going places they shouldn't

[snoepgoed123]

Since Archimedes will be coming home within the next couple weeks... (10 weeks old now) I'm planning on not clipping the wings. One issue that we'll have is we have vaulted ceilings and we have a window around 20 ft up that's not reachable by any means besides grabbing a tall ladder... point is... I don't want Archimedes up there... not because it's high up and all that, but when we used to have a cockatiel, he would LOVE to fly up there and eat the walls... and the only way he would want to come down (and we tried many) was to use a fishing rod in the area to startle him off. I don't want to use a fishing rod, so I'm looking for suggestions to get Archimedes down. I could care less if he's up there except for the fact that I don't want him to eat the walls and paint. I know people have suggested putting something in the area to deter, but that's just not possible. Also our house has an open floor plan so it's not like we can detain him to just the living room.

[danmcq]

That's the tough part of owning a flighted parrot. They can and will go anywhere they wish. I know this may not work for you, but the only way we can keep our birds away from area's such as you describe is to put a stuff animal with eyes. It will normally keep the birds at bay for a month or so until they realize it is not going to harm them. Then we get another different looking stuffed toy. It works great.

 

I will say, even a clipped parrot will go any where it can reach and chew as well on baseboards, furniture and if it can climb to a window ledge via curtains, it certainly will.

[snoepgoed123]

even though that's a good idea, I don't think thats gonna happen... I'm scared of ladders, my father is afraid of heights, and my mother is afraid of her own shadow... So nobody in my family would be able to get up there... I'm looking of a solution that we can do from the ground preferably

[judygram]

I don't know about greys but I have a house full of mounted animals including birds that my cockatiel lands on all the time so having something with eyes doesn't matter to her but it looks like the best suggestion is to hire someone to come in and do the things you want done to keep Archimedes from going so high up or invest in a very long fishing pole.

[Mistyparrot]

It's a tricky problem. When Misty flies up to where he shouldn't I set his spray bottle to jet and point it at him. Most times I don't even have to press the trigger. He knows that if he flies to my shoulder I won't squirt so he comes straight to me and tells me what a "Horrible boy" I am for spoiling his fun. This won't work with your young fellow because he has yet to build trust in you. As the others have said a toy with eyes may work for a while. One time I discovered by accident that Misty would not go near a sunflower head I got for him because I assumed he would like it. In fact he seemed scared of it so that worked as a scareparrot for a while. I put it on a bookshelf that he otherwise liked to go to. I am sure you will find things that will work for at least a while. I also used to have a problem with Misty landing on top of my TV and computer monitor. My solution there was to tape J Cloths on top so that they hang down the back. As Misty flies up to land the gust from his wings causes the J Cloth to rise up and that puts him off every time. Now days he never even bothers to try to land on them.

 

Steve n Misty

Edited January 22, 2012 by Mistyparrot

[chezron]

You know we have the same situation. I would wait to see if this situation is really a problem. We thought our super high ceilings with super high window ledges would be a problem, but he rarely goes up there because he wants to be closer to us. Because so many of the things we worry about rarely come true, I would put off any structural changes until it becomes necessary.

[snoepgoed123]

thanks for all the suggestions guys! I think I'm gonna wait to see if he actually wants to go up there like chezron says... then if he does, maybe start off by getting the fishing pole out of storage... and if that won't work put something up there to deter him... man, can't believe that he'll be home soon!!! (or she, we're finding out if its a boy or girl in the next week or so)

[Talon]

I have very high ceilings and a giant oval window in the front of my foyer. My birds tend to fly up there on occasion as if to say ha ha, you can't get me.....I have a cheap and easy solution when they are strutting back and forth across the window sill. I have a coat rack right near the front door, hanging on it, I have those cheap colored plastic Marci GRAS bead necklaces that I bought at the dollar store. I pick one up and toss it up there, and off they go! It works wonders, now all I have to do is put my hand on them and say their name and off they go!

I have a glass chandler hanging in front of the window, and all it took was one time each of landing on it and the unsteadiness of it wiggling and the sound of the glass hitting and moving sent them off and they have never tried it again.

 

Try the beads, they work great!!

[birdhouse]

A member posted a possible solution to your problem a few months back. No need for climbing or structural alterations. Clever, portable & cheap.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?194001-The-High-Altitude-Avian-Extractor-%28H.A.A.E.%29&p=238757#post238757