Birds with others

Jkohnen31

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So my family has always had a huge heart for rescues and we have a house with four legged animals as well as my new bird baby. So needless to say I on super super focused when she is out of the cage and taking things super slow. I live with my father and my brother and I own 2 cats a dog and my bird. I’ll get to my dads animals in a minute. Truthfully I’m not that concerned about my animals. I need to pay attention but as long as I’m watching I feel like they are ok. My dog is happy as long as he’s still allowed near by abs has made no attempt (so far) to do more then look at her, my one cat doesn’t even know she’s in the house because she didn’t come down stairs and we have it blocked so the bird can’t go upstairs and my other cat has been watching for a few seconds then going back to sleep. It may help that I have had the spray bottle if water in hand ready to go lol. So I feel like I got them under control. But then we add my fathers animals to the mix abs I feel more nervous. He had 2 dogs. One I know he’s not trying to hurt her but he thinks she’s his and he keeps trying to take her from me. I sprayed him with the water bottle today and that seemed to calm him. This dog is a giant baby and he’s now kind of afraid of the bird because he got a little wet. The other dog is alright she is trainable, the water will distract her a second but she doesn’t really mind it. So dogs I can deal with but then we got more cats and they scare me. So I got my spray bottle which I use if they even go near her care right now. I really don’t want to be mean to the cats but I want everybody safe at the same time. I sprayed two of his cats because they climbed on the cage and they haven’t gone near it since but I know better then to think that’s the end of it.

Does anybody else have cats and birds and how do you handle them????


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Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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hello my fellow animals friend.

You and your bird are in a very dangerous situation. Cats predators instincts are difficult to impossible to overcome.

90% of cats carry a bacteria called Pasteurella. This bacteria can kill a bird in a matter of hours. Even if its a single minor scratch...there is even evidence that saliva gotten on the feathers and preen off by the bird can lead to death.
This link discusses this in wild birds. But tge sane thing happens to parrots.
https://corvid-isle.co.uk/first-aid-cat-caught-birds
" Mandatory Antibiotic Treatment
Regardless whether injuries have been found or not, every cat caught bird requires antibiotic treatment. Firstly, it is very easy to miss tiny puncture wounds, which may not even bleed externally. Secondly, it is very likely that the plumage is contaminated with saliva, and the next time the bird preens, he or she is likely to ingest deadly bacteria. More than 90% of all cats carry pasteurella multocida bacteria in their saliva, so the chances of infection are very high. Birds caught by cats will usually succumb to the septicaemia within 48 to 72 hours, unless they are treated promptly with adequate antibiotics. Releasing a seemingly uninjured cat caught bird or animal without pain relief and antibiotic treatment is therefore irresponsible and cruel, and will condemn the animal to prolonged suffering and death."

My avain vet has worked to save parrots after an encounter with cats, even minor wounds she said are nearly 100% fatal. Veterinarian care started in less than hour or so, and immediately giving antibiotics has saved a few...

The dogs depending on their prey drive......they must give you respect and space. My dogs i can put a steak on the floor and they will not touch it or go near it because I own the steak. I can look at my dogs or point and they will back up. Ceasar the dog whisper are good video, to give you an idea on that. Its about energy...

Ok I'm going to say this and you won't want to listen, but its from the heart. . You need to re home your parrot. And do one of the most difficult human behaviors, delayed gratification. You need to wait until you are the head of your own household to have parrots .
 
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Jkohnen31

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As far as with my animals I am head of the house hold. Is my father animals that I’m having trouble with. The dogs I can work with. I could put a steak down and tell them not to take it and then won’t. They may cry but they will not take it.

The cats of I have to I’ll lock in his room while the bird is out but I’m trying to avoid that. I need to over come their instincts but believe me. I am head of the house.


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Laurasea

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I'm sorry to have used a phrase that hits a nerve.

To me the risk is to high. Nobody could control so many predators around a prey species. The unpredictable nature of the situation, abd the deadly consequences. I couldn't assure my parrots safety like this. My love for them is so strong, I wouldn't risk it.

