there has to be a better way

[bookworm0550]

there has to be a better way to get the babies back into their cage! the two girls are easy cuz they trust me to hold them. the boys on the other hand run around like i'm a monster. it's really annoying cuz i'm chasing them around and they land up high where i have to get on a chair or something and by then, they are already up and away. it's very frustrating. baby 3 has three wings clipped and he's still flying like it's nothing, flying to the top of the bookshelf and all. i can never get him. well, him and all the boys.

i have to mist them w/ water til they can't gain height anymore and grab them. i do not want to do that, but that is the only thing that is working for me right now. i feel like a water torturer. and then i hate to grab them on top of that cuz that just makes them mistrust me more. they don't fall for treats. i don't blame them for not trusting me cuz i'm chasing them around and spraying them w/ water, but i don't know what else to do. a normal wing clip? is that even the answer? i don't know.

when i put them in their cages, i can't leave the door open cuz the ones in there will come flying out (try chasing babies and chomper, who is still very flighty). so it's hard when the boys want to go into their cages, but when i approach to open the door for them, they take off.

i don't get it. i held them all the same, but the girls are more trusting of me. the boys act like i'm a hawk out to get them. anyway, i gotta get ready for work and i'm late already again due to chasing babies around.

[linda040899]

Bookworm,
Have you clipped a couple of flight feathers on these little arial acrobats? If not, sounds like that's what you need to do. If they are taking off and landing well (which it sounds like they are), they have too much freedom and they need to be grounded just a little bit. :)

How babies react to people will vary from bird to bird. Even hand fed ones get that same taste of independence and you will see similar behavior! Slowing them down and a bit of extra attention should help.

[bookworm0550]

How babies react to people will vary from bird to bird. Even hand fed ones get that same taste of independence and you will see similar behavior! Slowing them down and a bit of extra attention should help.

whew. good. i thought i did something wrong! i thought it was all my fault. i was like, 'did i not hold them enough, long enough, etc..' i think i'll pay more attention to them when they are out. i'll have to keep the others (mainly joey, orion, and jada) locked in. it wouldnt be so bad if joey and jada weren't so needy 24/7. most of the time, they are so demanding of my attention!

[bookworm0550]

i did clip 3 feathers on baby 3. he had a harder time flying at first, but i think he's used to it now cuz he gets around really good! i didn't do baby 5 yet. baby 1 only has 1 flight feather clipped. the girls aren't clipped. they are really good about stepping up and whatnot so i don't worry about them. they are shockingly sweet, friendly, and good. the boys will kiss me on the lips, but that's it. as soon as they see hands, they are off. basil (baby 1) is a bit better than the rest, but he's super flighty.

[linda040899]

For baby 3, clip one more flight feather on each wing and see what that does. To make up for what you did, he simply strengthened the muscles in his wings....... :omg: If you take the clipping very slowly, you will get them to exactly where you want them to be as far as independent flight and you will be back in control again. Again, each bird is an individual and so the number of missing feathers can be different for each bird.

Your main goal with them is to limit where they can go, not take away their ability to fly around.

[Chickobee]

I try to clip enough so the birds can maintain level flight between the cages or the playgym and will coast to the floor if they try to go all the way across the living room. We had let their flight feathers grow out a lot and were enjoying watching them fly until they started getting too independent.

Last week I clipped a lot of flight feathers (14 of the birds) because I had birds doing aerial acrobatics in the livng room, flying up to the top window sills (about 15' up), and back and forth from the top window sill to the railing on the upstairs landing. When I would try to get them to go in their cages they would step up onto my hand and then fly away. Little stinkers!

As much as I love watching them fly I still need to be able to put them in their cages on my schedule. Scooter and Ginger were the worst--really enjoying their freedom and were beautiful to watch but they sure weren't going to let me put them in their cage. Then when I was about to give up they went into their cage on their own!

Then I clipped them both! They are now so sweet and willing to step up again.

Your babies are definitely proficient fliers so wing trims won't hurt them. Just do test flights so you begin the clip very conservatively and take tiny bits off to make the needed adjustments until you get them the way you want.

Some of my birds only need a few feathers trimmed while others need six.