He finally came out!

[Parakeet88]

I've had this keet for a little over a year now and always had a difficult time trying to get him out of his cage. I bought him hand raised because I wanted to tame him. He has a huge cage and another keet with him so I as much as I wanted to tame him, he seemed perfectly happy the way things were. I stopped trying so hard to tame him but still spent plenty of time talking to him.

He learned to talk very quickly and his absolute favorite thing in the whole world is when I smush my face against his cage and talk to him. We have a specific spot where we talk (completely by accident, I didn't train him to do this) and he'll run over whenever he sees me coming toward the cage. This spot happens to be by his water dish. Another one of his favorite things is when I pour water into his bowl. He got used to me sliding the little door up to pour the water in and eventually he'd come running over to drink some of the water as I pour it. When I'm done pouring the water I keep holding the little door open and he'll sometimes stand on the water bowl and boop me on the nose as I talk to him. Every day he'd get closer and closer to the door opening, sometimes he'd stick his head through the door and look around like he was amazed that there were no cage bars in the way.

Well this morning he actually came all the way out! At first he was just climbing around the front of the cage but eventually he flew up to my curtain rod. He's fully flighted because I sort of gave up on the idea of taming him and I didn't want to keep traumatizing him by getting his wings clipped. So I had to think of a way to get him back to his cage without ruining this progress he'd made. I didn't want to just leave the cage door open because then my other keet might come out and then I'd have two birds to catch lol eventually he was kind of flailing around at the window. I was able to just gently grab him in my hand and just popped him back into the cage. He didn't squirm or even attempt to bite me and he seemed completely normal when I put him back in, like nothing had happened. He wasn't freaked out or anything.

So now I have to consider getting his wings clipped (at least temporarily) if he seems interested in continuing to come out on a regular basis.

His little birdie friend was very confused and concerned about him lol

 

[Lodah]

I wouldn’t cut his wings as that can have the opposite effect to what you are trying to achieve! Gratz with the progress so far!

 

[TikiMyn]

Great process! But I wouldn't clip his wings. Target train him instead, so he you can target him back into his cage. Or train him to step onto a stick. You could also let him out before you feed him, for example in the morning. Show him that you put his breakfast into the cage and I thin he will pop right back in.

 

[Parakeet88]

I'll try target training him. The other thing I have to think about is his cage mate. She's a lot more cautious of me and she really gets freaked out if I have to grab her. She's bitten me a lot harder than my GCC has lol so I have to think of a way to let him in/ out without having to worry about her coming out by accident, I mean I can't just leave the door open for him to came and go as he wants. Of course I'd love for her to be trained as well but I'm still a while off with her. I also wonder if he'll be distracted from his target training by her. I'll see how it goes. His flying is terrible and I'm always afraid he's going to hurt himself flailing around.

 

[JLcribber]

So now I have to consider getting his wings clipped (at least temporarily) if he seems interested in continuing to come out on a regular basis.

You've made all this progress and now you want to take a huge step backwards?

So what if they both want to come out. Make it safe to be out. Adapt. Don't cripple your bird.

 

[JLcribber]

His flying is terrible and I'm always afraid he's going to hurt himself flailing around.

How is he ever going to get better without practice? Or clipping his wings?

 

[Birdbabe]

That's great! Keep working with him and include her as well..they're really cute! As John and other say..don t clip..he will learn to fly.

 

[DQTimnehs]

I agree not to clip. He needs to get exercise and the easiest and most natural way for a bird is to fly.

I'm a bit concerned with your method of filling the water. I have never once poured water into a bowl in a cage. Because the bowls need to be scrubbed every time they are refilled. Bacteria grows very quickly in water bowls, especially when food is dropped into it or worse, poop. They should be scrubbed thoroughly at least once/day, more if they are getting soiled.

 

[Parakeet88]

I'm a bit concerned with your method of filling the water. I have never once poured water into a bowl in a cage. Because the bowls need to be scrubbed every time they are refilled. Bacteria grows very quickly in water bowls, especially when food is dropped into it or worse, poop. They should be scrubbed thoroughly at least once/day, more if they are getting soiled.

No no no I take the bowl out first, clean it or swap it with a clean one, put it in the cage and then pour clean water in. I started pouring the water after I put the bowl in to help avoid spilling it while putting it back in the cage. It's easier to put the bowl in first then fill it and my keet loves to drink while I'm pouring it so it works out well and has accidentally helped him out of his cage lol

 

[DQTimnehs]

No no no I take the bowl out first, clean it or swap it with a clean one, put it in the cage and then pour clean water in. I started pouring the water after I put the bowl in to help avoid spilling it while putting it back in the cage. It's easier to put the bowl in first then fill it and my keet loves to drink while I'm pouring it so it works out well and has accidentally helped him out of his cage lol

Oh ok, good!

 

[Mizzely]

When my son was learning to walk, he fell a lot. Had lots of bruises. Should I have strapped him into a chair and prevented him from walking? No

The answer isn't to limit movement, but to make a safe place to practice. Birds lose a lot of confidence when they are clipped!