There are to many moving parts, pets, and people, to protect every second
 
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Inger

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Mar 20, 2017
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The dogs depending on their prey drive......they must give you respect and space. My dogs i can put a steak on the floor and they will not touch it or go near it because I own the steak. I can look at my dogs or point and they will back up. Ceasar the dog whisper are good video, to give you an idea on that. Its about energy...

Ok I'm going to say this and you won't want to listen, but its from the heart. . You need to re home your parrot. And do one of the most difficult human behaviors, delayed gratification. You need to wait until you are the head of your own household to have parrots .

And if I recall correctly, didn’t one of your birds lose most of their tail feathers to your perfectly trained dog? So no training is enough to overcome instinct.

And you haven’t rehomed your birds. I find it extremely disrespectful of you to insist someone else do what you won’t.


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Snapdragon

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Dec 26, 2019
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I have three cats and a parrot. My housemates have three more cats. The rule is no cats on the same side of a barrier as the parrot, EVER. That will be the rule for the rest of however long I have prey and predators under the same roof.

Each of my animals chose me. I have special, deep bonds with each of my babies. I will not get rid of my cats. I will not get rid of my parrot. Yes, there ARE risks. But with careful and strict rules, the risk is manageable. I strongly advise against having predators out while a parrot is out. Communication with other members of the household and impressing upon them the life-and-death importance of adhering to the rules you set is key.

On a side note, I would like to point out that DOGS, too, can carry pasturella in their mouths. It's not just cats. For that matter, gram-negative bacteria (which most mammals, including us, harbor) is bad for birds. So... heck, maybe we humans should ALL rehome our birds. ;-)
 

Snapdragon

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Dec 26, 2019
112
8
Everett, WA
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Tashi, almost-2-year-old female moustache parakeet, Indian subspecies (Psittacula alexandri fasciata)
I'm going to add that I don't recommend you try to get the cats to overcome their instincts. As someone who has worked heavily in cat rescue for the better part of ten years, I can tell you that they cannot overcome their instincts. It just isn't going to happen, and it's not fair to the cats to put that on them. They are far closer to their wild ancestors than you realize.

I can't speak for dogs, but I strongly suspect that it's a similar situation. Even we humans have trouble overcoming our instincts 100%. And it only takes once.
 
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Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
As far as with my animals I am head of the house hold. Is my father animals that I’m having trouble with. The dogs I can work with. I could put a steak down and tell them not to take it and then won’t. They may cry but they will not take it.

The cats of I have to I’ll lock in his room while the bird is out but I’m trying to avoid that. I need to over come their instincts but believe me. I am head of the house.


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Our Bereavement Forum pages are filled with proof it is impossible to overcome millennia of animal instincts. Not all cats or dogs will harm a parrot but their actions are unpredictable and random. All may seem well until the split second it is not and tragedy strikes. Then you are left with a lifetime of remorse even as the near-term despair fades after your feathered friend is gone.

It is possible to combine parrots, birds, and dogs in a household if all involved have the discipline to follow strict guidelines. Precautions must be simple, effective, and repeatable because we are human and make mistakes. Rigid rules for when specific animals are allowed out of cages/enclosures, doors to various rooms are open/closed, and clear communication to avoid misunderstanding. It is as much a mindset as knowledge and determination to keep everyone safe.
 
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Jkohnen31

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I'm sorry to have used a phrase that hits a nerve.

To me the risk is to high. Nobody could control so many predators around a prey species. The unpredictable nature of the situation, abd the deadly consequences. I couldn't assure my parrots safety like this. My love for them is so strong, I wouldn't risk it.

There are to many moving parts, pets, and people, to protect every second


I don’t know why you think you hit a nerve. I was simply responding


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Jkohnen31

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/quote]

Our Bereavement Forum pages are filled with proof it is impossible to overcome millennia of animal instincts. Not all cats or dogs will harm a parrot but their actions are unpredictable and random. All may seem well until the split second it is not and tragedy strikes. Then you are left with a lifetime of remorse even as the near-term despair fades after your feathered friend is gone.

