Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2020 17:04:19 GMT
tweetiepiesmom Whilst dozing today before my nightshift an idea struck me. I’d closed the curtains and Yuki and Indie couldn’t really see because of it (they were in). And I thought, if I had 2 large black cotton drawstring bags I could turn them inside out and put my hand inside it, and grab them in one each, then weigh them in the bag. Wild birds caught for ringing are put in cotton bags to keep them calm In the dark whilst waiting to be logged, so it would be safe to keep them in for the minute it would take to open a curtain and weigh each one. Then you just need to weigh the empty bags and subtract the weights. In theory, no sight of a hand grabbing them.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Sept 14, 2020 17:49:35 GMT
Hmmm, maybe I'm just a softy but would they have nightmares over that? Then and again, you're not doing it every night so it might be ok. You try it @sillycat84 and then report back!
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Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2020 21:31:48 GMT
I wouldn't do more than once a week, and have blackout curtains so would just do it in the day.
I'll let you know how it goes!
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Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 9:26:21 GMT
tweetiepiesmom It was a complete success! I weighed the bags, they're both 25g, and turned them inside out ready. Closed the curtains and put the cage cover over 3 sides of the cage. Indie and Yuki couldn't see anything. Hand inside the bag, bag one side of the bird, hand the other. Got Indie in first, then Yuki, in less than a minute with almost no fuss. Indie had a wriggle in his bag but settled down. Weighed them one at a time. Then opened the bag and moved the fabric back to they were facing out and put their beaks to a perch so they could pull themselves out. Job done. Gave them a few minutes to shake themselves off. Both perfectly content to eat from my hand and carry on as normal. Singing away as if nothing happened. Taking off the weight of the bag, both Indie and Yuki weigh 40g, which surprised me as Yuki always looks bigger, but maybe he's just a tad fluffier and tends to be puffed up more as he's more relaxed.
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Post by blueelephant on Sept 16, 2020 13:36:24 GMT
We do this for weighing. Millet is only offered occasionally for bribes such as getting on the scales. Not at all contradictory offering treats to make sure bud is not getting too fat... Might see if we can achieve the same using the seed bowl.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Sept 16, 2020 15:17:54 GMT
@sillycat84 great job! Amazing that they were calm through all of that. Unfortunately I don't have blackout curtains. My house has lots of windows. Since I live in the city with street lights, lights from houses, etc., its never completely dark. If I get up in the middle of the night, there is enough ambient light that I don't need to turn on a lamp. I like it blueelephant! Right now my guys only perch on their cage or perches attached to their cage. I have a playgym beside their cage but whenever they are eating from my hand and I move them closer to it, they fly off. They are widening their area of flight and have landed on my head for a minute, so maybe they'll start exploring other things. I think I'll start putting the scale next to their playgym so they'll get used to seeing it
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Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 17:02:45 GMT
tweetiepiesmom It certainly wasn't completely dark, because I could see. But even suddenly closing all your blinds/windows and mostly covering the cage would probably work. Wouldn't work in my grandparents' living room if I needed to catch them because there are two small windows that can't be covered. They remained calm because they were in a dark, enclosed space but not being gripped. Like a little nest. Good idea getting them used to seeing the scale. I remember Hezz once saying how Smudge wouldn't stand on a scale in the vet's because it was silver rather than white, but as soon as they put a cloth over it she was willing to get on.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Sept 16, 2020 18:00:52 GMT
@sillycat84 could you post a picture of the bag you used? If I were going to search online for something similar, what should I call it? Thank you!
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Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 18:32:43 GMT
tweetiepiesmom I used these because I had them lying around and they were breathable material and they looked roomy enough. Searching for cotton drawstring bag should get you suitable results. Just a case of making sure the bag isn't too cramped. You'll be deducting the bag weight anyway so it doesn't matter if the bag seems a bit large.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Sept 16, 2020 18:51:06 GMT
Thank you @sillycat84!
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Post by Morgan on Sept 24, 2020 0:10:27 GMT
tweetiepiesmom Whilst dozing today before my nightshift an idea struck me. I’d closed the curtains and Yuki and Indie couldn’t really see because of it (they were in). And I thought, if I had 2 large black cotton drawstring bags I could turn them inside out and put my hand inside it, and grab them in one each, then weigh them in the bag. Wild birds caught for ringing are put in cotton bags to keep them calm In the dark whilst waiting to be logged, so it would be safe to keep them in for the minute it would take to open a curtain and weigh each one. Then you just need to weigh the empty bags and subtract the weights. In theory, no sight of a hand grabbing them. I have done this while banding tropical passerines in Ecuador. I think it is mildly less stressful than being in our hands as they are wild birds - but I don’t know if I would recommend this method for pets. You could always try it and see how they do but we always weighed the wild birds by placing them on their backs on a scale - they would usually just freeze and stay there long enough to get the weight even if they did decide to fly off themselves after a moment. Putting them down on a hard surface like a scale while in the bag would probably freak them out and while flapping about in the bag nails could be caught, etc.
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Post by Morgan on Sept 24, 2020 0:13:04 GMT
You could alternatively bag them and weigh them on a hanging type scale, but I just put a bit of millet on a paper towel over a gram food scale and tare it, then when the bud eventually hops on (now they do it without hesitation) I can get the weight. You could also make them a small perch with a tiny dish attached to they hop on the perch instead - I want to do this eventually just to make them more comfortable
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Post by Morgan on Sept 24, 2020 0:14:45 GMT
tweetiepiesmom It was a complete success! I weighed the bags, they're both 25g, and turned them inside out ready. Closed the curtains and put the cage cover over 3 sides of the cage. Indie and Yuki couldn't see anything. Hand inside the bag, bag one side of the bird, hand the other. Got Indie in first, then Yuki, in less than a minute with almost no fuss. Indie had a wriggle in his bag but settled down. Weighed them one at a time. Then opened the bag and moved the fabric back to they were facing out and put their beaks to a perch so they could pull themselves out. Job done. Gave them a few minutes to shake themselves off. Both perfectly content to eat from my hand and carry on as normal. Singing away as if nothing happened. Taking off the weight of the bag, both Indie and Yuki weigh 40g, which surprised me as Yuki always looks bigger, but maybe he's just a tad fluffier and tends to be puffed up more as he's more relaxed. Never mind, I stand corrected! I obviously came late to this topic and didn’t notice the dates xD Nicely done!
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Apr 19, 2024 4:25:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2020 12:33:56 GMT
Morgan I was worried about their claws too, but they've been okay. I think the funniest weighing I saw was when the wild birds were put headfirst into things like old camera film holders and whatnot. The tiny feet sticking out were adorable. (They weren't in there for more than a few seconds, don't worry)
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Post by Morgan on Sept 24, 2020 22:15:03 GMT
Morgan I was worried about their claws too, but they've been okay. I think the funniest weighing I saw was when the wild birds were put headfirst into things like old camera film holders and whatnot. The tiny feet sticking out were adorable. (They weren't in there for more than a few seconds, don't worry) Oh goodness I forgot about that! No we did that too. A lot of it was a bit shocking at first but it doesn’t harm them
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