Need advice on bird safety

[Safamirza🤍]

Hello 👋 I have a male cockatiel named Kiko, who is turning 1 in November.

This post is in regards to bird safety advice.

When we got Kiko he was around 2 months old and came clipped. I did not like this but I thought that he will get his wings back some day and it wouldn’t be a problem. I am PRETTY sure he has been clipped since a very young age and never learned to properly fly (which is what makes all of this difficult.) He molted last month and has some long flight feathers now (some of them he broke off)

Kiko isn’t the best flyer. I mean, he’s OKAY, but he could be better. Today he was sitting on top of his cage, wanting our attention. When no one listened to him, he flew all the way from his cage to the kitchen (a good 15-20 ftish) he flew from over the stove and landed on the ground. The stove was OFF but the top was hot. I got so scared thinking what if he landed on top of the stove or there was food on top in pots? He became very frightened that he flew that far (he’s not so confident in his abilities) and it took him a good 5 min to calm down. Now he is sleeping as I am writing this post.

What should l do? I would be DEVASTATED if something ever happened to Kiko especially if it was an accident. Sometimes I become so anxious when he is outside the cage. I never EVER leave him outside alone for even a second. I also keep him away from anything that scares him incase he flies in fright, which is wrong because he should not be scared of things around the house and I should work on making him more confident and brave.

I do NOT want to clip him because of this reason because I am aware of the long term and negative affects of wing clipping. I also think that (unless done for absolute medical reasons) it is cruel because birds are supposed to fly. right now our main goal was to make him comfortable with flying longer distance on command (because he can fly far but only when he absolutely has to, not on command) and building his confidence. However, what are some precautions that I can take (bird proofing?) to make sure that horrifying accidents don’t ever happen?

Thank you so much for reading and to anyone who replies 🐦 ❤️

 

[HeatherG]

Is there any way to block Kiko from the kitchen?

I have my birds clipped for this reason. Don’t want anybody landing in the frying pan or the soup.

I wonder if I could find a bead curtain to hang between the living room and kitchen area? Maybe that would help. I have seen people write about netting, also. I just don’t know if your parents would put up with that.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

Is there any way to block Kiko from the kitchen?

I have my birds clipped for this reason. Don’t want anybody landing in the frying pan or the soup.

I wonder if I could find a bead curtain to hang between the living room and kitchen area? Maybe that would help. I have seen people write about netting, also. I just don’t know if your parents would put up with that.

We have a really big kitchen and it’s with the living room (like it’s not somewhere else or behind a wall) so that’s what’s scary And I don’t know if I can net that area. Have you ever faced any complications with your clipped birds? How do you get them to exercise and flap their wings often? We got him clipped and I’m pretty sure he didn’t fledge as a baby so it makes things a lot harder.

 

[HeatherG]

We have a really big kitchen and it’s with the living room (like it’s not somewhere else or behind a wall) so that’s what’s scary And I don’t know if I can net that area. Have you ever faced any complications with your clipped birds? How do you get them to exercise and flap their wings often? We got him clipped and I’m pretty sure he didn’t fledge as a baby so it makes things a lot harder.

Sounds like my setup.
Willow will be on my hand and start flipping his wings and screeching and I gently lower and raise my arm so he has to flap. He seems to like it.

For 20+ yrs I had a Quaker whose wings had been injured so she absolutely HATED that and I would not make her do that. So having to worry about flying is a bit new.
My greenCheeked conure was so busy running around and biting things that he couldn’t get fat from not being clipped. But with Quakers and cockatiels obesity is more of a worry.

 

[Oopsadaysey]

Munchkin is clipped, both sides the same, never only clip one side as the bird has no control and can injure itself on landing. I've never had a problem with her flying, and even clipped she can fly quite well just not able to fly really high, to avoid other hazards such as ceiling fans. In the past we let all our birds free around the house, Canaries, Budgies, Galah never had a problem.
I don't leave hot pots on the stove but I use a portable induction cooktop, that gets put away. I didn't really want a big gas cooktop so I've covered the brand new one with a tile and just use the induction. Safer all round as it cools itself by fan. Also if we both go out she is put in her room, door closed, the rest of the time she is with one or the other of us. She also knows she is not allowed in the kitchen when I am cooking, smart huh.

 

[onamom]

I’m following this thread for advice. My bird’s flight feathers are still growing out but I worry about this as well. I have similar concerns about the kitchen and the best I can think of is to always make sure they’re caged when you cook