It is possible to combine parrots, birds, and dogs in a household if all involved have the discipline to follow strict guidelines. Precautions must be simple, effective, and repeatable because we are human and make mistakes. Rigid rules for when specific animals are allowed out of cages/enclosures, doors to various rooms are open/closed, and clear communication to avoid misunderstanding. It is as much a mindset as knowledge and determination to keep everyone safe.[/QUOTE]


Thank you for your very helpful answers. I am not expecting cats to change I just want everybody to be safe. I also don’t plan to rehome anybody. I have plenty of room I just need to figure this out.

We have already added a door going to our stairs so that the cats can have the second floor and bird can have the first. Giving the cats more space and then already prefer the second floor. They have their food and water up there so the second floor is really their domain.






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noodles123

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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
So my family has always had a huge heart for rescues and we have a house with four legged animals as well as my new bird baby. So needless to say I on super super focused when she is out of the cage and taking things super slow. I live with my father and my brother and I own 2 cats a dog and my bird. I’ll get to my dads animals in a minute. Truthfully I’m not that concerned about my animals. I need to pay attention but as long as I’m watching I feel like they are ok. My dog is happy as long as he’s still allowed near by abs has made no attempt (so far) to do more then look at her, my one cat doesn’t even know she’s in the house because she didn’t come down stairs and we have it blocked so the bird can’t go upstairs and my other cat has been watching for a few seconds then going back to sleep. It may help that I have had the spray bottle if water in hand ready to go lol. So I feel like I got them under control. But then we add my fathers animals to the mix abs I feel more nervous. He had 2 dogs. One I know he’s not trying to hurt her but he thinks she’s his and he keeps trying to take her from me. I sprayed him with the water bottle today and that seemed to calm him. This dog is a giant baby and he’s now kind of afraid of the bird because he got a little wet. The other dog is alright she is trainable, the water will distract her a second but she doesn’t really mind it. So dogs I can deal with but then we got more cats and they scare me. So I got my spray bottle which I use if they even go near her care right now. I really don’t want to be mean to the cats but I want everybody safe at the same time. I sprayed two of his cats because they climbed on the cage and they haven’t gone near it since but I know better then to think that’s the end of it.

Does anybody else have cats and birds and how do you handle them????


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I do not have cats but I would FLIP if one got on Noodles' cage.



Some thoughts--- I hear they don't like walking on foil...That might be something to try. They sell cat shock collars (not sure how well they work or if you would feel too guilty). Climbing on the cage is dangerous from a bacterial perspective (as well as due to the injury risk for bird). Cats carry dangerous parasites and bacteria and when they walk all over things, their feet help spread it around (due to litter-box use etc). Here is a non-electric "radio fence" that plays tones and people seem to like it https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WXGJ6K?tag=aboutcom02thesprucepets-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4153850%7Cn497ae65e12fa471aa48bda36c9b557f811 <not sure if the sound is super loud or if it would bother the bird...


If you have doors in your house for the bird room, I'd also put those baby door locks on the handles to prevent cats from opening them while you are gone. I'd consider installing doors in more locations if you have that option.They do sell those mesh patio door covers that you might actually be able to use like a transparent door if you rigged it up properly. You know the ones that are supposed to keep out flies? I bet you could use strong velcro or something to lock it in place between a room. You could also look at building a "catio" or "cat enclosure"....so you could see the cats and they could have space without messing with the bird.


Don't feel bad for spraying the cat. It may not work, but it certainly is better than a dead bird...You need something more than what you have now though because this sounds very dangerous.


What is your dad not getting? Is he just letting them run wild or what?
 
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Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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The dogs depending on their prey drive......they must give you respect and space. My dogs i can put a steak on the floor and they will not touch it or go near it because I own the steak. I can look at my dogs or point and they will back up. Ceasar the dog whisper are good video, to give you an idea on that. Its about energy...

