GoDiego Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Over the last few weeks, Diego's confidence with flying has doubled and so has his speed and ability to land. Although he does still overshoot most of the time his landing pad. I love the fact that he is able to come and join us when he wants some company, or able to take himself back to his perch when he has had enough fuss. However, I am starting to worry about his safety. We have 2 very big patio doors which are covered in window clinks and netted curtains. But Diego is obsessed with these doors, I think because outside of the doors is an outdoor living area, which my family use all the time. Because Diego was only just getting to grips with flying when we first got him, if he flew to the door he would not hit it very hard and most of the time crash land before even getting close to them. Now he is flying straight for the door and yesterday hit it with some force! I think now that he is getting stronger with flying so are his knocks. He's also watching constantly for anyone going near to the door, as soon as somebody goes to open the door he just comes out of nowhere darting straight for them. I am so worried that one day, one of my boys will not be able to close the door in time before he gets there and we have already had a near miss where Diego nearly flew out. I have no idea what to do, and the only thing that keeps coming in my head is getting his wings clipped. Although If I got his wings clipped I would be worried that because he knows how to fly, after they are clipped he trys and just falls and hurts himself. I think this could really knock his confidence and pride. What else can I do? Is there some kind of training I could do? Or is it best for Diego's safety in these circumstances to have his wings clipped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 I have been taking my Grey outdoor almost everyday since the day we adopted her. She has grown used to what is outside of the house. Even with the door open, she has no desire to fly out. What attracted her to fly to the door is the netting I installed over the door. My entrance door is a metal grilled sliding door which is installed in front of the glass sliding door. I have a curtain installed and my 12 years old daughter is trained to go in and out of the house with cautious. We have been doing that for the past 2 years. Wing clipping is never on my mind even though my flighted grey at times gives me a lot of headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 Diego also goes outside everyday for a couple of hours in his cage as this is where we mainly sit, I was wondering if this was the reason for him flying to the door as he knows what's out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Mine is with the harness. With the harness she could feel the freedom. My Grey doesn't like to be in the cage even it is placed outside the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 I've been doing lots of training with Diego at the moment so that hopefully I can get a harness on him. At the moment, he hates his wings being lifted which I think may be a problem when trying to get a harness on him. Eventually this is my plan to have Diego with us outside but harnessed so that he is not in the cage. Most of the day he is out and about in the house but it's nice for us to have our windows and doors open for a couple of hours, plus a bit of natural light is good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 GoDiego, Try working with him with just lifting his wings. In other words, leave the harness part out of it for now. Just lift the wings or even just touch the wing, and then make a big deal, praising him and giving a tiny treat. (I use pomegranate seeds or sesame seeds.) Little by little he will realize having his wings touched and manipulated is not a big deal, and indeed leads to good things. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 GoDiego' date=' Try working with him with just lifting his wings. In other words, leave the harness part out of it for now. Just lift the wings or even just touch the wing, and then make a big deal, praising him and giving a tiny treat. (I use pomegranate seeds or sesame seeds.) Little by little he will realize having his wings touched and manipulated is not a big deal, and indeed leads to good things. Hope this helps![/quote'] This is the stage I am up to at the moment. So far he will tolerate me putting my finger under his wing for a couple of seconds, each time he lets me I use the clicker and reward him. He has been so quick to pick up most things, but this particular one is taking some time. I'm also thinking about getting a cheap tiny dog harness for him to play with and get used to (not to put it on him!), I'm thinking that it's best to get him used to this before going out and buying an expensive aviator harness for him to not want anything to do with it. I'm still at a lose at what to do with him flying at the door. Today we were all sat outside and he flew straight into it again, even with curtains across. The thud from the other side made my blood run cold, each time he does it, it gets more forceful. I love having him flighted in the house even though he can be a handful at times and I spend most of my time following him around and saying "No Diego, that's not for you!" and taking things off of him. However, I'm really starting to worry that he is going to really injure himself with the door, or like I said before my children cannot shut the door in time and he gets out. It's got to the point, where he's making me feel guilty. Although I have him out of the cage for the majority of the day, I feel like I'm still trapping him as he is so keen to get out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 (edited) If I may, try putting sticky's on windows and mirrors, a whole bunch to start with, then remove every other one, slowly..Maybe, try a shoe string in the color of the harness you want to get, never leave him unsupervised when he plays with them...Work on holding him upside down or with his back against your chest and scritch him under his wings...Great job yor doing....Jayd Edited August 22, 2010 by Jayd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 Thanks Jayd, at the moment my patio doors are covered in clinks that the children have made. My patio door is a rainbow of colours with all the glass stickers they have made, plus there is also a curtain. However, this is my problem, he just does not care about them and still throws himself against the door. I'm finding out that Diego is very stubborn and when he get's something in his head, all rational thinking goes out of the window and he just goes for it. He's like a kamikaze parrot! Great idea about the shoe laces to get him used to harness straps, this is a much cheaper idea Loving the picture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 OK, I have a plan! I have been racking my brains on what to do to curb his flying towards the door and then it hit me! (excuse the pun! LOL) Firstly I am going to move his cage and perch to be closer to the doors. This may sound crazy as there is less ground for him to cover before getting to them, however my way of thinking is, less ground less ability to pick up speed and therefore less of a whack when he hits them. Plus If he can see us better sitting outside, then he may not be so curious to what is going on. Second idea, I really, really do not want to clip Diego! After doing some research on Amazon's flying, they are completely different from that of a Grey. The main difference is they cannot turn in such short circles and tend to fly in straight lines. In this case the main straight line from his cage at the moment is the door. Every day he is showing me that he is enjoying more and more flying as his confidence is gaining with his wings. I am very fortunate in my house that I have an extremely large basement with very high ceilings. I have never thought about taking Diego to this area as it has been commandeered by the children as a huge playroom, however, it came to me that it is also a perfect area for Diego to spread his wings and really get some exercise. My way of thinking is, instead of curbing Diego's passion for flying i.e. by clipping, I should be embracing this and enhancing it. By enhancing and embracing it, maybe he will let off a lot of steam with the exercise, be more mentally stimulated and therefore happier to be on his perch or his areas. Not sure if it will work, but hey, it's not going to hurt. Hopefully I can get some photos of him flying in the basement for you all to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Glad to hear you're thinking for the benefit of Diego. Hope your plan works. