time to clip them?

[emmab]

as you may have realised, our lovies are not tame :( They do interact with us but won't 'follow instructions' and won't come near us.

This hasn't been a huge problem up until now.

we like allowing them out of the cage and they enjoy a fly around. They have a routine and (UNTIL NOW! :mad: ) have been good at going into their cage after their 'playtime'.

But they have got very smart and won't go back in the cage, resulting in us having to catch them (something they hate - as they won't come near us - and something we hate too as we know it distresses them :( )

We hate keeping them in the cage but don't know now if we can trust them out.

Would wing clipping help us or is there any other way we can get them back into the cage?
They don't respond to treats or bribary, usually we rely on timing their 'playtime' to just before they eat. They have learnt now that as long as they take it in turns to go in the cage to eat, we can't close the door! :rolleyes:

Sorry its so long - don't know what to do for the best.

[miracleleo]

My birds have full flight. I take them out from the cages daily. They seem to be wanting to be outside forever. One of them is obedient when it's time to go back to the cages. For others I use different tricks to make them want to go back.
When I touch their happy huts, they don't like it so they will go back and protect them. This could be their favorite toys, too.

[emmab]

my birds would be happy if I took all their toys LOL, they hate their happy hut and don't play at all with anything in their cage! LOL

[Janie]

Yes, I think a wing clip will help. All three of my birds are very tame but only one is allowed full flight as the other two are young and could not be trusted with full flight. They don't like to go back into their cage and it's much easier for me when they aren't on the top of the ceiling fan! :D

[emmab]

do you think they'd become tamer if we clipped them?

[butterfly1061]

It would be easier to tame them if they are clipped. They won't become tamer just because they are clipped as you will have to work with them. Clipping lessens the speed and height of flight. Most of us do it for safety reasons. :2cents:

[Janie]

I don't know about that but I think you have a much, much better shot at taming them to some degree if they are clipped. I adopted my older bird when he was 6 or 7 and he was very tame and did come to me with a wing clip. Because he was so tame, after a year I let his wing feathers grow out just to see how that would go. Not well! He took on a totally different attitude and while he was still tame, he was showing a natural wild streak that I was afraid would get him into trouble, flying into a window, etc. So, back to wing clips for him. Now, three years later, he is totally flighted, has been for a whole year, and it's working well for both of us. I hope I'll be able to allow him full flight from now on and think it will be OK but if not, I'll have him clipped again. He is an older bird and not nearly as curious as a typical lovebird. He sticks to me like glue, on my shoulder, any time I take him out of the bird room.

My other two were hand fed babies and very tame when I got them but w/o wing clips I don't think I could have bonded with them as easily as I did. Even with two tame lovies who were clipped, it still took a couple of months with constant interaction to form a trusting bond. If they could have flown away from me every time I approached, I am sure they would have. They learned to rely on me instead of flying away from me. They both have "manageable" flight now. :)

[Peaches_birdie]

Our bird became very tame after his wing clip... now he will sit on my finger and also on my sholder... we got him about a month and a half ago, and he was crazy... biting and flying away from us... now he seems to like to interact with us.:2cents:

[emmab]

thanks so much for all the help - I will get them done - now (sorry for all the questions!) whats the best ways to transport them to the vets? I'm not sure how he's going to get them to clip them! LOL

[sdgilley]

Hi,
A wing clip will make them more dependent on you, and that will help you in the taming process. With birds, trust is a big issue. They'll learn to trust you and they have to have contact with you (since they can't fly).

I transport mine to & from the vet's office in a plastic habitat container. You'll find them in pet stores usually in rodent section. I like them as the top snaps on and it's all clear plastic. I put a small towel or clean pillow case on the bottom of it. When I get to the vet's they usually swab the poop from the clean cloth for part of the tests.

If I need a larger travel container, I have a small bird cage for that purpose. It's not ideal, as it has a small door so getting the bird in or out is tricky in the vet's office.

When I first got Peter, I took him to the vet in his cage and all. That way the vet could give me suggestions on the cage/toys, too.

Good luck!!

[shylevon]

I also think a wing clip will help, not so short that they can't get around, but short enough that they don't have full roam of the house.

I also use a squirt bottle on my wild birds (well, the tame ones too). They know they will not get squirted in the cage, so when I want them to return to the cage, I just point the bottle at them. Most of the time I don't even need to squirt, but I will squirt a little in their general direction in they are ignoring me. The whole flock scoots off to the cage in a jiffy.

[Keltoth]

I also use a squirt bottle on my wild birds (well, the tame ones too). They know they will not get squirted in the cage, so when I want them to return to the cage, I just point the bottle at them. Most of the time I don't even need to squirt, but I will squirt a little in their general direction in they are ignoring me. The whole flock scoots off to the cage in a jiffy.

OMG, that's *brilliant*! I'm going to have to steal that tactic. I'll feel kind of bad the first couple of times but I'll get over it. It'll seem sort of like when jailers turn the firehose on unruly inmates to break up a riot and get them back into the cages. Can you imagine if I had Black Masked lovebirds? The mental snapshot of me hosing down all those little bandits to get them in their prison cells would just be too comical...

...ok, I think I've had one too many Lortabs tonight. I'll go lie down before I hurt myself... :whistle:

- Eric

[Z28Taxman]

. Can you imagine if I had Black Masked lovebirds? The mental snapshot of me hosing down all those little bandits to get them in their prison cells would just be too comical...

... - Eric

I can just picture Heather doing just that! :rofl:

[Asue]

I've seen ads in mags about a binding contraption for larger parrots. Supposed to help making wing/nail clipping easier for one person to do it alone.

I improvised one from a clean sock and an old scrunchy ( hair tie ). It's easier for me to bind Mikey now... since he's got a little case of lock jaw when he means business.

IMO, when a chore becomes easier, you tend to keep on top if it. :whistle:

Clipping... now that it's colder out and the windows and doors aren't kept open as often, Mikey can fly. If he gets abit to big for his britches, a wing clip puts him in prospective quick. You'll see that some clip year 'round and some advocate flight. It's really up to you.

[kk and tango]

My boyfriend could never get Tango to go back in his cage until i taught him the trick of touching the favorite toy! nothing like jealousy....

[emmab]

mine are jealous over nothing! LOL