• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Newbie, question on taming / clipping

JoJo&Loki

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/3/19
Messages
2,627
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Real Name
Kelly
Do you mind if I steal your dream house plans? Lol That would be amazing - I understand your depression after having a dream about it. I’d be in tears if I woke up in my house after a dream about that one! There’s one thing missing though, what about the bus!? For that house I think you’d need an actual bus to take you all to and from. I’m picturing the Partridge family bus...I think it would be perfect :laugh:
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
7/10/17
Messages
2,399
Location
Norway
Do you mind if I steal your dream house plans? Lol That would be amazing - I understand your depression after having a dream about it. I’d be in tears if I woke up in my house after a dream about that one! There’s one thing missing though, what about the bus!? For that house I think you’d need an actual bus to take you all to and from. I’m picturing the Partridge family bus...I think it would be perfect :laugh:
Haha! We would not need a bus anymore since the birds would be free! Only to take them in a carrier to the vet maybe. But I liked the home train in the Silver Spoons TV serie, could do with that at my place :
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
Gender update, possibly: apparently, Morty's mother is lutino (true bright yellow) and his father is albino. Our cleaning lady is convinced that Morty is male given what his pelvis felt like; she said the cere color is not as reliable given his coloring. It's hard to tell whether his cere is pinkish tan, or tannish pink.

Still moot at present, though if we do get a second bird we'll want to be sure. I definitely don't want to risk offspring, especially since I'm concerned that there might be some inbreeding developing.
 

Monica

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/18/10
Messages
11,253
Location
Hell, NV
Real Name
Monica
So based on that information, Morty could be male or female, since both parents are Inos.

I guess a good question is... is Morty very talkative and expressive? Or more reserved?
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
He goes through bouts of having quite a lot to chatter about, and other bouts of being so silent we worry about him. Not the most "definitive" answer, huh? He does tend to get quite "verbal" when certain sounds happen, like the kitchen sink or the microwave.

The friend's dog has arrived. I think he understands that Morty is not prey, but the friend says the dog's reactions are more along the lines now of "There's this new animal. What is it? Is it a puppy? Can I play with the puppy? Please can I play with the puppy??????" and always goes straight over to the cage to look in. He hasn't jumped at the cage or anything, just gets up on his hind legs to look in.

Morty seems unimpressed. As in, doesn't react at all.

We've taken to referring to Morty as "the little yellow puppy".

Needless to say, the small black dog and the tiny yellow puppy are doomed to a long-distance relationship. When the dog comes into the family room, he's on a leash until his human is certain Morty is safely in his cage, and we don't leave the dog alone in the room with Morty in case something excites him and he jumps at the cage.
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
Morty had a Big Adventure this evening. The dog was in the room (leashed, and held firmly so he couldn't approach closely) and this may have spooked Morty. He flew off in a bit of a panic all around the kitchen and family room - bouncing against walls a couple of times :( then settled onto the ceiling fan (which is, and shall forever remain, turned off). He stayed there for an hour or more, just sitting there, a bit freaked out. I tried coaxing him down with some millet - put some in and in front of his cage, which is very near the ceiling fan. I think he got worried because he was in a New Place, and he really didn't know how to get back to his cage (which is about 10 feet from the fan).

After an hour or so, he flew over toward the kitchen again, and found himself under the microwave cart. We could see him there. After a bit, we approached to try to talk him out, then he bolted again. At least this time, he wound up on his bird tree right next to his cage, so we knew he could find his way home. Poor critter - I think it'll be a few days before he ventures out again.

So how do they learn not to bang into walls? The windows don't seem to be a problem, they all have those wooden dividers. But that loud squeak he made once when he banged into a wall had me really worried he'd hurt himself.
 

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
1/8/18
Messages
31,362
Location
Reino de España
So how do they learn not to bang into walls?
This is more typical of a spooked bird.

It is a wise idea to try to completely separate the dog from the bird completely, as inconvenient as it is, the bird does not like the dog and it is not fair to force him to undure that. A spooked bird, flying at full speed will bang into everything and anything in his/her path and sometimes those injuries can be lifechanging or worse, life ending.

You can line the floor with yoga mats or matresses and hang curtains in front of walls with tension rods to lessen the impact.

If you notice any changes, take him to the vet to be checked out. I hope he will be ok ❤
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
Thanks. Yeah, we're keeping the dog completely away now; that was just one experiment. If the dog is in the room, the cage is locked from here on out.

Though the frantic flying is in line wtih what he does whenever he flies, even when there's been nothing (as far as I can tell) to panic him.

I don't think we could fit an indoor aviary that was big enough to actually *fly*; right now his cage (which is a good size) is used only for climbing. I'm hoping that if I leave the top open, he might try to at least glide the 2 feet from his play tree to the cage, but so far that hasn't happened.
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
7/10/17
Messages
2,399
Location
Norway
Thanks. Yeah, we're keeping the dog completely away now; that was just one experiment. If the dog is in the room, the cage is locked from here on out.

Though the frantic flying is in line wtih what he does whenever he flies, even when there's been nothing (as far as I can tell) to panic him.

I don't think we could fit an indoor aviary that was big enough to actually *fly*; right now his cage (which is a good size) is used only for climbing. I'm hoping that if I leave the top open, he might try to at least glide the 2 feet from his play tree to the cage, but so far that hasn't happened.
I would think this is because he is clipped and he is not in control, thus the panic and hitting the walls. Hopefully he'll get control when he gets his feathers back.
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
Bumpdate:

He is definitely improving his flying skills - no more banging into walls though occasionally he looks less than graceful. Whenever he lands in a different spot (the mantel, a windowsill, and once the screen on the window over the sink) I swear he looks **confused**. Then he almost immediately flies back toward his cage. It's been ages since he's bounced off of anything. One day a couple weeks ago, I saw him do two rather tight loops around his bird tree, so the control is definitely improving.