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdnut Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Those sound like some good ideas for Diego. I really like the idea of working with the bird's instincts and adapting to them whenever possible, rather than trying to force them to adapt to us, sometimes against their instincts. I think the more we can arrange things to allow them to be what they are, the less stress they experience. I'll be interested to learn how things go with these new adaptations. That's an interesting point about how Amazons tend to fly straight. I wasn't aware of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 See, I've learned what "clinks are lol Jayd A Zon act's first, then asks questions..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Those sound like some good ideas for Diego. I really like the idea of working with the bird's instincts and adapting to them whenever possible, rather than trying to force them to adapt to us, sometimes against their instincts. I think the more we can arrange things to allow them to be what they are, the less stress they experience. I'll be interested to learn how things go with these new adaptations. You are so right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 OK today was the first day of trying my theories, however I've not yet moved the cage and perch as I have to get a cable tidy first as I will need to move the sofa a bit and it will show some hidden wires. He did however, go downstairs for a play in the basement. I popped Diego onto the kids easel on one end of the room and called for him to come, at first he looked at me as if to say "you gotta be joking, I'm not flying all that way!" After a while he came round to the idea and took off, overshot me and kept going to the other end. He made me laugh as the look on his face was WOW, I've just flown all that way! I treated him then went to the other end again and this time, he was much keener to come. He flew backwards and forwards about 4 times, after this he just sat there puffed up his feathers and started preening. No amount of calling was changing his mind so I called it a day, I think that because this is the most he has ever been able to fly he got tired. He made me laugh so hard though, every time he flies to me he overshoots and keeps going. Just as he is zipping past my head all you can hear is HOLA! It's almost like he's saying "Sorry can't stop!" He still needs lots of practice as he does find distances difficult to judge and his landings are not the most elegant, but when he's flying past me he looks sooooo beautiful! I don't know if my plans will work, but we both really enjoyed our playtime today. My husband mentioned about clipping afterwards and said that maybe this would be safer for Diego, however after seeing how he was today I just don't think I could do that to him! I will keep you all updated on our progress and also try and get a video of Diego saying his passing Hola! See, I've learned what "clinks are lol Jayd A Zon act's first, then asks questions..... LOL, it's amazing the things you can learn from the most unexpected places! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 (edited) As always, your correct on your thinking. If you notice, Diego fly's slow and on a angle head high, in their natural habitat, they fly from branch to branch, short winded stuby little guys, lol and bulky for there size. You have to train Diego how to fly down, suggestion, sit on the floor, with him on the top of his cage, have a treat,click, or what ever you use, and train him to fly down to you, some Zon's learn this quickly...Jayd Edited August 23, 2010 by Jayd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 If you notice, Diego fly's slow and on a angle head high He certainly does! And your other comment about being short winded, stumpy and bulky for their size is also spot on. They may not be the most graceful of flyers but he's still fab to watch. Interesting about flying from branch to branch, this may explain why after 4 longer spurts of flight he had, had enough. I will definitely do the flying down to me, I suppose this is just in case he did ever get out and he was in a tree or something to high for me to reach him? Or is it so that he does not sit all day on the highest bit of furniture blowing raspberry's at me knowing I can't get him. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 They are pretty to watch fly, and yes, both your reasons are correct, and their good at the raspberry's LOL You ought to hear a bunch of them do it at once, then they laugh afterwords...lol.................Jayd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I would love to see Diego's "drive" by video. I think it would be a hoot!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 Typical, I go downstairs with Diego today armed with my camera and guess what, he just sat there! LOL. Maybe he is not a morning bird and will enjoy a bit of exercise this afternoon. Today however, I am not sure if it's coincidence or not but he has not flown to the door once today. I will keep you all updated on how it's working out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janfromboone Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Your ideas sound like good ones. What about either making a plywood room divider or buying one. Put it a few feet infront of your doors if there is room. I'm thinking of the kind that are three or four peices hinged together and put it infront of the glass doors. You and your family would have to go around it to get out, but the bird would have to fly a tight turn around the edge to fly into the glass and probebly would stop trying anyway since he can't see the through the glass anymore. It might only have to be done temporarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoDiego Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 Good news, since putting into practice my ideas Diego now hardly ever flies into the doors. He does sometimes but now he seems to be able to slow down and land before he hits the glass, and only seems to do it if he overshoots where he wants to go. I've also ordered an Aviator harness and waiting for delivery, in the meantime he seems quite happy for me to put a looped shoelace over his head so am hoping he will accept the harness without any problems. Working with Diego's natural abilities rather than curbing them has definitely worked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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