Update: Fully Flighted Mango

[MeganMango]

Hey guys,
I know its been a while, but Ive been so incredibly busy! I thought I should update the on situation with Mango being fully flighted. The last time I was here I was really frustrated and considering having him clipped again. Long story short, he was out of control. Mango's philosophy is as follows: If I can reach it, it goes in the beak, if its in the beak, its mine. Needless to say he destroyed my house. We were trying to train him, but it wasnt really working out, and he was "visiting" my foster bird who wanted to eat him. Just to recap, we hung perches in the safe places around the house and give him treats when he goes to those places along with praise "look at you! Good boy" (his new favorite things to say). When he goes to other bird cages or the computers (Ive now replaced two keyboards!) he goes in his cage for a time-out. For the record, this is my first bird and I have very little experience with these things.

The first thing I would like to say is that Im REALLY glad I didnt clip him and I waited to see if the training would stick. He now knows where is suppose to be and where he is not suppose to be. This does not mean he does what he is suppose to do :20: and if he thinks we arent watching he will still try to visit other birds or tear apart a keyboard. We are ALWAYS very vigilant and take him with us if we need to leave the room. We've also had to put lots of perches in strategic locations and carry treats at all times (he is now on the hefty side). We screened in the back porch so that if someone forgets and opens the door while he is out and he sneaks out the door he is still confined. Also, he can come outside with us! We are putting an extra screen on the front porch for similar extra protection.

Mango is a different bird since he has been flighted and given some boundaries. He is way more affectionate, and aside from the odd tantrum from being put on a time-out (he now knows what we are up to when we step him up from the no-bird zones) he has stopped biting, stopped screaming, and overall appears significantly happier. He is much less anxious and far more independent. Its been weeks since Ive seen even a glimpse of snotty-bird. If you are considering allowing wings to grow out, my advice is to try it. Of course I recognize not everyone can do this, but I thought I should share my experiences. The training period is awful. I was so frustrated and worried, but it just sort of clicked almost over night, and everything got better. There are definitely downsides, he has stuck his beak in a chocolate pie, a brick of butter, two keyboards, and a TV remote just to name a few. You must ALWAYS be watching since its impossible to eliminate all danger, and your entire house will look like an aviary with perches in all manner of places. Ive stepped on enough Harrison's pellets, pistachio shells and shredded bird toys all over my floor to make me literally throw a fit. I understand if you cant do it, but I do not regret my decision. There is nothing like calling your bird and having him/her fly right to you. When he is feeling particularly wonderful he starts whistling and flying all over in pure joy.

The harness is still a disaster, but I havent completely given up hope, just set it aside for now.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That's so wonderful that everything worked out!

Sounds like he is really making a mess hahaha, but it's all worth it in the end when we get to see how happy they are.

 

[MeganMango]

Yes things are messy, but birds are messy anyways. Now that we have the rules laid out and Dave and I know what to expect and how to handle things, its not too much trouble. It was the initial training that was difficult. He has definitely taken over my house, but I love it.

 

[MonicaMc]

That's fabulous news!!! It's amazing what flight can do with "problem" birds! Well done!

 

[MeganMango]

That's fabulous news!!! It's amazing what flight can do with "problem" birds! Well done!

Ive never really thought of Mango as a problem, he has always been full of energy and attitude. Ive enjoyed his antics, but I think a lot of his nippy behavior was due to anxiety. I never noticed it until it was gone. I think knowing he can get away from anything he feels threatened by has made him more secure. We have a bonded pair of foster birds that a fully flighted and and they dive-bomb my fiance Dave on a regular basis. He has a huge chunk of flesh removed from the back of his neck, and they have gone for his face. They are very temporary, but if they were staying they would be clipped. It may not be the best situation for every bird, but it worked out really well for Mango.

 

[MonicaMc]

Well, you mentioned that Mango was biting and screaming! And now he doesn't!

For your fosters, well, it sounds like they need to learn new behaviors! Which can be done without clipping them, but as you've already experienced, it can be some work! I really enjoy Lara Joseph's blog as she has some great tips on training parrots! And she trains flighted birds! She has a cockatoo that she could absolutely *not* trust on her shoulder! But he has now become a well mannered member of her flock!

 

[MikeyTN]

Very good news about Mango!!! At the beginning they can be little terrorists....I've dealt with that plenty of times but as time goes on they do better!

 

[Shade]

Good to hear!
When I got my male Red-bellied Joey, he was clipped and had a tendency to be nervous and nippy. I let his flights grow in and I got a totally different bird

 

[aliray]

It sounds like your consistent training also gave him a more secure set of rules and boundries to live by thus making him more confident. Great job

 

[SoCalWendy]

This gives me hope. We decided to let Rio's feathers grow back too, but I am so nervous about it, despite everything I have read. I have no doubts that she will be a more confident, less nervous bird. My only concern is the "time out" in the cage thing, won't that cause a negative reaction to the cage if they need to be in their cage?

Right now I am taking advantage of her clipped situation to really bond with her. Today aft we got up I put her on her stand to go in to the kitchen to make coffee, put dishes away, and to make her food. She flew off the stand on to the ground, hopped towards me but has she was hopping she would try to fly. It was the funniest thing to watch. I encouraged her to come to me, which she did. And then stepped up. So what we are doing is working.

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm actually going through a similar experience with my new conure atm... she came to me clipped and now that she's been with me for two months, she has lost 4 clipped flight feathers, two of which are nearly grown out, the other two probably haven't even come out of the skin yet.

She's very nervous about leaving her cage and she hates stepping up on hands. She loves attention though, so she's stuck between wanting attention and wanting to hide. I honestly can't wait until she can fly! I'm frustrated that she doesn't have the confidence that I know she should have to make her own decisions and she's frustrated that she can't fly.


If I leave the room without Charlie, he can simply fly to me! Jayde, the new girl, is stuck on her cage... and she'll madly flap her wings wanting to take off. I go over to offer my shoulder (only way she'll readily "step up") and she runs inside her cage. If I go to leave again, she repeats the behavior of coming back out and flapping her wings at me!



It's been a long time since I've had a clipped bird, and I can't recall it being this frustrating! People are often frustrated with flighted birds, where-as I'm frustrated having a clipped bird! The wait for her to finish molting is agonizing! But I know that it'll be worth it in the end!