Bird Developmental Milestones

[M&M Ninja]

After bringing home a weaned baby, are there any other milestones during their development? They'll reach sexual maturity at some point (depending on species), but what about skills, habits, etc. Do these change as they age?

One thing I've noticed with Cord is her improvement in perching. She is about 4 months old now and we've had her for a couple of weeks. She was not a good percher when we got her. Couldn't balance well to hold a toy or a snack. Really preferred to stand in your palm versus on your finger. Since coming to live with us, she has improved a lot.

(Alternate hypothesis - do skill flyers perch less well? Cord doesn't view any perch (finger, shoulder, table, cage, etc) as anything more than a temporary launching point. She will happily let go of my sleeve, roll down my side, take flight, zoom around, and then reperch on my shoulder. A bird without the ability to fly would need to take perching much more seriously.)

 

[Rain Bow]

Bump!

@Zara
@Beasley
@Ankou
@DoubleTake

I'm not sure who else might know.

 

[Beasley]

Alternate hypothesis - do skill flyers perch less well? Cord doesn't view any perch (finger, shoulder, table, cage, etc) as anything more than a temporary launching point. She will happily let go of my sleeve, roll down my side, take flight, zoom around, and then reperch on my shoulder. A bird without the ability to fly would need to take perching much more seriously.)

This theory makes a lot of sense from my own experience with my almost 4mo lovebird, Bug. I’ve had him from around 5w old and he is a strong flier, he lands well too but on unstable perches like swings or myself he tends to roll, tumble, and slide down gracelessly and often. Bug’s feet feel weak by comparison to my other (older) fids. I’m monitoring it, and I do see improvement. I am not worried at this point because he’s a baby and still developing. I also have the benefit of confidence from having done blood testing and his vet check and follow ups. I did bring it up to my vet and she was not concerned, if my confidence wavers I’ll definitely be taking him back in.

 

[Ripshod]

Seems both your little ones have come straight from a brooder, or somewhere else with no perch. Birds this young need to learn how to perch and in doing this gain the strength of grip, and the reflex to grab quickly on landing. It's a learned skill, not something they're born with. Yes a young bird can grip, but don't know yet how to handle any movement or how to flare properly and grab when landing (a necessary part of learning to fly is to master the landing). Up until they master this they only 'know' how to plop down onto a flat surface.

 

[Beasley]

@Ripshod yep! My little was in a brooder. He’s been in his big bird cage for a few weeks now, and just this last week has been consistently choosing to perch over standing on the bottom. I’m expecting his leg and foot muscle and dexterity to be developing next.

 

[M&M Ninja]

@Ripshod Mine had been in a cage and allowed in an outdoor aviary for several weeks before I picked her up. When we met her and her clutch mates, they amazed us with their ability to aim and alight on various objects. So she has that aspect down. But I definitely see what you mean about handling movement.

 

[Zara]

I found with my young lovebirds that they would learn to perch quite young. Once their feathers had all grown in, they would always perch instead of sit on the bottom. I found them eager to climb, explore, learn and develop. When their feathers were fully grown and groomed (preened by them) they would be some what fluttery on the land the first few times but overall they all learned super quick (obviously apart from the youngest with a bad foot). My birds never thumped down whilst landing nor rolled. They just fluttered occassionaly during the first week where they were grabbing the perch and would be flapping to hover.