Greytness Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Ever since we moved into our new home our birds consistently crash land. At the other place they were able to maneuver with ease. That home had 8 foot ceilings, and our new home has high angled ceilings. Whenever Maalik crash lands, which is often, he says, 'Are you okay?' Guess I've asked him that questions so many times that he now has to ask himself. My Panama Amazon also crash lands. Both birds are great flyers, so I'm not certain what's going on or how to help them. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Oh my! That must be a bit off settling for you! I am not sure, maybe the angled ceilings are something they have to adapt to? Don't have much advice to give, but if it were me. I would take them one at a time , have them perch on my hand, and slowing walk around the room, near the angled ceilings slowly, so they can see them or even tap them with their beak if they so desire, all the time, explaining to them . something like " look funny wall" maybe run your hand on them so they can see the difference? It might just be throwing them off cause it's new, sometimes angles are difficult to see. I tend to do that with one of my greys as we walk around the house, saying look up high! I stretch as far as I can just to give her a different view even tho she can fly, she can't quite go as high when flying vs being carried. Let us know how it goes, keep us posted! One afterthought...Will they try to land on you if you call them? Just an idea.... or some soft comforters/ blankets on the floor for the time being? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 (edited) The angled ceilings is the only thing I can think of that could be causing them some confusion. Harley, my Zon, actually hurt himself last week after flying into the corner of our computer hutch. Unfortunately there are so many places they can crash into that making everything softer isn't feasible. Maalik used to come when called at our old place, but here he'll just sit and look at me. We've been in our new home 5 months now, and they're still consistently having issues. Edited February 16 by Greytness 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Wow, no clue. Timber can't fly so I have no experience. I would assume they will adapt, but if it is already 5 months it seems they would have be now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 What kind of floors? Wood or carpet sound safer, but some (gorgeous) places have like tile or marble over concrete, which I guess could be bad for crash landings. Hope your guys figure our how to land safely and won't get any injuries. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 That's strange and not a problem I've really had to deal with before, so not sure what advice to offer I'm afraid. Talon's idea of walking them around and letting them see and touch the angled ceilings is a good one I think. Maybe they're still getting used to the space and the ceilings are off-putting. I've noticed that houses in the US seem to have much higher ceilings than here in the UK. In my current house the ceilings are quite low - a bit below 7ft. However, they are all straight/flat so no weird angles for Alfie to deal with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 We moved into a house with really high angled ceilings and haven't seen any crash landings. Are they actually crashing into the walls? Only think we've had issues with is a mirror on the wall in the living room that Huey and Seewee have mistaken for the door to the other section of the house and flew right into it. It now has a blanket on it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 The floors are Travertine. To me it appears as though they don't know where to land. They can easily do a complete circle back to their cage, but they usually end up crash landing near the windows. Harley attempted to land on the mantle last week, but ended up knocking over and breaking a candlestick holder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Don't forget, they see differently than we do. Depth can be difficult for them sometimes. I have a foyer with a 2 story high ceiling, and regular ceiling in the rest of the house, but our walls are different than the ceilings.. What color are your ceilings, they don't see colors like we do, perhaps that is an issue? You could temporarily add something to the ceilings, such as letters or colored paper pics so they see where things end. Are the walls the same color as the ceilings? That could throw them off? They may have crash landed so much that they are now afraid to fly..it might just take some time for adjustments for them. Greys don't like change, so they may just be taking longer to figure out your new house and how to maneuver the rooms. Taking them by hand around and showing them the boundaries is all I can think of. they seem to not know them yet..be patient, and help them see what they cant figure out...my kids when teaching my amazon how to fly, would run with her and tell her to fly when he got close to the couch and allowed her to crash land there until eventually she could land on her feet on it, it gave her confidence over time to try flying elsewhere. Please keep us posted..this is a tough one to figure out..but hoping in time, they will get it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Thank you, Talon. Maalik crashed again 2 nights ago, this time into the window. Extremely concerned he might break his neck one of these times. He was such an adept flyer at our other home that his inability to figure out the boundaries here is perplexing. The rooms are much bigger, and as I'd mentioned before, have high vaulted ceilings. Our ceilings are white and our walls a creamy tone of 'something'! We've already walked them both around their main area multiple times. Guess we'll just keep reintroducing them to the rooms. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Here are a couple images. Second is turning right into where the cages are and where they take off from. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Lovely house! But I can see their confusion now. I have no idea how to make ceilings and walls, well, everything really, feel like the simple enclosed box design of a typical house room. Gorgeous house though -- hope they can figure out someway to safely navigate. I know outside birds can accidentally crash into windows, but they do seem to be able to navigate around or to land safely on trees, lamp-posts, bird baths, fences, telephone lines, etc. without injury. Hoping your guys can learn what maneuvers are safe and what to avoid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I love your decor, but perhaps more color contrast would help them navigate. Guessing they aren't crashing into the dark sofa, or bar stools or the television. