Keeping a free-range/roaming green-cheek safe

[Tanya_D]

I'm a new bird-parent and still learning. From what I understand, it's okay to allow a conure to stay out of their cage with supervision. We have a large cage, multiple perches/play areas, plenty of toys and activities. But our little sweetie likes to jump, often from the top of his 5' tall cage, onto the floor and walk all around the house. I wouldn't mind him doing this if it wasn't for the risk of him getting stepped on if he isn't seen. I'm sure if he got hurt from the landing he would stop doing it. He's very curious and quite fearless. I have a branch system set up so he can go from one room to the next by himself. Before I set it up, his jumping habit was worse.

How can I get him to avoid the floor so he doesn't get hurt? Should I expand my branch system? Am I giving him too much freedom? He seems to go to the floor mostly when I'm across the room not looking at him, or when I go to the bathroom he'll squawk and when I come out he's on the floor looking for me.

 

[Flboy]

An accident waiting to happen, I am sorry to say! And that 5 foot jump can easily hurt your baby! Sounds like your guy isn't flighted!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Welcome. I'm glad you found us! MANY Green Cheek lovers and admirers here to help!

Meanwhile, my random thoughts and advice... look for every possible danger and neutralize it; look everywhere for potential disasters or accidents and take precautions. Be absolutely paranloid, especially at first. Birds, especially flighted ones, are astonishingly curious and adventurous. Also, maybe just take some time and use the SEARCH tab here to look for "accidents", "conures", "flighted" and such, to get ideas of others' experience.

 

[CherylCali]

My first question is he getting in the floor to look for you, like if you leave the room? EB is clipped , but she'll get on the floor if I leave the room, to prevent an accident from happening if I'm EVER going into another room I take her. It might help you to set up play areas in every room. In nature when the flock leaves, they don't stay behind. Naturally they want to go where we are.

Unfortunately it is a high probability and risk for an accident. And I think the risk shoots up for every member and other pet in the house, fish tank, etc.

CherylCali

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

First off, congrats on the new addition.

This is, fortunately, an area I have a LOT of experience in and hopefully I can offer some good tips.

I assume you don't have little kids running around or any other non-bird pets? If so, I would address this issue differently.

That being said, IMO, any free-flighted bird should be free-flighted- not clipped. I am against clipping anyways- but I also respect that others may not be.

No bird should ever roam the floor- period whether there is a danger of being stepped on or not. Think about the germs and bacteria that are likely roaming your floors and carpets. Or if your bird happens to pick up something on the floor, a sharp tack, a lost pill etc.

As for falling, five feet, that is still plenty of time to be injured when clipped. Especially if you have a hard floor.

The first thing you want to do is catch him in the act and put a stop to it right off. Skittles will on occasion fly onto the floor to get a discarded treat if I won't give him one when he wants it. I clap my hands and say "no", get over there and point to his perch stand. He obliges me. In fact, just the other day, he tried to sneak one off the floor after I clapped and said no, so I started to get up out of my chair and he flew over. Skittles also likes to sit atop the curtains- another no-no. So I clap my hands and say 'no'. I do this whenever he is somewhere or doing something he shouldn't. He KNOWS what those sounds mean. Sometimes he likes to rebel and it may sound cute, but its really not, persistence is key. When he doesn't comply, I begin to get up and he obliges. I'm not sure why, I know he's not afraid of me- and he will actually drop treats or stop eating just to follow me out of the room- so I think its that he thinks Im leaving so he flies into the room I'm in.

Bottom line is this- your bird should not be clipped if its free-flighted. Having landing platforms/playstands throughout the house is brilliant. I do that too. That way they always have a safe place to land and they know that is there spot. But when the go where they shouldn't you HAVE to put the kibosh on it right away and be persistent.

I hope I've helped. I know for me, I had to try many different things to get to a good system with Skittles. Thats not to say they wont try to rebel, they aren't stupid. If they think they can get away with it- they'll try

 

[Tanya_D]

Thank you! I was told to keep him clipped for safety. And he sometimes jumps to the floor even if I am in the room. All I have to do is not be looking at him and miss the fact that he's getting ready to jump. I'm pretty sure that he sometimes just likes walking on the floor. I really don't want to keep him locked up all the time. I'll just make sure I'm holding him if I'm not actively watching him. Little daredevil. He wants to be where everyone else is and we often sit on the floor.