It seems like he only wants to go flyabout about every other day - seriously, one day he'll fly around a couple of times, then it'll be 2 days before he'll do it again. My husband earned some Bad Husband points the other day: we had guests coming over. When he heard them in the driveway he went out to greet them, leaving the front door wide open. Right about then, Morty decided to do one of his loops around the family room. I spotted the open door and closed it right away (and despite temptation, did NOT lock it, LOL!). Now, Morty has never made the left turn and gone down the hallway toward the front door, but one of these days he will, and carelessness like that could have awful results. Husband got Spoken To about that!! I think I'll have to remind the cleaning lady about the toilet, too; I got home yesterday and she'd been, and had left the powder room toilet seat up after cleaning it. Again, Morty has never gone into that bathroom but one day he might.

We've persisted with only giving him millet when we're offering it. By that, I mean we don't leave it lying around all the time; I'll bring a short spray to him, and he'll eat from my hands. Since I can't stay there while he gobbles the entire piece, I'll then put it on a flat spot on his tree and he can finish it up on his own. He's much more willing to approach my hand and take the millet even when it's barely sticking out beyond my fingertips, which is an impovement. I've actually gotten him to take it while it was resting *on* my fingertips a couple of times.

Big breakthrough yesterday though!! We have a chair that was previously some distance from his bird tree, that got moved fairly close to it a few days ago. I happened to sit in that chair after I got home from work yesterday... and he walked across the tree to come fairly close to me. I'm sure if I'd put my hand out, he'd have bolted, so I slipped over to where I keep the chopped up millet, went back to the chair (and he didn't bolt), put a couple of bulbs of it on my palm, and held it near where he was standing.

This meant he had to lean down to get the goodies. After a minute or two, I felt a faint scratching, and realized he'd set one foot on my hand. And a minute or so after that, *both* feet were on my hand. He startled a bit when I slowly added another bulb or two to the pile, but did not fly away. Ultimately I was even able to bring my hand away from the tree to rest it on the arm of the chair. He looked nervous but resumed eating. After a few more minutes, I slowly moved my hand back to the tree and he hopped back onto the tree.

This morning when I uncovered his cage and opened it up, I tried sitting in the chair again. Same process as yesterday, involving eventually stepping onto my hand. This time I tried moving my hand to rest on my lap. He put up with that for a few minutes before deciding to fly back on his own. I'll keep this up a couple times a day for a few more days, then try to see if he'll hop across my lap from one hand to the other.

Our housemate says "You know, now he's going to be all over you all day, pestering you for food!" to which I replied "Well, I wanted a more interactive pet!" (true. We used to have guinea pigs, whose primary occupations seemed to be eating, pooping, and quivering in fear lest someone approach them; the visiting dog was a lot more fun but also a lot more work).
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
7/10/17
Messages
2,399
Location
Norway
Our housemate says "You know, now he's going to be all over you all day, pestering you for food!" to which I replied "Well, I wanted a more interactive pet!"
A tame doesn't have to become a velcro bird, and even if you have much physical contact you still have to tell him the rules, what is allowed or not, like with kids, you'll tell them 1000s of times but they'll get it in the end if you are persistent. For ex. if you don't allow him in your plate, and give him his own little one close to yours, he should be able to learn to eat from his.
 

Dorcas George

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
9/3/19
Messages
1,721
@EmZee I just finished reading this whole thread. So sad at first. But, wow, I am so impressed with the whole story! Good for you. I hope the day comes when Morty is tame.
 

EmZee

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/7/19
Messages
39
A tame doesn't have to become a velcro bird, and even if you have much physical contact you still have to tell him the rules, what is allowed or not, like with kids, you'll tell them 1000s of times but they'll get it in the end if you are persistent. For ex. if you don't allow him in your plate, and give him his own little one close to yours, he should be able to learn to eat from his.
Hah!! I hadn't even though that far ahead. I'll discourage him from hanging out on the dining table for a number of reasons (including the fact that they don't make diapers in his size, LOL). But if I'm over on the couch, and happen to have something bird-safe to eat, I'll try offering him some in my hand or on my leg or something.

No hand-sitting yesterday, despite my having been away during the day again. He did one of his every-few-days loops around the family room / kitchen. Bounced against a wall at the very end, but he seemed OK when he landed on the floor. I got him to eat millet from my hand, but he wouldn't step onto it this time. I'll keep offering about twice a day.
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
7/10/17
Messages
2,399
Location
Norway
They actually do diapers in budgie size, if you really want to use that. I am absolutely opposed to it but some people seem to like them..
Anyway, the table thing was just an example, I don't want bird in my plate but on the table is OK as long as they don't help themselves and eat from their plate. Also it is not allowed to land on and eat the plants, no eating plastic, high singing is OK but only for so long, and they have to go back to their cage when I tell them. Apart from that, my birds are quite free to do whatever they want!

I think you are doing quite well, he'll get used to you and eating from your hand after a while!
 

Monica

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/18/10
Messages
11,253
Location
Hell, NV
Real Name
Monica
Bounced against a wall at the very end, but he seemed OK when he landed on the floor.
When flying around, is your home really bright and well lit? Or kind of dim? (but not dark)


Target training may help with figuring out where to land.
 
Top