Living with a Houdini

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

I truly need help here. So this is an SOS outcry.

Niko is in a King's Cage with "bird proof" latches. (Yeah...right

).

Last year he figured out how to remove his stainless steel bowls and throw them around, so I removed all feed doors, cut out plexi and inserted "bird proof" crocks, like these:

That worked for a little while, until he figured out how to remove those as well.

So then I searched for heavy duty ceramic crocks and found some that fit quite snuggly into the dish holder, and were too heavy to be removed, similar to this:

Now THAT all worked until about 3 weeks ago. Now Niko has figured out how to OPEN the latches.

He opens them, pushes the food door open and then removes the entire door, with crock inside. :54:
Here is a picture of them, not completely undone yet...but getting there...

They are SUPPOSED to be in THIS position:

He has ALSO learned to open his cage, same locking mechanism.

Does anyone have ANY ideas, suggestions for me?

The only thing I can think of at the moment is to put Niko into Ripley's cage and Ripley into Niko's, and keep my fingers crossed that Ripley won't figure it out.

ruffledfeathers · Aug 14, 2013

Wow, check him out!!! I have no experience with this, just wanted to applaud him, for lack of a better term.

I have a Kings Cage and those latches are pretty intense, but where there's a willful, smart birdy, there's a way!

dulphinz · Aug 14, 2013

Lol! Sorry! You've got one smart cookie there. Not much help I know

. Hopefully someone will have some experience with this and be able to help

ruffledfeathers · Aug 14, 2013

I know I have to tighten all gilbert's C clamps with pliers (then I can't open them in a hurry, because I get them as tight as I can possibly make them to keep him from taking all the toys down or hanging himself on the clamp again). Devious little critters they are.

Shayne · Aug 14, 2013

The only way you'll stop him getting out is with a welding iron.

But on a more serious note I used to use a padlock and chains with mine. That should work for the main door. Don't know about the food bowl doors though.

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

Yup, that one is my pain in the neck at the moment. He is SO proud of himself each time he manages to remove the entire feeder door and throws it. In his SWEETEST voice he'll go "What happened?" Followed by an evil laugh.

Here is how it looks from the inside of his cage:

And I just HAVE to add these 2 pictures just because I'm so tickled they even turned out. It's Ripley flying to me.

Karigan · Aug 14, 2013

Sweet pics, thanks!

Boysmom · Aug 14, 2013

Wendy I wish I had an answer for you, but I must applaud Niko's intelligence. If you decide to take on a life of crime he would certainly make the perfect sidekick. Maybe you should rent him out as a locksmith- LOL. Since I didn't have an answer I thought I would try to make you laugh.

Ruby learned to break out through her food dish doors a few months ago. She has only done it a few times but I'm curious what suggestions others come up with as a solution.

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

Boysmom said:
Wendy I wish I had an answer for you, but I must applaud Niko's intelligence. If you decide to take on a life of crime he would certainly make the perfect sidekick. Maybe you should rent him out as a locksmith- LOL. Since I didn't have an answer I thought I would try to make you laugh.

Ruby learned to break out through her food dish doors a few months ago. She has only done it a few times but I'm curious what suggestions others come up with as a solution.

For hire: Lock picking B&G Accomplice.

You sure made me laugh!! Thank you.

And uh-ooh...sounds like Ruby is following in Niko's footsteps.

dulphinz · Aug 14, 2013

Love the pics

Shayne · Aug 14, 2013

Drill a hole in the food bowl door large enough for a small chain to fit through. Put the chain through the hole and wrap it around the bars next to it. Secure the chain with a decent padlock that requires a key to open. That should do the job.

GinaF · Aug 14, 2013

Gosh they're so smart! I feel for you and it seems like you really have your work cut out for you there! About the only thing I can think of is maybe attach an eyebolt to the door with a chain and a dog leash clip?

Exactly why haven't they invented parrot straight jackets yet?

Beautiful pictures! Ripley looks amazing and confident!

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

Shayne said:
Drill a hole in the food bowl door large enough for a small chain to fit through. Put the chain through the hole and wrap it around the bars next to it. Secure the chain with a decent padlock that requires a key to open. That should do the job.