 

[Parakeet88]

I will try target training so I hopefully won't need to clip his wings. I've never had a flighted bird flying around my apartment before so it's kind of overwhelming especially because this is not my house. Believe me, if I had my own place I'd let him fly all over because I wouldn't have to be so concerned about poop everywhere and things getting chewed. Unfortunately I need to keep this place spotless because I'm not even supposed to have the birds here in the first place, my landlord just happens to be kind enough to let me break the rule and I want it to look like they were never even here when I leave. I'm hoping in my next apartment I can have a bird room that will be completely bird proofed and they can have free range of the entire room. I really can't do that in my apartment now, it's too small. I originally planned to keep one, maybe two keets here but now that I've got more birds I'm looking for other rentals that will be better suited to my flock. I am trying to get them to a better situation as soon as I can, I'd love for them to have a bird room.

If I could train him to mainly stay in certain areas and only fly back and forth to certain spots that would be great but I have no training experience so who knows how long it could take or if I can even get him to that point. I also need a way to get him back to his cage and I have to be confident that I can get him back in a decent amount of time when I need to. Unfortunately, I don't always have hours to spend bribing him or trying to catch him. (Any one know of any good work from home jobs? I'd love to spend all day home with my birds)

My female keet still doesn't trust me enough to start training her and letting her out. I think being out at this point will do her more harm than good and that's why for the time being I'd prefer to keep her in. I've tried letting her out before and it really scares her. She wedges herself into any small space she can find and after many bribes I eventually end up needing to move furniture to get her back in her cage and then she's terrified of me all over again. Lately she has been coming over while I'm talking with my other keet, she's making progress and I don't want to ruin it by having her accidentally get out. I also have no experience with anything like this and I think I'll have a challenging enough time working with one bird.

I also have my GCC who is used to being out all the time. He is still clipped from when I got him but I'd have to cage him for part of the day while I work with the keet so I have to figure out how this will all work

 

[Lady Jane]

Why do you associate taming a bird with cutting off the ability to exercise and do what comes naturally? There are so many reasons a Bird Is healthier when they fly. Like others say do not cut any feathers.

 

[Fergus Mom]

Fergus (9 months old) loves to fly around the room, and I do now see the wisdom of closing the door, after a near death experience behind the darn stove! I agree with not clipping the wings, and with practice, your boy will learn to fly right back in his cage! At first, Fergus sat very still on whatever he landed on outside his cage, then when quite a while had passed, I began running my fingernail down the bars of his cage to let him hear it. It didn't take long before he was flying back to his safe little home! Good luck!

 

[Monica]

An Experiment with Budgies | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[SquawksNibbles]

I would first like to say that I'm glad you are having success with your fids.

I do think, however, that you shouldn't clip his wings. My birds used to be clipped, too, and when I finally stopped clipping their wings, I was worried they wouldn't know how to and would get hurt somehow. Now, I'm glad I stopped clipping their wings and ever since I've looked back on my horrible decision to clip their wings. Now, I think, "Birds have a special ability, to fly. Why did I take that ability away from them for so long?"

Every animal has their own way of exercising. For dogs, it's going on walks and running around playing. For birds, it's flying. It is important that we allow our birds to get their exercise.

Anyway, I'm much more calm and relaxed when I let my birds fly around out of their cage. Before, I was worried they would fall behind something and get stuck. I won't lie, this HAS happened a few times (at least the falling behind part. They've never gotten stuck; I've been able to easily get them), but they've gotten better at flying so it doesn't happen much anymore.

The birds have gotten so good at flying that they can move and fly in between the perches and toys of their cage without hitting any of them.

Another reason it's important to leave your bird flighted is because it helps them survive. In the wild, birds use their wings to escape predators and such. While there may not be any wild animal predators in your home, it's important that you still allow your bird to be able to get away from dangerous things by flying. It's sort of similar to that of declawing a cat. Cats need their claws to protect themselves and survive. Without them, the animal is easy prey. Please don't take away your birds' most important escape method.

Clipping their wings can also be very stressful for them. Birds don't like to be grabbed and held still completely in your hand. This is usually required in order to safely clip their wings.


Okay, now that I've written a good, long essay on why you shouldn't clip their wings, I'll move on to something else.

I will admit that accidents can happen if you have a flighted bird. But, clipping their wings is not the best solution...at all. Instead, just try to make the area around them more bird-safe. Make sure there are no dangers around that could injure or kill your bird. Turn off any overhead ceiling fans, make sure nothing toxic is being used (ex. Teflon cookware, hot glue gun, etc.), and make sure there are no open doors or windows that your bird can escape through. You don't have to make the room like made for birds 100%, but make it safe.

You mentioned you can't have any mess or damage done to your apartment. This is totally understandable. Maybe consider making a medium sized or large playstand (with something that catches poop maybe?). This way your birds have a play area where no damage can be done to your apartment.