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How to discourage constant flying to me??

xxbluedragonxx

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Hi everyone!

I thought I'd make a new post. I've made tremendous progress with my ringneck. Originally when I got him he was super scared of everything and tried to get away from me anywhere in the cage. So after advice from here I backed off completely then took it slower.

Fast forward and now he is not afraid of my hand and steps up readily. He has also now flies to me when out the cage.

However I think he is TOO eager to fly tome now?? Even if I don't put my finger up he comes flying right at me. A couple times has landed on my shoulder and once on my head.

It caught me off guard a couple of times and obviously he must pick up my nervousness as well (kinda normal I would think, if you have a bird with a sharp beak flying at your face!) and kinda makes a "caaawwww" type of noise when he gets near. He only makes the noise when I'm not prepared for him i.e. don't have my finger up.

So not only do I have to control my nerves some more but how can I discourage him from constantly flying to me when he's out of the cage?

I used a clicker + sunflower seed combination to get him to step up and then to fly to my finger but he seems to do it even without the clicker when outside the cage... so poor guy comes flying up to me, I'm not prepared for it and then he makes his caawww noise and tries to land anywhere on my person. I want to detrain him a bit so he only comes when I call him on my finger? Is it too late??
 

finchly

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I can’t understand why you don’t want him to fly to you. He wants to be with you!

I actually teach all of mine to “fly to me” in case they ever get out of the house or someplace I can’t reach them.

Maybe teach him “perch” and send him off to a perch when he gets on you?
 

xxbluedragonxx

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Hi Finchly

Maybe I didn't word it right :) I'm happy he's flying to me! But I think you're right, I've not taught him to perch. Plus I'm a bit nervous too when he flies to me without any prompt. I guess we'll both work on it!!
 

Lady Jane

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However I think he is TOO eager to fly tome now??
I don't understand what you want your bird to do. If I don't understand your bird sure as heck does not either. Kind of a mixed message. Where do you want your bird to fly to? Do you have a dedicated place for your bird outside of the cage such as a playi stand?
 

LSA

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I'm confused, too. Maybe tell us what you want.
 

Feather

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My birds also fly to me unprompted. I never considered this a bad thing. :heart: It means I'm part of their flock and they want to be with me.

Why are you nervous about him flying to you? Does he bite when he lands on you?

Unless I'm misunderstanding the situation, this is a very natural behavior for a bird who has bonded with his human and my only recommendation would be to embrace it.
 

xxbluedragonxx

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Hi everyone thanks for the helpful posts! I tried again today and this time was more relaxed and prepared for him flying to me.

I don’t have a stand for him to fly to but will look to get one.

I got nervous because his cage/stand is at face level so when he flies it’s like he’s coming straight for my face!

I guess I wasn’t prepared for him flying to me unprompted. But if it’s natural he comes without a cue then I just gotta relax more about it
 

LSA

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Oh, that makes sense.

I don't have a playstand for my IRN either.

Flying to me usually means he wants to hurt me (To know Glenn, is to love Glenn.), so I sorta understand, but also know my ideas probably wouldn't work other than maybe a taller/shorter cage.
 

Lady Jane

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Please be aware that birds are quite intuitive when it comes to what we humans are feeling. If you are nervous when you are around your bird then they will be also.
 

Just-passn-thru

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Please be aware that birds are quite intuitive when it comes to what we humans are feeling. If you are nervous when you are around your bird then they will be also.
You need to get a play stand/gym or a table top stand. When he flys to you, you can then put him on his play gym. It may take several times for him to associate the stand/play gym where you want him to perch. Provide some toys for him to keep busy.
He will learn through repetition where he should land and station, when out of cage.


 

Mockinbirdiva

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Two of my birds, Rocket and Astro are in a room that has two open doorways without doors. I put suspension rods up at the top of the door opening and hung sheer curtains so they can see me when they are both out but can't fly to me. With two little dogs that would love to chase them it's a safe alternative when I'm busy.. ( I also have the floor blocked so the dogs can't go in that room). Not that I don't want them flying to me, but Rocket will climb down to my hand and try to get into everything I'm doing...especially at the sink. I can't wash dishes with him on my hand... he loves drinking water from the faucet too but when it's hot I need him to be in a safe place. When I'm ready for him to join me I can slide the curtain open.
 

