Jump to content
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG ×
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG

Where do they land?


chezron

Recommended Posts

It just hit me that one of the reasons all my window and door moldings are chewed up is because my grey doesn't have anywhere else to land. I mean as I gaze down the hall there are only door frames to land on. Has any Grey owner added an occasional wall perch throughout their homes to accommodate a bird whose primary means of locomotion is flying? I think I would have far less chewed wood if I had done this. Please direct me to any photos of wall perches if you are aware of any. I am not talking about birdie gyms but wall mounted perches. My grey guy loves to be where I am and it would sure help him if he had a place to fly to. In the main living space he has an atom, several cages, his food stand, and a play stand. In the living room he has a tower, a window ledge, and a railing. Anywhere else he just has furniture and doors. I don't like him on the furniture unless it is covered because he is sure to gnaw. Does anyone have wall perches?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have perches all over the house, on stands and hanging from ceilings and some on table tops... I also have chewed moulding and door frames, so if that is what they fancy chewing i do not think it will matter where they land! lol I have metal walk thru gates dividing aeas of the house to keep the dogs from going where they shouldn't go, it is the perfect perch and just the perfect landing to chew whatever is nearest!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^^ Hahaha I think you're right! But we've still got to try, don't we?

 

One of the cheaper & simpler solutions is to try sticking your shower perch to a window (assuming you've already got one). If that attracts them, you could get some more. Just remember that wherever they spend time is going to get pooped under. But they do sell landing platforms like this one, that also stick on windows.

 

https://www.wingdow.com/

Edited by birdhouse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sophie has several jungle gyms and two cages. Her main landing perch is me or kids. Other than that, I expect her to land on what is hers! After having her for 14 years, I don't tolerate anymore chewing furniture and windowsills! She understands now. I still have to clean family room rug every three months. I am okay with that! Nancy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having perches all over the house never makes a difference, they chose to land where they want, and will chew the woodwork, windows door frames doors when they feel like it....

 

As for the shower perches being on the windows, my birds will chew the suction cups off and then all will go crashing down onto the floor as they fly off!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My greys always land on their perches and boings. They do sit on top of my cabinets in the kitchen but, thankfully they do not chew. Sterling Gris, cag, does like to sit in my plants and chew them so I have to watch him. My zon, Louie, likes to sit on my living room window frame but he is not a chewer. He likes to sit on my window perches and boings also. I guess I am just lucky.

Edited by luvparrots
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brutus will never land on me unless I invite him.

I would try the suction cup perches if they work on walls too? I worry the suction will fail. Maybe I can look at them and see if I can attach them another way.

I need a handy person!

Do you know of an extra hard wood or maybe that Trex fake wood to repair the upper piece of my door jams? I was thinking I could get the gnawed pieces removed and hard wood put in place and repainted. And then install some perches. I think it might work? maybe...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be pretty easy to make a wall perch. Just take an existing piece of Java or manzanita and unscrew the bolted screw from the end. Then go to a hardware store and get a double ended dowel pin. It has a wood screw on both sides, not just one, the way the pin you just removed does. Make sure you get the longest one you can get. Then screw one end back into the perch and with the other end find a wall stud and screw the perch into it (that's why you need a long pin, to go through the drywall). The biggest problem with this plan is you may go through all the work and wall damage and your bird may not want anything to do with it. Not a huge fix though if you need to repair the drywall down the road. One more thought. You may want a stainless steel washer between the perch and the wall to stop your fid from chewing at the drywall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wouldn't trust suction cups on the walls. I don't trust most of them on the tub & glass. I went thru a few before I found the one's I've got now. Also, if Brutus is the type to mess w/the suction cups, then Penny's right. There's too much risk of drama.

 

I don't know of any trim they can't destroy. However, I have very low ceilings. So the molding on top of my doors goes all the way to the ceiling. They can't land to chew on it. I suppose they could bat hang. But they aren't apparently that motivated. Much easier pickins all over the place.

 

So if you can do that, then maybe it's worth remodeling. Otherwise I wouldn't bother. Not at least until you were sure you'd gotten Brutus over going back to that spot. And good luck w/that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've solved most of our landing area problems by either removing them or hiring help. We removed a chandelier that Greycie was adamant was hers to land in, swing from and chew the wires etc. Now there's a flat ceiling light there, looks better anyway. For stuff that we absolutely won't give in on we hired the frogs picture below. She's scared to death of them. I suppose it's the spots. We found one in a dollar store and used it on our ceiling fan. It's one of those super expensive fans with nice chewy wood propellers that spins really slow but moves a ton of air. She found it irresistible to land on and ride and then eventually chew the blades. The frog now lives up there and Greycie has NEVER been back. Two more of the frogs siblings have been brought in to guard our fireplace mantel and all it's chewable/breakable jewels and my wifes candle assortment that Greycie destroyed.

 

 

7--Spotted-Frog-Stuffed-Animal-7407.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How adorable! It wouldn't scare Sophie unfortunately. She'd land on it and talk to her new found friend. NOTHING scares Sophie, which really is NOT a good thing. She will trust any animal or person to keep her safe. Give her an hour, she will stepup to you and treat you like her new best friend. I know everyone will think thats great, but it makes the " safety factor", triple in size. Nancy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good points Birdhouse! I would like to try your suggestions Acappella but I am not handy and need to find someone to help with a project like that. A stuffed frog like that would just be an invitation to chew out the eyeballs to Brutus -- he would not be scared, intrigued yes, but not scared. I think I will try one perch and see how it goes. Brutus is really (fairly) non-destructive except for door mouldings. I think the wood is so soft that it is really satisfying to bite off chunks. I really think that someday if I replaced the top piece of moulding with a harder wood he wouldn't enjoy trying to break it as much. Maybe I will try one door to see how it goes...

Edited by chezron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coming from an Architectural background I wanted to warn you about using Trex to replace the trim. Alot of those composite wood materials are so hard and last so long because they often utilize PVC to strengthen the product. I know most fids are not necessarily keen on chewing PVC pipe, however somthing that looks like the wood trim they've been chewing on all this time might be way to tempting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Besides his playground with three different size and shape swings, my bird favours the living room door frame, but he never chews it, though tried at first ... however, that's rather a solid wood and I added a toy on top of it as a sort of distraction, so Cockey is happily sitting atop the door gnawing his feathery toy.

At the same time that simple toy, a cat teaser, helped him to get rid of the bad habit of chewing tips of his own wing feathers :).

PS.

The door is at the back of the avatar pic, the right hand corner, so it's also a good flying route all the way from his stand where he is chewing the wind catcher ;)

Edited by Grumpy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does Grumpy get trips out into the sunshine? Boy it really helped my grey. He stopped mutilating his feathers within a couple of days of regular sunshine. I know you live in Serbia, so that time is probably limited.

 

I am not quite sure what you mean by "the time limited in Serbia" ... if you think of the climate and sunny days here, it's the same as almost everywhere else, climatic changes in progress, with lots of extremely hot days during the summer, even this February was no exception, so we had 23 degrees Celsius only a couple of days ago ... and my bird's cage is facing the window, just a few inches apart, so I'll soon have to pull down the shutters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...