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Growing up and growing wings

Saya

Meeting neighbors
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12/29/16
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My baby starling (they are legal to keep as pets) has, in the past 4 days, gained the ability of flight (he's about 3 to 4 weeks old). He has started getting into really high places where I'd prefer him not be such as on top of ceiling fans and on cabinets. He is the sweetest little thing and loves attention and food, but as he's gained the ability of flight he's also started refusing to get down from these high places. Him not wanting to get down is not an issue with people that I can tell because when I handle him on a stool he's super friendly and just wants to sit on my shoulder and sleep. I'm wondering if this is a "teenager" phase, if I should clip his wings (or if this will do more harm than good), and if this is how he's going to be forever. Any help would be appreciated I'm currently at a loss
 

faislaq

I have macaws and don't post enough pictures
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Birds being prey animals feel safest higher up, plus I've read that flying down is harder to learn, so he may not have that skill mastered yet. :) You could try coaxing him down with food or scritches. Once he's mastered flying he'll probably still go up high, but it'll be easier for him to come down, too. Clipping is not a great idea as most birds can fly anyway, just more clumsily and may hurt themselves, or if severely clipped can fall pretty hard.

You can set up play areas with toys and foraging in places where you'd prefer him to be. Maybe hang a boing perch near one of his favorite spots and see if he might go to that instead.
 

Mizzely

Lil Monsters Bird Toys
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Yes, flying down is a skill, same as climbing down a tree for a cat is a learned skill. It's easy to go up, but coming down uses an entirely different set of muscles that they need to learn to engage. He needs to learn that skill :) Clipping his wings while he is right at the most crucial part of his flight learning could turn out badly - loss of confidence, injury, or worse.

You can try barriers of some sort; my green cheek and Jingo used to go hang up on the kitchen cupboards and I hated it. So I put a pool noodle up there. They hated that thing, so they stayed away.

We never used the ceiling fan we had at one house, so we just took off the paddles to prevent birds getting injured or hanging out up there.

And @faislaq is absolutely right; offering better places as an alternative is always helpful!

Also, it is not recommended to clip birds that are not hookbills as they cannot climb around like a parrot can.
 

faislaq

I have macaws and don't post enough pictures
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Also, it is not recommended to clip birds that are not hookbills as they cannot climb around like a parrot can.
I didn't know that. It never occurred to me.:tup:
 

Phocyn

Sprinting down the street
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Starlings love windows and cubby spaces. They get the terrible twos at two years of age. It is strongly recommended not to clip a starling. If you want more information I strongly urge you to visit starling talk.

What diet are you providing?
 

Max83

Walking the driveway
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I agree with others. Don't clip him, he probably haven't learned to fly down yet. My cockatiel did the same at the beginning, but yeah he could like high places even after this phase, it's their nature!
 

Phocyn

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The st diet is formulated by professional rehabbers. It consists of a good quality chicken base dog food, chicken layer mash, apple sauce, and egg. Mealworms and crickets do not provide enough nutrients for a diet.

I again hope you register with starlingtalk or at least reach out to the site owner.
 
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