Flighted vs clipped conundrum

[DancingFeathers]

Hello all! It's been a while hasn't it? I've been really busy lately and it's a shame I have to come back due to worries rather than freetime. The largest change with Tri is that his flights have all grown in. He flies frequently now, and the family is very split on whether or not they like it. I enjoy the freedom it gives him and all the fun that I have with recall training- although having him perch on the ceiling fan(which we have removed the engine of) and other various places is a bit stressful. He even flies on my head, which I think is sort of cute. He has been acting more moody lately, but I don't think that flying is an attribution. My mom is not happy with the arrangement because Triton tries to fly to her as well. Usually, she'll shield her face and he just lands on her back, where I promptly remove him. I don't think he's being aggressive, as he often will say "step up" and "come here' to her which is what he says whenever he wants me to get him.

This added aspect has uncovered some previous issues. My mom and sister are very afraid of Triton and would probably construe his nipping as an attack and then panic, resulting in an actual attack. Triton is very mouthy and I'm not entirely sure if I should or how to fix that. He constantly tries to preen me and while he can be soft, it can also hurt pretty badly. Right now, he's pretty hormonal as well though, so nipping can escalate into biting pretty quickly. Part of me thinks that preening is an instinctual and loving sort of thing, but another part of me thinks that I might be supporting a bad habit. My dad seems mildly interested in occasionally holding Triton, but I don't trust him not to grab his beak or yell if he bites him. I'm also admittedly hesitant on letting Triton around my family, because I don't want him to hurt them. I'm not sure where to go from here:

Should I give him a slight clip and see if my mom and sister can get a better relationship? Neither of them want to be bitten by him, especially my twin, who would take any bites very personally, so could I possibly teach Triton to get used to gloves so that they could hold him that way and then let him grow his feathers back once they all got along.

Should I let him remain flighted and not have others in the room while he's out? This seems like a viable option, but I always have him out whenever the family is watching tv, and not to mention I fear that isolating him while he's out might lead to him being aggressive outside of the cage to others.

Should I have him clipped until my lifestyle changes so that I can offer him a mostly cageless life? This life is currently impossible with the other family pets, such as dogs and snakes, but I'll be moving out in two years. I'm worried that clipping him will crush his spirits though.

Should I try and see if I can work on getting him to not beak me in the hopes of him stopping that habit and not worrying the family?

Sorry for the wall of text, but I have so many options that I'm kind of freaking out. I would greatly appreciate any input.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

only you can decide to clip or not however him going to you moms face i would consider an attack and needs to be avoided remember just because you clip his wings does not mean he can not fly short distances like across a small room it means he has no lift to fly out of harms way just a few thoughts for you

 

[DancingFeathers]

Thanks for the response! He isn't flying at her face by the way, he's trying to go onto her arm but she tends to curl up so he sits on her back until I get him.

 

[Wolf]

I am not privy to your current situation especially why your mom and sister are so afraid of this bird. Is it just Triton or does it extend to all birds? I don't think that he wants to hurt them, he is just trying to be affectionate, I think. Since he is flighted, have you considered recall training? All of my birds like me and as a result of this it was very easy to use their desire to be with me to get them to come to me when I call them. Even if they are headed somewhere other than me, if I call them they will change course and come right to me. Do you think that this would help in your circumstance?

 

[Bokkapooh]

Have you thought about caging him in a room away from your mom and sister? Have him in a harness when in the family areas to prevent him from flying to other family members?

 

[pajarita]

I also don't think that his flying to your mother and sister is true aggression. My birds fly to me and it 'looks' as if they are coming straight to my face but they are not, they usually end up perching somewhere near (head, shoulders, back, arms). I think it's more a matter of the individual's perception and the "The Birds" syndrome than anything else. My husband gets all freaked out when birds fly over his head or at him and is 100% convinced that Zoey Senegal perches on his shoulder to bite him but she doesn't, not really. He insists she does and says he can 'feel' the pecking (he wears a hoodie around her and says he can feel the 'toc - toc - toc' against his head) but all she is doing is actually using her beak to balance herself because every time she flies to him, he moves very suddenly forward trying to avoid her which causes her to almost lose her balance for a second so she uses her beak the same way we would put a hand up to a wall when we feel slipping. She actually wants to make friends with him because she was raised and lived 6 of her 8 years with a man. As far as he is concerned, he would much rather she stayed in her cage all the time he is home but knows there is no chance of that (I refuse to penalize her for his fears) so he wears a hoodie because although I've tried and tried and tried to explain what is actually happening and that she is NOT been aggressive, he is sure I am biased out of my love for her (he says I am obsessed -LOL) and that he is right and I wrong -sigh.

The thing is that there are bird people (who like and give birdies a chance) and there are non-bird people (who fears them) and never the twain shall meet.

 

[mythic55]

1. My mom and sister are very afraid of Triton and would probably construe his nipping as an attack and then panic, resulting in an actual attack. R
ight now, he's pretty hormonal as well though, so nipping can escalate into biting pretty quickly.

2. Should I give him a slight clip and see if my mom and sister can get a better relationship? Neither of them want to be bitten by him, especially my twin, who would take any bites very personally, so could I possibly teach Triton to get used to gloves so that they could hold him that way and then let him grow his feathers back once they all got along.

3. Should I let him remain flighted and not have others in the room while he's out? This seems like a viable option, but I always have him out whenever the family is watching tv, and not to mention I fear that isolating him while he's out might lead to him being aggressive outside of the cage to others.