Ok I'm going to say this and you won't want to listen, but its from the heart. . You need to re home your parrot. And do one of the most difficult human behaviors, delayed gratification. You need to wait until you are the head of your own household to have parrots .

And if I recall correctly, didn’t one of your birds lose most of their tail feathers to your perfectly trained dog? So no training is enough to overcome instinct.

And you haven’t rehomed your birds. I find it extremely disrespectful of you to insist someone else do what you won’t.


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Ig,
This reads kinda nasty...
I never trust any pets around parrots, even trained ones.

A home with several people, over 4 cats , a number of dogs. I don't know anyone that can train a cat .

My post i worked hard a not attacking, and gave my honest opinion. Your post seems to only serve trying tear me down Or attacking me????

Where is your actual advice to the poster????

Are you really helping?


On Pasteurella, yes others can carry , I thought of editing but was late.

On keeping cats seperate, there are other people in the household, accidents are going to happen, and I had a cat that could open doors.

I believe we have had deaths from someone one who's sibling opened a door and cat got to parrot, and one when parents wee the one that made the mistake that lead to death.

I gave tge best advice I could, based that he doesn't live alone, he doesn't decide how many or what pets are brought into the house. And cats prey drive can't be trained out.

Each time a cat w as on the cage could have been the death of the parrot.
 
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Jkohnen31

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So my family has always had a huge heart for rescues and we have a house with four legged animals as well as my new bird baby. So needless to say I on super super focused when she is out of the cage and taking things super slow. I live with my father and my brother and I own 2 cats a dog and my bird. I’ll get to my dads animals in a minute. Truthfully I’m not that concerned about my animals. I need to pay attention but as long as I’m watching I feel like they are ok. My dog is happy as long as he’s still allowed near by abs has made no attempt (so far) to do more then look at her, my one cat doesn’t even know she’s in the house because she didn’t come down stairs and we have it blocked so the bird can’t go upstairs and my other cat has been watching for a few seconds then going back to sleep. It may help that I have had the spray bottle if water in hand ready to go lol. So I feel like I got them under control. But then we add my fathers animals to the mix abs I feel more nervous. He had 2 dogs. One I know he’s not trying to hurt her but he thinks she’s his and he keeps trying to take her from me. I sprayed him with the water bottle today and that seemed to calm him. This dog is a giant baby and he’s now kind of afraid of the bird because he got a little wet. The other dog is alright she is trainable, the water will distract her a second but she doesn’t really mind it. So dogs I can deal with but then we got more cats and they scare me. So I got my spray bottle which I use if they even go near her care right now. I really don’t want to be mean to the cats but I want everybody safe at the same time. I sprayed two of his cats because they climbed on the cage and they haven’t gone near it since but I know better then to think that’s the end of it.

Does anybody else have cats and birds and how do you handle them????


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I do not have cats but I would FLIP if one got on Noodles' cage.



Some thoughts--- I hear they don't like walking on foil...That might be something to try. They sell cat shock collars (not sure how well they work or if you would feel too guilty). Climbing on the cage is dangerous from a bacterial perspective (as well as due to the injury risk for bird). Cats carry dangerous parasites and bacteria and when they walk all over things, their feet help spread it around (due to litter-box use etc). Here is a non-electric "radio fence" that plays tones and people seem to like it https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WXGJ6...g=4153850|n497ae65e12fa471aa48bda36c9b557f811 <not sure if the sound is super loud or if it would bother the bird...


If you have doors in your house for the bird room, I'd also put those baby door locks on the handles to prevent cats from opening them while you are gone. I'd consider installing doors in more locations if you have that option.They do sell those mesh patio door covers that you might actually be able to use like a transparent door if you rigged it up properly. You know the ones that are supposed to keep out flies? I bet you could use strong velcro or something to lock it in place between a room. You could also look at building a "catio" or "cat enclosure"....so you could see the cats and they could have space without messing with the bird.


