questions for God if and when we ever see Him, huh… ;)
UPDATE: 24 hours later, she’s still on bottom, looks a little livelier but still not good. Sweetest thing- Floyd is feeding her. Like he fed his babies over the years.

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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is it ok to replace nesting materials for a bird with newspaper?

Posted on January 6, 2012 by admin| 3 Comments

our gouldians are going to have an egg. we built them a nesting box and put a small cardboard bowl in the middle so the eggs won’t roll aways. but they started to rip the neewpaper at the bottom and put it inside the box. is it safe for them???

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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I am trying to get my parakeets to breed HELP!?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin| 2 Comments

I have three sets of keets and I am going to breed them. . I have read allot on info and I recently ran across a guy talking about the fact that he does not and never has used a box. . .I have also heard of keets laying in food dishes, bottom of cages and other random places. . .

my question is
Has any one had a bird that layed eggs in a odd place OR does any one have experience in breeding without a nest box? if so I want to know where they layed and what materials do you use

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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parakeets afraid of nesting box?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by admin| 2 Comments

what can i do? i see them mating every day and i put a nesting box in months ago… maybe i should try again but wenever i put something in at the bottom of the cage (like nesting box or bird bath) they’re so terrified of it they dont even go down there! what can i do? i really want to breed them. they’re not tame too so they’re scardy cats — i mean scardy birds XD

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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What shall I do with a baby blackbird?

Posted on July 4, 2011 by admin| 8 Comments

Last night it rained heavily and my brother found a baby blackbird at the bottom of our trees, it was soaked, shaking and couldnt stand, so we brought it into the house put it in a box and kept it warm. This morning the bird was fine and it had small feathers and bits of fluff on some parts, but my dad said it has probably fell out the nest with the bad weather as he didnt think it was quite old enough to be out, we couldnt find the nest so we decided it was best to put it back in the garden and let its parents look after it, so i put it in the garden and I sat all day looking out of the window every 10 mins or so, I seen a few blackbirds hovering around and a male went up to it first but I didn’t see it feed it, then a bit later a female went up to it, but I am unsure whether it fed it as the grass was too long to see. The bird has hopped under some wood and has been sitting there for a couple of hours, what shall I do I dont want to leave it in the rain to die and starve?
Can I also point out that the state the poor thing was in when we found it, it wouldnt have lived, and the house behind have cats so bringing it in was the best answer. The bird has been hopping and spreading its wings all day and has been opening its mouth for food to me. I am also wondering how long it will live without food as I am unsure wether it has been fed today.

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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Will house sparrows attack a Carolina Chickadee?

Posted on July 3, 2011 by admin| 3 Comments

I have a nest box (mainly used by Carolina Chickadees) and when I opened to clean it out there where two dead baby birds at the bottom. They had feathers and everything and looked like they had starved to death. Originally we blamed the cat but then I found a Wren nest today the looked as if it had been attacked by sparrows and that made me wander. What do you guys think?

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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