HOLY SMOKES Shayne, I'm pretty sure that would do the trick, but that will also permanently ruin the feeder doors. Not to mention the PITA each time I have to refill or remove a dish, which is about 5 times per day for the water alone.

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

GinaF said:
Gosh they're so smart! I feel for you and it seems like you really have your work cut out for you there! About the only thing I can think of is maybe attach an eyebolt to the door with a chain and a dog leash clip?

Exactly why haven't they invented parrot straight jackets yet?

Beautiful pictures! Ripley looks amazing and confident!

Thank you so much, Gina!!! That's an AWESOME idea with the eye bolt, chain and dog leash clip!!! Easy enough to remove quickly, too.

Boysmom · Aug 14, 2013

Wendy, Ruby can be naughty when left home alone. She is used to someone always being home, or her going with us where ever we go. So when left to a quiet house she looks to be mischievous so we won't leave her again. Our Fids are very smart at manipulating us, aren't they ?

GinaF · Aug 14, 2013

I've seen some cages that had a small metal disc attached to the frame of the cage via 2 washers, a nut between and a screw. It wasn't super tight. It just served as a stopper to keep the door from popping open.

You could do something like that and it would ruin the cage. Although, there's no guarantee she wouldn't figure that out too.

Is a latch like that available in a spring loaded format?

Shayne · Aug 14, 2013

JerseyWendy said:
Shayne said:

Drill a hole in the food bowl door large enough for a small chain to fit through. Put the chain through the hole and wrap it around the bars next to it. Secure the chain with a decent padlock that requires a key to open. That should do the job.

Click to expand...

HOLY SMOKES Shayne, I'm pretty sure that would do the trick, but that will also permanently ruin the feeder doors. Not to mention the PITA each time I have to refill or remove a dish, which is about 5 times per day for the water alone.

A PITA solution for a PITA problem. It only takes me about 10 seconds to lock or unlock. Apart from the times you misplace the keys and spend 10 minutes looking for them. And you could say that the door is improved not ruined. It should have been designed with a chain hole all along. I modify stuff I buy all the time to improve it. You could probably just hook the padlock straight through the hole come to think of it.

JerseyWendy · Aug 14, 2013

GinaF said:
I've seen some cages that had a small metal disc attached to the frame of the cage via 2 washers, a nut between and a screw. It wasn't super tight. It just served as a stopper to keep the door from popping open.

You could do something like that and it would ruin the cage. Although, there's no guarantee she wouldn't figure that out too.

Is a latch like that available in a spring loaded format?

Ok now I admit this solution I can't "visualize" for some reason. Hmmm.....

Shayne said:
A PITA solution for a PITA problem. It only takes me about 10 seconds to lock or unlock. Apart from the times you misplace the keys and spend 10 minutes looking for them. And you could say that the door is improved not ruined. It should have been designed with a chain hole all along. I modify stuff I buy all the time to improve it. You could probably just hook the padlock straight through the hole come to think of it.

Well now YOU sound like a Houdini. It will definitely take me longer than 10 seconds for your suggested contraption, not to mention possibly misplacing the key(s) for the 4 padlocks. I am not comfortable ruining a cage I spent a good amount of money on. But thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Boysmom said:
Wendy, Ruby can be naughty when left home alone. She is used to someone always being home, or her going with us where ever we go. So when left to a quiet house she looks to be mischievous so we won't leave her again. Our Fids are very smart at manipulating us, aren't they ?

Ruby naughty? NO WAY, she looks MUCH too sweet to have an ornery bone in her body.

And yes, they are MUCH too smart for their own good sometimes....they come up with things nobody would ever dream of.

crimson · Aug 14, 2013

I was going to suggest a dog clip, or a lock that can be easily undone by you but not by your houdini

GinaF · Aug 14, 2013

Here you go Wendy. This should give you an idea of what I'm talking about. See the metal circle at the top? It hangs over the door and you just flip it out of the way to open it.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-77451647441912_2259_13544965

Living with a Houdini

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What is this?

Should I be concerned or am I overreacting?

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