Don't feel bad for spraying the cat. It may not work, but it certainly is better than a dead bird...You need something more than what you have now though because this sounds very dangerous.


What is your dad not getting? Is he just letting them run wild or what?


Thanks. I actually did you the doors you’re talking about and yeah they are pretty easy to rig and I do have more. There’s also one to my kitchen so the bird can’t get in there.
I wouldn’t use sock collars but I don’t feel bad about spraying them at least not too much. It’s for their say as well. The bird could bite them and hurt them you.
I do not allow cats on the cage as soon as they get in that I’m going to jump up there pose I spray them. So far I had to spray a cat twice and more they start clear off the cage. I don’t let them be around when she is out.

I wasn’t clear about my father. Nothing is wrong with him. He also cares very much about everybody’s safety and is willing to do what needs to be done. He is letting me make the call about what needs to be done. So what I say goes. Because the bird is mine he is letting me make the decisions in hire to best care for her and he will honor those decisions. She he isn’t going to let his cats walk stood and get near her he is just letting me decided how to keep everybody safe. I have also known his cats since they were kittens. If he thought I was putting an animal at risk he would let me know but really it’s about respect. Like if I had a child he would respect my parenting decisions.

It’s funny you mentioned training cats I actually have seen trained cats and briefly tried to train mine. It was a crazy amount of work. I just happen to have a a sweet laid back uninterested cat and the other one never comes downstairs. My father just ended up with sweet but braty cats. It’s just how cats are.


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Jkohnen31

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The dogs depending on their prey drive......they must give you respect and space. My dogs i can put a steak on the floor and they will not touch it or go near it because I own the steak. I can look at my dogs or point and they will back up. Ceasar the dog whisper are good video, to give you an idea on that. Its about energy...

Ok I'm going to say this and you won't want to listen, but its from the heart. . You need to re home your parrot. And do one of the most difficult human behaviors, delayed gratification. You need to wait until you are the head of your own household to have parrots .

And if I recall correctly, didn’t one of your birds lose most of their tail feathers to your perfectly trained dog? So no training is enough to overcome instinct.

And you haven’t rehomed your birds. I find it extremely disrespectful of you to insist someone else do what you won’t.


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Ig,
This reads kinda nasty...
I never trust any pets around parrots, even trained ones.

A home with several people, over 4 cats , a number of dogs. I don't know anyone that can train a cat .

My post i worked hard a not attacking, and gave my honest opinion. Your post seems to only serve trying tear me down Or attacking me????

Where is your actual advice to the poster????

Are you really helping?


On Pasteurella, yes others can carry , I thought of editing but was late.

On keeping cats seperate, there are other people in the household, accidents are going to happen, and I had a cat that could open doors.

I believe we have had deaths from someone one who's sibling opened a door and cat got to parrot, and one when parents wee the one that made the mistake that lead to death.

I gave tge best advice I could, based that he doesn't live alone, he doesn't decide how many or what pets are brought into the house. And cats prey drive can't be trained out.

Each time a cat w as on the cage could have been the death of the parrot.


Ok both of you thanks for the advice. I asked for the advice and I get to decide what do with it. Please don’t fight.


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itzjbean

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I have two cats, 4 birds and a dog and I make it work!

It's hard to get opinions from people who don't actually have cats and dogs and birds, and instead you just hear the 'birds shouldn't be with prey animals' opinion and quite frankly that simply doesn't help your situation so I get it.

Coming to this thread to tell someone to give a pet up is ignorant. Warning of precautions and risks is, I'm sure, much more appreciated. You want to know if it can be done -- it can! If you take the risks seriously and take precautions every day.

I make it work because my birds live mostly in their flight cage with separate time out with all other pets out of the room. I have a kitten who would love a bird but she is not allowed near them when they're out EVER.

They aren't allowed to walk on the floor, ever. I take them around on shoulders or they stay in their room on their stand. My dog is also large and I would never trust them or my cats around my birds unsupervised.
 
