I have a GCC of indeterminate age (I think she's around 6-7) that has a fisted foot. Princess can and does perch, but she'll often have three toes going forward instead of two, and she doesn't have the best stability with it. When she's on a flat surface, she keeps the foot fisted and just plugs along with it when she walks. I adopted her a few years back. She was very "anti-human" at the time and didn't want to be handled, so once her flight feathers came back in, I got her to fly from her cage to the hang out counter that is about four feet away. She'll also fly back to the cage. Flying on flat surfaces or things she can "cling" to (like the side of the cage) seem to be her preference - if she freaks out, she'll try for the top of her cage and if that doesn't work out, anything she can cling to like a bat (grabbing it horizontally rather than perching atop it). I'd like to keep working on her flight, particularly recall for if/when she gets startled as she's a pretty nervous nellie as it is... but am a bit stumped on what to have her flying to/from for training. Should I just wrap a towel around my arm and have her fly to me? Before I got her comfortable with my hands, she would hop onto a towel for me, so she's comfortable with that. Or should I vet tape or towel up a perch for her to fly to? If I do that, should I try a regular perch or a platform type? Any ideas would be appreciated.
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Flight Training - Disabled Foot
- Thread starter Karija
- Start date
Peachfaced
The Peachy Inkpress
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I would work on target training first. Get her used to walking or moving from one spot to another on command. (have the area padded so it's not painful for her) Then get or make yourself two T perches like this; For your girl, you may need one that's wider and maybe sanded down or flattened some?
Start with the one perch and get her to step up consistently on to it with target training. Once she gets used to stepping up on there, bolt two T perches on top of her cage or a travel cage (somewhere you can easily get her to). Put them close together. Have her step from one to the other, gradually increasing the space between them. Since she's a flyer already, she may pick up on this pretty quickly. If you have someone else living with you, have them hold one of the T perches, while you hold the other. Otherwise, bolt one down and have her on there, and then call her to you and have her land on your T perch.
Start with the one perch and get her to step up consistently on to it with target training. Once she gets used to stepping up on there, bolt two T perches on top of her cage or a travel cage (somewhere you can easily get her to). Put them close together. Have her step from one to the other, gradually increasing the space between them. Since she's a flyer already, she may pick up on this pretty quickly. If you have someone else living with you, have them hold one of the T perches, while you hold the other. Otherwise, bolt one down and have her on there, and then call her to you and have her land on your T perch.
Thanks for the response! I do flight training with my other GCC, so I'm familiar with the method of how to do the training itself. Princess has trouble opening her foot with the tendon injury though and I'm worried that a regular perch could cause her injury if she is flying at speed or distance and she's unable to open her foot. She also does not grip strongly with that foot, so it will put more pressure on her good foot when she lands.
I was mostly hoping to find out if anyone over here used anything other than traditional perches for landing.. There are some platform perches that are narrow, maybe 3.5 inches by 7in that I could use or I could get a full platform of 8in by 10in. I just wasn't sure if landing on a flat surface was a good idea for flight training... in which case I may have to do the towel on my arm thing or something else. I'll talk to my vet about it when I get her nails trimmed next.
I was mostly hoping to find out if anyone over here used anything other than traditional perches for landing.. There are some platform perches that are narrow, maybe 3.5 inches by 7in that I could use or I could get a full platform of 8in by 10in. I just wasn't sure if landing on a flat surface was a good idea for flight training... in which case I may have to do the towel on my arm thing or something else. I'll talk to my vet about it when I get her nails trimmed next.
Peachfaced
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I would think platforms would be great, so long as they have some traction to them.
Birds are such troopers. I'm sure you'll find a way.
Birds are such troopers. I'm sure you'll find a way.
TikiMyn
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Maybe build a Diy stand adjusted for her? Like a flat base piece of wood, then screw a thick dowel onto it, and a platform at the top.
Henkie has the same thing I think, his foot is like that because of disease three years back. I find that when I ‘make’ him use it more(he can open his foot), it gets better. I let him use it more by providing a few fun foraging activities where he has to hang upside down and such, and stepping up on my finger a few times a day. He could fly before this happened so I don’t have any training tips.
I do use my ladder to train Henkie though, and that works perfect for him. I think a platform sort of training perch would really help her.
Often he even opens his foot when he is on it.
Henkie has the same thing I think, his foot is like that because of disease three years back. I find that when I ‘make’ him use it more(he can open his foot), it gets better. I let him use it more by providing a few fun foraging activities where he has to hang upside down and such, and stepping up on my finger a few times a day. He could fly before this happened so I don’t have any training tips.
I do use my ladder to train Henkie though, and that works perfect for him. I think a platform sort of training perch would really help her.
Often he even opens his foot when he is on it.
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