4. Should I have him clipped until my lifestyle changes so that I can offer him a mostly cageless life? This life is currently impossible with the other family pets, such as dogs and snakes, but I'll be moving out in two years. I'm worried that clipping him will crush his spirits though.

5. Should I try and see if I can work on getting him to not beak me in the hopes of him stopping that habit and not worrying the family?

1. Nipping is not good behaviour, but this is a animal (not a human baby). Humans either deal with it, except it, or dislike it. Trying to change one to not nip, or a human to accept the nip.... both are equally difficult.

2. Not sure why the gloves thing comes in? is the nipping that bad?

3. That is an option. Just have to find more 'me' time with the bird. Get a couple perches and bring him into the computer room while you work, or bathroom while you shower, etc.

4. Remember, if you clip them, they can still fly.... say Fly across the room and land on family members?.... yep. At first it may make them uneasy, but then they can handle it. But with pets.... I think you answered your own question: 'This life is currently impossible with the other family pets, such as dogs and snakes, but I'll be moving out in two years. I'm worried that clipping him will crush his spirits though.'

 

[DancingFeathers]

@Wolf He's bit my sister right when we first got him and she was trying to get him to step up and he bit my mother once when he got scared. They are afraid of all birds and the unpredictability that comes with them. We do plenty of recall training- usually two fifteen minute sessions, but he isn't very reliable yet. It does help though.

@Bokkapooh He is caged away from them and whenever I'm home, he generally stays upstairs with me. I'm setting him up his own tree as well, but during the other parts of the day when my sister and I are at school, he stays around my mom.

@pajarita I don't think he's being aggressive either. They talk to him a lot whenever he's out of the cage and pet him alot inside of it and he purrs a lot. I think they feel like he will attack them no matter what .

@mythic55
1.Agreed. I've accepted it but the others don't. He wants their attention and it seems more likely that he will change than my stubborn sister.
2. Gloves come in because they feel like he is unpredictable and might attack them. The nipping isn't too bad for me, but one of the times my mom tried, he nibbled on her cuticles and it bled, but then again, she has delicate skin. He does target cuticles, nails and the skin around them.
3.He gets a lot of time with me and its certainly an option if I segregate my life to be in isolated rooms. Most of the house is open and doorless.
4. He can't live cageless as of now, but I've been considering if he would be happier on his own during the day but outside of the cage in my room without other animals or in the cage until I come home but with my mom during the day. I'm really not sure.

 

[mythic55]

Sounds like clipping won't help your cause at all. No reason to clip if it is not going to make a difference and potentially put your bird at risk with other animals in the home.

 

[Wolf]

Have you tried to teach them to read his body language? Although I am not certain that anything is going to do a lot of good for your mom and sister as they are afraid of all birds. Your sister got bit when you first got him because he was scared when she tried to get him to step up, so the only time that he has really bit was when he was scared and you really can't fault him for that. His nibbling at the cuticles is just him trying to groom them, he does not have cuticles and views them as some foreign growth and is politely removing it for them. I don't think that cageless in your room will work without a lock on the door and I can think of a few reasons that a lock should be avoided.

 

[DancingFeathers]

I think that he's just going to be out of the cage a lot with me. It seems like the most reasonable and least damaging way to go. I doubt I can really get my mom and sister to ever trust him enough and besides, I don't want him to get too freaked out whenever I move out. Of course I'll still make sure he gets plenty of attention from everyone!

 

[DancingFeathers]

Update:

Triton has gained a LOT of confidence while flying, and we've all gotten used to it. Being able to fly means that Triton gets
to do what he wants. That means that he flies to the top of my head and my moms. I usually would rush over to grab him, but last night, we decided to see what he would do. He played with her hair for a few minutes and then started to slide down and slip. My mom instinctually put up her hand and he stepped up!!!!Triton sat there for a while, not doing anything but purring until he started to nibble on her. It wasn't that bad or anything, but his nibbling can really hurt. I got him eventually- mostly because I wanted things to remain good- and he did.

My sister is still afraid of him flying, but she hasn't been around it. I don't think she would be able to construe his nibbling as not being an attack, so I'm not going to work on her holding him.

 

[scoobdoo63]

My son's bird was clipped when he first got him and when his wings grew back he started flying. At first it freaked me out to. I would throw my arms up and DUCK! Then I just stood still one day. He did a circle drive by and then went back to his cage and then flew to my head and climbed to my shoulder. Now he does a lot of flying back and forth to you and the cage. He will fly to what ever room your in to. He hasn't got him to step up if you put your finger in front of him he will bite you. He will just go to your shoulder'

 

[DancingFeathers]

Update:

It's sort of accepted in the household that if Triton wants to go on your head, he gets to. Well everyone tolerant of him playing with their hair, I specifically asked my family to not try to work on getting him to step up etc. As of late, his nipping has gotten to be pretty painful. He leaves numerous red spots on my hands but it's clear that he isn't trying to hurt me. Yelping or telling him to be "gentle" seems actually upset him rather than stop him. The reason that I haven't asked my family to work with him is that I don't want to undo all this progress. I feel as though if you didn't start nibbling on them just as hard as she does on me they would probably freak out, causing him to bite them, secondly make the family want nothing to do with him all over again. My new strategy- which is been mildly, if at all successful so far- has been to wear him out by letting fly around and do tricks prior to holding him.