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Jkohnen31

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I have two cats, 4 birds and a dog and I make it work!

It's hard to get opinions from people who don't actually have cats and dogs and birds, and instead you just hear the 'birds shouldn't be with prey animals' opinion and quite frankly that simply doesn't help your situation so I get it.

Coming to this thread to tell someone to give a pet up is ignorant. Warning of precautions and risks is, I'm sure, much more appreciated. You want to know if it can be done -- it can! If you take the risks seriously and take precautions every day.

I make it work because my birds live mostly in their flight cage with separate time out with all other pets out of the room. I have a kitten who would love a bird but she is not allowed near them when they're out EVER.

They aren't allowed to walk on the floor, ever. I take them around on shoulders or they stay in their room on their stand. My dog is also large and I would never trust them or my cats around my birds unsupervised.


Yeah I was looking more for advice from those who are doing it but everybody is welcome to say what they want to say.

Apparently a little squirt of water was the end of the world for my dads dog which is crazy because he likes water but ever since I did it the one time he won’t go anywhere near the bird and if he sees her she runs the other way. I feel kind of bad I didn’t know or would upset him so much. My dads other dog I keep telling no and squirting she’ll get there. My dog is small only 12 pounds and he’s Coriolanus but just sniffing. He sleeps in my room and her sleeping cage is in there as well. He can reach it, I put it up to high, and he can’t knock it down so they are both totally safe. They also aren’t allowed in there alone. The bird and my little dog are the only animals allowed in that room. No cats at all no other dogs.

I am not planning to let my bird on the floor either. She had her cage she welcome to play on and I have a play stand for her that I’ll keep next to me. Die can also be on me. She’ll never be out of the cage if I’m not with her.

I do have a Question. She came to me with her wings clipped and at first I thought I would keep them clipped for a while until she was trained and we had everything running like a super well oiled machine here. Twice not sure kind of flew off. One I think she was trying to go back into her cage but the door had kind of swung shut so she landed on the door instead and the second time I think she was trying to get to my dad but there’s a mesh door in the way so again she landed on the floor. Because I’m so on it both things I scooped her up before any buddy else realized she was there. Would I bet better off not clipping her wings again and letting her fly right now? Would that be safer for her? It is out safer to keep her clipped and keep working?


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Jen5200

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Kudos to you for asking questions, I’m glad you are thinking about what safety measures to put in place. I’ll add my two cents - I have 7 birds,1 older cat, and 2 dogs. I have firm rules about the birds in my house (there is only my husband and I so it works). My absolute rule is that the dogs have crate time or go outside while the birds are out - no exceptions. The cat has his own space at the other end of the house and he is closed in while the birds are out - no exceptions. My husband thinks I’m paranoid, but I am inflexible on those rules always. I also volunteer at a rescue, so have often seen the repercussions to “being flexible” or counting on training. I don’t believe that people need to give up their birds to have other animals. I do think it takes commitment to keep everyone safe and happy. The rest of this note is just risk mitigation things I do that seems to work in my household.

In my house - the birds cage area has baby gates around it to keep the dogs out of their space (my dogs are 2 or younger so can be rambunctious). I didn’t want to close the birds behind a door in a separate room - they do like being part of the household. The birds can see everything going on in the house, but the rowdy crew (2 black labs) can’t get so close as to freak them out or run into their cages. All of my cages are raised off the floor without any counters or ledges near for the cat to get on. They are all too tall for the cat to jump up on, I also have metal seed skirts on the cages which is an obstacle to him getting near the lower part of the cage. None of the cage openings are anywhere that he can reach to try to open latches. I have big and sturdy flight cages without any openings that just “push up” and slide open (I would pin those shut if I did). My cat knows that the birds are off limits - but I don’t trust him with them at all even though he is old. My birds are all flighted and I don’t allow them on the floor. They have tall perches and play stands throughout the house so they never play on the floor. One thing to watch with flighted birds is that if you are getting stuff in or out of the cage (feeding or whatever) and they decide it’s a good time to go for a flap....you may have an unintended interaction with other critters if they are out at that time. Flighted birds are also at higher risk with people opening doors or windows. But all of mine are flighted and we just have rules about how those things work.

