Looking for advice

[noodles123]

Excellent advice noodles on the backing into an unfamiliar object. He did play nicely on his stand for a while before he took off flying again when he heard my husbands voice. My husband was able to put his hand up to perch him in time. As he went to get up to bring him back JoJo took off AGAIN and flew to our kitchen island.

We went to him and asked him to get up which he did. My husband then passed him onto me and he instantly climbed my shoulder before I could stop him. My husband got him off and put him back on his stand.

So my question is for everyone. Is the flying ok? Whats appropriate flying? Should we deter this? Would it be recommended to clip his flight wings? or is that cruel or not advised?

Flying is great, but it shouln't be wherever/whenever if rules are in place. Dive-bombing people is a bad habit of some birds, for example--as is flying into the kitchen without warning etc (dangerous for the bird). If at all possible, leave him flighted. Target training is something to look into.

 

[noodles123]

What do you make of this body language?

I'm thinking its fear based? He does it a lot even when no one is near him.

I would post this separately on the Amazon thread and see if people respond. My gut says territorial and/or intimidation tactic, but, I am not an Amazon owner (Umbrella Cockatoo here, and their body language is unique).

 

[Flynhigh]

Absolutely leave him flighted . He is much safer flighted especially with other animals in the house and psychologically much better off. It will take time to teach him what is acceptable to share and what's not but this is where target training is so important. Treats and a target stick are your best form of communication and they pick up on it quickly. Sounds like your well on your way to a great relationship!!

 

[Birdmom12]

Absolutely leave him flighted . He is much safer flighted especially with other animals in the house and psychologically much better off. It will take time to teach him what is acceptable to share and what's not but this is where target training is so important. Treats and a target stick are your best form of communication and they pick up on it quickly. Sounds like your well on your way to a great relationship!!

I agree on keeping him flighted. I read an article on whether to or not and it made up my mind! Before I was unsure of what was the appropriate thing to do...now I see its more of a personal preference between households. After seeing the damage it can cause physically (and mentally) I was really turned off by it! They also showed a tiel getting it done and it was heart breaking. I basically chock it up to being similar to cropping a dogs ears or declawing a cat. Makes me feel a little sick...

We decided to get him some tower stands for around the house. This way if he does fly he can learn where he can fly to. We also plan to start target training him once hes more settled. Hes highly motivated by dried banana and nuts. We were so lucky to find our store had safe varieties! When it was time to go back to his cage we weren't sure how to get him to listen. He was ignoring us and being a sneaky little guy. Eventually we showed him a dried banana slice and had him watch us put it into his bowl. We said JoJo go in and down he went and into his cage. Once he was inside we further rewarded him with "Good boy JoJo!"

While he was out we were able to get into his cage. We set up his fresh food bowl and a perch on his door. He also showed interest in a new toy so we put that in to. When he was back in his home he went to town on his new stuff! He loves to sit on his door perch and sleep. He also loved all his fresh foods he was given-Thankful hes not a picky eater yet! He also started to investigate his exciting new toy! The toys he didn't show interest in yet are still outside the cage.

We are worried his cage is on the small side. We were told its the right size for him...but its rather pathetic when our tiel has a palace bigger then him. We will worry about that down the road when hes adjusted though.

 

[noodles123]

Sounds like you guys are going to do a great job--glad you are thinking about all of this so much, as it all does matter (and a lot of people just sort of dive in without researching).


Random side-note: Looking back at that picture, I wouldn't leave his cover on top of his cage like that or any sort of bedding/blankets/pillows (can't see what it is exactly). Piles of fabric can encourage nesting behavior and hormonal flux.

 

[Birdmom12]

Thanks for the advice on the blanket. Don't want to provoke that response if we can avoid it.

Had to go back to work today and left everyone to "fend for themselves". about 30 minutes after I got to work my phone started to ping non stop. Turns out JoJo enjoyed provoking one of our dogs for the better part of 3 hours....


I'm going through the play back captures now but it seems JoJo has a much wider vocabulary then he's been expressing to us humans. He was doing his normal come here and hello to the dogs. What shocked me was when he started to meow to them, make kissy sounds, and most of all a laughter that he let loose over and over. He's laughed before but it was for just a second and done. This one was a long laughter with much enthusiasm.

