How to Make a Birdseed Catcher

Are you fed up with sweeping up the birdseed and feathers from your pet parakeet? I know I am!  I’ve tried everything to keep Davy Jone’s seed casings in the cage and not on the floor, surrounding furniture, etc.  The stuff scatters on our laminate wood floor and under any furniture nearby. 

This is a quick and simple project that will help keep your house a lot cleaner! I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $20.00 at a local pet store for something so simple. :o)

Supplies needed
32” square of sturdy fabric (Just under 1 yard)
7ft of 16 gauge dark annealed wire (2lb) (comes on a spool from Amazon, Ace Hardware or  Home Depot.)

First, cut out a large circle from a square piece of sturdy fabric. 

If you fold a square in fourths and then one more time into a triangle, you can cut off the wide end into a curve, and you will have a perfect circle. I made sure mine was at least 12” wider than my cage.

Then, just fold over about half an inch on the outside edge of the fabric and sew a ‘casing’ (tube edge to thread your wire through.)

Now wash the wire (it’s greasy) with soap and water and dry it off with a paper towel.

Bend over one end and then crimp it tight with pliers.

That makes it easier to push through the casing without getting stuck.

Now thread the wire all the way through the outer edge of the casing and twist it when you meet the other end of the wire.

Shape it into a circle.

Now sit the cage in the center of the circle on a table. Poke holes through the fabric with an awl or screw driver close to the edge that is closest to the four corners of the cage.

Then use the screw driver to push the end of some ribbon or string through the hole.

Tie one end of the ribbon to the wire and the other end of the ribbon to the corner of the cage on all four sides. Now your birdseed catcher is attached!

Voila! No more mess!

Linking with Melissa's
My Crafty Weekend

 

Need a Home Remedy for Mange? This One Really Works! (Bonus: Cute Pet Video)

Poor Percy! He plays with the neighbor dogs who are pretty wild and don't live in the most sanitary conditions. We can't keep him from going over there. Last summer, he got mange (mites) from them. And now he's coming down with it again this summer. We all cuddle and kiss him all the time and he sleeps off and on with everyone. So we have to nip this in the bud and quick!

We just can't afford to take him to the vet unless absolutely necessary. The good news is that I did ONE --only ONE-- bath with this recipe for curing mange last summer and it worked like a charm. 

We noticed the signs early on this time and I had wanted Rebekah to look up the recipe online before we left but she forgot. So tonight, I looked it up..and Percy is getting a good dose this evening whether he wants it or not.

Here is the recipe from the Thrifty Fun Website.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Borax:

• Combine 1 part hydrogen peroxide (3%) to 2 parts water so the peroxide is 1%. 

• Add Borax powder and stir it in. 

• Keep adding Borax until solution is saturated (i.e. powder won't dissolve anymore, a little is settled on the bottom). 

• Soak dog in solution thoroughly-- don't rinse or wipe off. 

• Be sure the water you pour is warm. You don't want your puppy getting chilled.  If you don't dilute the peroxide, your pet may react and throw up. That's why you add all the water.

I bathed Percy only once with this and he was cured the first time. You have to be sure to get every part of your dog. I missed his tail and two days later he had a bad spot where he had been chewing.

• Refrain from wiping the dog dry. Simply allow the treatment to take effect. 
• Do not exceed a treatment period of two months. 

After a couple of dips, I'm sure he will be just fine...and then he can go back to his job of 'baby inspector'. 

Watch this cute video from back in May. No mange then..so don't worry. He seemed very anxious to take good care of Nicholai, my youngest grandson.  I'm so glad there are frugal ways to take good care of our pets. Do you have any good frugal fixes for pet illnesses to recommend?

Happy Homemaking!

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.  Luke 12:6-7