I hope you’ll share what you end up deciding for safety - I’m always looking for new ideas :).
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I am normally anti-clipping, but with that many dogs, cats and people around, I'd be inclined to consider clipping, as a dog or cat is more likely to swipe at a moving object (like a flying bird and there is a lot of room for human error) BUT, on the flip side, a flighted bird does have a bit more ability to get away....except dogs and cats are great at catching in many cases...


If you clip, do both wings but don't go crazy. You don't want your bird falling if he/she tries to fly--they should be able to glide down without flipping around or losing balance due to a one-wing cute. A non-clipped bird (if clipped too early or too harshly) will often struggle with efficient flight even when feathers grow back (depending on the age at which clipping occurred).


I don't know how old your bird is, but I have a cockatoo who (to my knowledge) has not been clipped within the past 10 years at least....I am not sure about what went on prior. The thing is, she sometimes flies randomly (when scared or over-excited) and she sucks at it, so she becomes a panicked sitting duck for any dogs, cats etc. It's not like she hasn't had ample opportunity (we practice flapping etc, her muscle tone seems fine, feathers are intact) but.alas...terrible at flying intentionally.


You will have to decide, but the risk of a poor flier zipping around cats scares me (despite the fact that I think clipping should be far less frequent than it is).
 
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Jkohnen31

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I am normally anti-clipping, but with that many dogs, cats and people around, I'd be inclined to consider clipping, as a dog or cat is more likely to swipe at a moving object (like a flying bird and there is a lot of room for human error) BUT, on the flip side, a flighted bird does have a bit more ability to get away....except dogs and cats are great at catching in many cases...


If you clip, do both wings but don't go crazy. You don't want your bird falling if he/she tries to fly--they should be able to glide down without flipping around or losing balance due to a one-wing cute. A non-clipped bird (if clipped too early or too harshly) will often struggle with efficient flight even when feathers grow back (depending on the age at which clipping occurred).


I don't know how old your bird is, but I have a cockatoo who (to my knowledge) has not been clipped within the past 10 years at least....I am not sure about what went on prior. The thing is, she sometimes flies randomly (when scared or over-excited) and she sucks at it, so she becomes a panicked sitting duck for any dogs, cats etc. It's not like she hasn't had ample opportunity (we practice flapping etc, her muscle tone seems fine, feathers are intact) but.alas...terrible at flying intentionally.


You will have to decide, but the risk of a poor flier zipping around cats scares me (despite the fact that I think clipping should be far less frequent than it is).


This bird is only 3 or 4 months and I am guessing her wings haven’t always been clipped. She actually can fly more then I thought she would be able to when I saw how much they cut her wings.

I’m torn as well. I prefer not to clip but On one hand if she’s clipped she’s not as likely to really try to go anywhere but if she’s not clipped she can get away.

If I thought I could get away with it I’d close off my dining room because that’s where my desk is and I’m working so I could kick the animals out create some kind of tunnel enclosed passage so the dog could walk through to get to the back of the house to go outside anger me and my bird could be safe and happy in the dining room dog and cat free lol. I’m pretty sure my family would disown me.


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noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
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Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
If you trim a bird's wings too young, you can thwart healthy development because it can mess with their cardiovascular system and muscle tone if they never experience flight and develop those muscles. That is also something to consider when deciding whether to clip again or not. You may want to give your bird a bit more time to fly before you do (if you decide to). I am sure others will chime in. The problem is, it does mean that they will often try to fly once clipped and if the clip is poor, they can injure themselves. Even with a proper/mild clip that allows a safe glide to the ground, there is going to be risk if a dog or cat is in the room.


So....you don't want them to never learn to fly, but once they learn to fly and are clipped, it can be harder on them....but I guess you will just have to weigh the pros and cons
 
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