I'm afraid to see what the rest of the video captures have on them. He appears to really have enjoyed his morning with the dogs. In one clip it sounds like he is saying a name as well. :18:

 

[noodles123]

LOL!!--ON SO MANY LEVELS!
Tell me I am not the only one who live-streams my bird from time-to-time while at work lol.
Your bird sounds most excellent. I like his style lol.

 

[Birdmom12]

Round 2 of outside the cage time- So far it is going great. We let him out and he went right up to his play area. We were in the dinning room eating as a family and he gladly watched. (We had snacks on hand incase he decided to join) While eating he could only see me, once he heard the husbands voice though off he flew to his shoulder.

I think its safe to say he does have a favorite! In an attempt to continue to break this habit of flying whenever, he was put back on his play top. He got off when asked and went to his perch to play. He eventually broke down for some snacks up there, destroyed a toy, and then took off for another flight. Again he was put back on his perch and told no. He's now listening for the time being. He's on his play top play and preening his whole body. I did catch him closing his eyes for a snooze to.

Tonight we let our daughter join in on the outside time. Last time she was in the basement with the dogs. Tonight she is witnessing it all and in complete fascination. She's on the floor doing art and JoJo is watching her contently. Getting to witness him in flight was a huge excitement for her. Lucky for us she followed the rule of stay quiet stay calm so she didn't give any enthusiasm when he flew as a reward.

 

[Laurasea]

What do you make of this body language?

I'm thinking its fear based? He does it a lot even when no one is near him.

I would post this separately on the Amazon thread and see if people respond. My gut says territorial and/or intimidation tactic, but, I am not an Amazon owner (Umbrella Cockatoo here, and their body language is unique).

Not an Amazon body reading experience. But my birds do a similar thing, as begging to be picked up.. or to get my attention

 

[Flynhigh]

Sounds like all is well. Bravo!! Just keep in mind it will take lots of patience of the family to make corrections to his flight plan. He's probably been allowed to go where ever he liked to or will push the boundaries there at home but he's a happy bird if he's up to this activity level already.
Keep the good work and baby steps with everything.


Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[Birdmom12]

Thanks Again everyone for the continued advice and feed back! I think tonight we will INVITE him to sit with us in hopes of avoiding the flying to us. So far we have been giving him space to explore and watch. When he wants to interact, we allow him... of course this is leading to the unwanted take offs.

When he does fly and land on a shoulder he will only listen to "off" when you take him to his play stand. If you try to hand perch him he hisses. This may take some work as we progress. At least for now he is easy going when you take him to his stand. He very clearly wants to have a companion to be with and is hungry for interaction.

Now for a cage question. I was told his cage was big enough for him and not to worry about upgrading. However, I feel its a bit confined and small for him. I think the measurements are about 32x23x65. The cage itself is in good shape but it seems small. It also only has 2 food doors which is a hassle. I was able to order a dish to screw onto the cage wall for fresh foods...but its not ideal. Thoughts on this size of home...anyone?

 

[SailBoat]

We have a Double Yellow-Head Amazon who weights in just under 500g and is fully flighted. His cage is about the same size, but slightly wider at 36".

When it comes to cages, my first concern is whether the cage can be quick taken out the front door or the nearest door to where the cage is kept. Measure the doorway with the door open and that measure should be just a bit wider than the width of the cage you should upgrade too. The newer cages come with seed catchers that snap-off. Look for a cage that has a full height front door, this feature is a true joy for cleaning, feeding, exchanging toys and eases getting your Amazon in and out of the cage.

Our Amazon is a free roamer /flier and spends very little time in his cage. If he spent more time, we would move to a much larger cage.

We have purchased from BirdCages4Less.com for a very long time.

 

[Birdmom12]

Last night my daughter and I got JoJo out on our own. He played on his cage/play top the entire time and chit chatted with us. He still has no interested in perching my hand. (He may be "my bird" but I'm not "his human") Luckily my husband went and hid for the play period to give us time to bond. It was unsuccessful with me being largely ignored, today we try again. He also did not fly so that in itself was good.

While he played I cleaned his cage, gave him his supper inside, and added his new foraging toy and perch. He curiously watched me work away and at times got closer and closer! I've also noticed his eating on the pellet/seed mix he came home with is slowing down. He does love to eat his fresh foods though. (but I am finding hes more of a nuts and fruit guy and not so much veggies) All the same I am enjoying reading posts on diets and getting some ideas to try for him.

We've also been looking into a play stand/ cage for him. Nothing stands out yet perhaps this weekend we can make him a fun play area to hold him over.