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 Thank you! They're crash landing into either the computer cabinet or into the windows. In our other home there was only 1 window that wasn't protected by their cages they could hit. Their other flight area was a straight shot. Here there are a lot of windows and multiple rooms to navigate through. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Yes, it is a beautiful home! I would immediately get some temporary plastic decals of any kind & put them on the windows until they understand they are windows. You can't have them crashing into the window, that's too dangerous. I can see the confusion with so many things hanging from the ceiling, it's quite busy to navigate in a new place. Can you limit their flying to 1 room at a time instead of the whole open concept. They sell cheap netting/ magnetic curtains on Amazon..again Temporarily. allowing them to practice flying in just 1 room at a time. Also, just a thought, but I don't see many places for them to safely & easily land. Can you put some perches or tree stand, or table top tree stands around for them? I have coiled rope perches hanging on hooks on my ceilings in their room & in between windows, near doorways so they can land on them when they are flying. It is an absolutely beautiful home, but it doesn't look very bird friendly in my opinion. My home with my 3 looks like a giant bird cage! I have attached whatever pics I can find on my phone wheile I am here at work, but it's just so you can see. I have wooden buckets ( chewed up some) on my counter for them to perch & land on. A swirly coil between the kitchen cabinets above the sink & in front of the window. Various things hanging in my living room ( excuse my husband & his family posing for Dinner). The first pic is the skylight in our kitchen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Talon, your home reminds me of that song "I'm gonna hire a wino" [to decorate our home]. Only it looks like you hired parrots. 🤣 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Maalik slammed hard into the window last night, scaring the daylights out of us. You are right. There aren't any parrot perches in that part of the house, primarily because I thought their bird area was expansive enough with enough perches and toys for them to enjoy. They're set up in our dining and living room areas. I do have some dragonwood stands outside, but they have some mildewy material growing on them so they'll need a good sanding down. Our other home looked like a giant bird cage, too. We also have a spacious outdoor aviary for them, but my son's been housing his ducks in it while he builds another 'quack house' for them. It's almost completed, which is good! Picking up some tape material to stripe the windows as a short term fix. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Any strong magnetic fields or power lines close by? Just a thought 🤗 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 There actually is an old power pole on the next property. I don't believe it's functional, but you just never know. Could power lines cause confusion in birds? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I’m not sure about Greys in particular, but years ago, another lifetime actually, I worked in an office building. They put up some power lines a year after I was there, and birds started to crash into the windows. Did a little research at the time, and power lines generate magnetic fields. Some birds, maybe all birds navigate using the earth’s magnetic poles during migration. Some research has shown a mild causality between power lines and brain cancer in humans. Proved up or not, real estate next to power lines tend to be less expensive. They even have done studies about cell phones and cancer. Who knows 🤗 Might be worth some updated research if you can’t find a cause. Last time I looked was over 30 years ago. That was before google lol An easy way to check the pole you’re talking about would be to get a plain old compass and walk around it. If it’s active the compass will be erratic if it’s putting off anything. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 (edited) Thank you! Unfortunately I don't have a compass, but it's easy enough to get one. I'm quite curious now. That pole, which sits on a vacant lot, has made me wonder if it's still emitting any energy. Edited March 16 by Greytness 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 It was the only thing I could think of, probably has nothing to do with it, but thought I would mention it. Out of curiosity, I did some googling and found this article amoung MANY others. Like I said, it kinda boils down to "Who knows" Now a days everyone has an opinion on everything, and they are usually differing ones. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120710120229.htm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 Thank you. Definitely something to ponder! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 3/15/2024 at 11:04 PM, KevinD said: I’m not sure about Greys in particular, but years ago, another lifetime actually, I worked in an office building. They put up some power lines a year after I was there, and birds started to crash into the windows. Did a little research at the time, and power lines generate magnetic fields. Some birds, maybe all birds navigate using the earth’s magnetic poles during migration. Some research has shown a mild causality between power lines and brain cancer in humans. Proved up or not, real estate next to power lines tend to be less expensive. They even have done studies about cell phones and cancer. Who knows 🤗 Might be worth some updated research if you can’t find a cause. Last time I looked was over 30 years ago. That was before google lol An easy way to check the pole you’re talking about would be to get a plain old compass and walk around it. If it’s active the compass will be erratic if it’s putting off anything. Kevin..off subject..but regarding cell phones & brain cancer.. I had 2 friends, who were glued to their cell phones for work & pleasure since the very first ones ever came out...BOTH dies from Glioblastoma...I fully believe it was caused by their use of cell phones. Both were fit, ate healthy and had no underlying issues. Also, they both died in their early 50's. Just sayin, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now