Dartman

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Teach him something like go home and get him to go to his cage. We try that with Dobby when he eats things as he always picks the same spots and makes a mess. If he gets the idea he should just head to the top of his cage when you say it so try giving him a high value reward when he goes where you want and that should give him a good reason to do it. It hasn't always worked with Dobby but we don't consistently do it enough for him to get the idea but he will do it sometimes when we tell him so he has a idea but he's stubborn like most birds and does what he wants.
 

Feathered up

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I’m late to the party but I totally get why @xxbluedragonxx doesnt want her bird to randomly fly to her constantly.

Yes, it’s great that our bonded birds want to spend time with us. It’s not great when they can’t entertain themselves AT ALL and think that every second of their out of cage time should be spent on our shoulders.

My POW is this way and I can’t count how many really bad cuts and scratches Ive suffered from him swooping in from nowhere while I’m working on something and grabbing onto the side of my face because he missed my head.

I’m not his play gym. He has four of those. There have to be boundaries. I can’t have him demanding my time 24/7. He gets tons of one on one and sometimes it’s just not appropriate for him to be on my person. I don’t want to have to keep him caged every time I’m trying to type an email or eat a snack or talk on the phone.

Remy was taught to fly to you for treats and he, like you IRN, learned the trick too well. Lol. I remove him. Repeatedly and try to distract him with a toy on one of the gyms. It has been a slow process but is starting to work.
 

Laurul Feather Cat

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My birds land on me any time they want. My head, my shoulder, my back, even my butt if I am bent over! If I need them to move off me, I step them down onto t the nearest table, perch or whatever. Sometimes it is inconvenient for them to be on me, but together we adjust. Sometimes I shop them off me, sometimes they don't like what I am doing and leave; and sometimes I stop doing whatever and sit down and interact with them.

Using those sheer curtains is a great idea for multiple rooms.
 

finchly

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I’m understanding better now! I’m like @Laurul Feather Cat — mine fly and land all over me.

You need a play stand or something, for sure. @Laurie can explain how to teach them to station on that stand.If you can’t get a regular one, some people use a folding rack used for drying clothes, or look through the DIY section here for other ideas.

My husband hates when they land on him. For one thing they scratch his thin skin and he has bloody places and bruises all over. I think too it just startles him. However certain ones adore him (I’m looking at you, Rio) and if out they’ll be on him.

Of course if it’s a tiel he doesn’t mind at all.:rolleyes:
 

Feathered up

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I do get why people enjoy that their birds want to be with them and LOVE a Velcro bird. I too LOVE my birds on me.

In truth, no bird should be on your shoulder while you are distracted. That’s when injuries occur. Skyy loves to pierce my ears for me ( I could probably wear 20 earrings in my left ear) and am thankful she only sits where I put her.

Poor Remy is odd man out. I have mentioned before that his species doesn’t alopreen so while he likes the presence of the other birds, he wants to be close but wants no part of preen time so of all of my birds, Remy NEEDS to be close to me the most. I DO make accommodation for that need and don’t mean to sound like I’m saying never hold the bird. POW’s in particular are extremely fast, acrobatic flyers and I have inadvertently knocked him to the floor because I started to stand up about the time he decided he couldn’t live without me. He’s flown out of a door because he was flying to me as I was opening the door and the door startled him so he swooped up over my head and out into the cats and dogs :omg: I’m thankful it wasn’t an outside door. Station is very difficult with Remy as there isn’t a treat he loves as much as he loves me. He is the ONE bird that I really need a same/ similar species with.

I don’t have the fly to me whenever problems with my IRN as he is still terrified of me. But given their tendency to have tantrums, I probably don’t want him doing it either. Lol
 
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