So, I'll be more vigilant and strict about his floor habit. What's the difference in risk between having him flighted and not? We don't keep doors and windows open at all and there's really nothing he can get in trouble with. If it would keep his landings from injuring him and there aren't any safety issues with it or anything, I'll definitely not have him clipped anymore!

And I forgot to mention he's only about 4.5 months old. Hopefully not too late to teach good habits!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Who told you to keep him clipped for safety?

Keep in mind, a clipped bird can still fly away. They only need the wind to 'glide'. It's a common misconception.

Personally, even if your going to keep the bird clipped (I don't recommend it), you should let them go a full molt and at least 'learn to fly' before you clip them again.

As for the dangers of clipping the bird- aside from if they are clipped improperly the dangers are numerous. A clipped bird cannot defend itself from dangers like they could if they had wings (to fly away from the danger). That being said, there are numerous health issues associated with clipped birds. Mainly, being overweight and prone to numerous other diseases. A free flighted bird gets more exercise in 5 minutes out of the cage than a clipped bird gets in a whole day inside their cage.

Also, allowing your bird to be out and about allows them to satisfy their natural curiosity of exploring (but they should always be supervised) it also allows them to expel excess energy and drastically reduces the chances of having a screaming problem (which is pretty much guaranteed with a clipped and constantly caged bird).

 

[Tanya_D]

I couldn't find a conure to adopt locally, so I got him at Petco. They told me to keep him clipped for safety. I've only had him about six weeks, so his feathers haven't grown back yet. I won't have it done again. I'd rather have to clean his poop off every surface of my house than have him get hurt!

Thank you for being so patient with me!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

You can try to potty train him in the meantime while his wings are clipped. Believe it or not, they CAN be potty trained. I can only speak to conures, but I'm sure other bird species can be as well.

I got Skittles at a local pet shop, its a Maine owned and operated company and they get their birds from local breeders.

What the people at Petco meant is its "easier for you to control him", not that its safer- of course they'd never admit that. I hate it when they say things like that. They are companion animals not things that we rule over.

I just think its cruel to keep a birds wings clipped unless there are no alternative options (bird is blind etc). They have wings for a reason.

 

[janquito]

I clip my bird's wings because we have low ceiling fans & I don't want them flying into those. For me, it's safety.

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[tlfisher]

Our conure gave all of us a surprise. He flew out of the travel carrier so quick I did not see which way he flew. The kids found him clutching a curtain. The fan was on. We had no idea he was fully flighted and quite skillful. He bypassed 4 fans in his first round the house. Sunny loves it when I change the wind speed. He is quite amusing. Every bird is different. Sunny was not hand tame when he was adopted. He is now after just a few months. He still prefers to be self mobile... a flying 2 year old with personality.

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[Gxg]

You can try to potty train him in the meantime while his wings are clipped. Believe it or not, they CAN be potty trained. I can only speak to conures, but I'm sure other bird species can be as well.

I got Skittles at a local pet shop, its a Maine owned and operated company and they get their birds from local breeders.

What the people at Petco meant is its "easier for you to control him", not that its safer- of course they'd never admit that. I hate it when they say things like that. They are companion animals not things that we rule over.

I just think its cruel to keep a birds wings clipped unless there are no alternative options (bird is blind etc). They have wings for a reason.

I'm right there with you in regards to the birds I've owned. It was meant to fly and besides the fact that it's not in the wild and yet still has instincts to be wild to a good degree, we have to respect that with how much freedom we give them as creatures. I love seeing it when birds can fly around the house - the ones I have love their cage/environment I made available.

I tend to bring a chair they can sit in within my room (with toys and their food/water too) so they can be with me - and when they do fly, I can see them. I never keep the fans on when they're out, of course. But it is cool to see them in action.

 

[tlfisher]

It was not planned. Sunny gets upset if I do not turn the fan on.

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[tlfisher]

He enjoys sitting on a blanket that is used to keep my room open for a nervy rescue dog. A PLUS. He poops there, his cage, and his play basket.
Sadly, Sunny is easy to be trained. Attention is his reward.
The dogs cannot catch him. Neither could I... he flew outside. He came right back. Sigh. The bird will be the death of me. He does add action to my day.

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