Speaking of, my guys hate their halters. :( Is there anyway I can get them used to it without tramautizing them for life? It's getting to be summer, and they can really fly now; great indoors, a tragedy outdoors.

Richard Stallman disapproves.

ESC, do you get their wing feathers trimmed? It doesn't harm them at all. My African Grey gets a trim about once every 6 months or so.

I'm wary of him being outside without an enclosure because we have a lot of marauding hawks around here. I have a screened in porch where he hangs out. Maybe a large dog crate would be inexpensive and give your guys the ability to have some sunshine and fresh air.

/approves

I think my budgie would drive me crazy at work, what with all the talking and humping and more talking. Him, not me. Plus he likes to watch his own budgie porn, which also might get frowned upon.

And then I discovered that the only reason I am at work today is because I have been nailed there.

I Love you!

dodecahedron: ESC, do you get their wing feathers trimmed? It doesn't harm them at all. My African Grey gets a trim about once every 6 months or so.

I'm wary of him being outside without an enclosure because we have a lot of marauding hawks around here. I have a screened in porch where he hangs out. Maybe a large dog crate would be inexpensive and give your guys the ability to have some sunshine and fresh air.

Hi, dodecahedron. No, I haven't gotten their wings clipped/trimmed. I don't mind them having flight, that's what they were born to. I just want them to have flight safely when we go out. I know even with wings clipped/trimmed, bad things can still happen if they get spooked.

The dog crate is a good idea, actually. I could probably just wheel out the cages they do have so they can get some air to go with the sun. I miss taking them for drives. They're pretty good in the car. It's the getting into and out of the car and indoors without getting picked up by the wind that I'm worried about. Thus the halters, which they hate. :(

dodecahedron: ESC, do you get their wing feathers trimmed? It doesn't harm them at all. My African Grey gets a trim about once every 6 months or so.

I'm wary of him being outside without an enclosure because we have a lot of marauding hawks around here. I have a screened in porch where he hangs out. Maybe a large dog crate would be inexpensive and give your guys the ability to have some sunshine and fresh air.

Even a clipped bird can get lift. If your bird is going outside it either needs to be in a carrier or in a tether.

Great that they've found each other, but...

/rant on
-clipping the wings will not necessarily stop a parrot from flying away, if they're spooked and the wind gets under their wings, they can be gone.
-alcohol is not a healthy thing for any bird, though an occasional stolen sip of beer probably won't hurt.
/rant off

// have 2 African Greys; one's still learning to fly after a horrible clip as a baby, the other's an ace acrobatic flyer (and won't let a harness near him, so we have Adventure Pack cages to go outside)

Dinodork: I think my budgie would drive me crazy at work, what with all the talking and humping and more talking. Him, not me. Plus he likes to watch his own budgie porn, which also might get frowned upon.

Rule 34 strikes again..

Caturday just got a little interesting.

ExperianScaresCthulhu: Speaking of, my guys hate their halters. :( Is there anyway I can get them used to it without tramautizing them for life? It's getting to be summer, and they can really fly now; great indoors, a tragedy outdoors.

How old are your birds? It's easier to get them used to it if they're introduced to halters when they're young. No bird is going to like it at first. If they'll take treats from your hand and accept head/cheek scratches, you can do that after putting on the halter to try to calm them down.

I just got a conure recently that I need to start adapting to one of them. Right now we're working on switching to a better diet which is hard enough.

If they really thought this out, they'd make take your parrot to work day the same day as talk like a pirate day

spyderqueen: dodecahedron: ESC, do you get their wing feathers trimmed? It doesn't harm them at all. My African Grey gets a trim about once every 6 months or so.

I'm wary of him being outside without an enclosure because we have a lot of marauding hawks around here. I have a screened in porch where he hangs out. Maybe a large dog crate would be inexpensive and give your guys the ability to have some sunshine and fresh air.

Even a clipped bird can get lift. If your bird is going outside it either needs to be in a carrier or in a tether.

I've had my grey for 23 years. You want them to have a tiny bit of lift so that they don't fall like a stone if they try to fly. However with a proper clip they won't get enough lift to go anywhere.

My vet said that a clip can also help with dominance issues when you're first training your bird. The less ability they have to fly wherever they want (especially onto your head), the less they think they're 'in charge'.

ExperianScaresCthulhu: dodecahedron: ESC, do you get their wing feathers trimmed? It doesn't harm them at all. My African Grey gets a trim about once every 6 months or so.

I'm wary of him being outside without an enclosure because we have a lot of marauding hawks around here. I have a screened in porch where he hangs out. Maybe a large dog crate would be inexpensive and give your guys the ability to have some sunshine and fresh air.

Hi, dodecahedron. No, I haven't gotten their wings clipped/trimmed. I don't mind them having flight, that's what they were born to. I just want them to have flight safely when we go out. I know even with wings clipped/trimmed, bad things can still happen if they get spooked.

The dog crate is a good idea, actually. I could probably just wheel out the cages they do have so they can get some air to go with the sun. I miss taking them for drives. They're pretty good in the car. It's the getting into and out of the car and indoors without getting picked up by the wind that I'm worried about. Thus the halters, which they hate. :(

I thought about a halter for my grey but I'm sure he'd hate it because he's pretty set in his ways after all these years. Watch out for the size of the grating on the dog crate to make sure the bird can't injure itself by getting its head or claws caught, and watch out for any possible coating that they could chew off. I have a stainless steel travel cage that folds which I use if I have to transport him anywhere for any length of time.

You can hang swings and toys and attach perches to the side of a sturdy cage. It makes a decent temporary playpen. Again, though, the older and more set in their ways, the less they'll want to try new things. I got a gorgeous large bird playpen for mine a couple of months ago for the screened in porch and he's still wary of it.

Yes it does...

no it doesn't

MaudlinMutantMollusk: If they really thought this out, they'd make take your parrot to work day the same day as talk like a pirate day

dh2: Great that they've found each other, but...

/rant on
-clipping the wings will not necessarily stop a parrot from flying away, if they're spooked and the wind gets under their wings, they can be gone.
-alcohol is not a healthy thing for any bird, though an occasional stolen sip of beer probably won't hurt.
/rant off

// have 2 African Greys; one's still learning to fly after a horrible clip as a baby, the other's an ace acrobatic flyer (and won't let a harness near him, so we have Adventure Pack cages to go outside)

Those adventure pack cages are MUCH nicer than my folding stainless travel cage. Thanks for the tip.

If I brought my birds to work, the female would probably just sit next to me picking at my sandwich while the male would pull a Mission Impossible on me again...He grabbed onto the curtain with his beak, slid down before I could grab him and ran into a vent for a few hours until I coaxed him out with apples.

/I'll get you, my pretties

When you all take your birds out of the house, do you use just a harness or do you use a flight suit as well?

ExperianScaresCthulhu: Speaking of, my guys hate their halters. :( Is there anyway I can get them used to it without tramautizing them for life? It's getting to be summer, and they can really fly now; great indoors, a tragedy outdoors.

This probably seems like the lamest answer in the history of ever, but try changing the color of the harness.

Went from blue to yellow on my late, wild-caught, rescue male umbrella cockatoo (they flash their yellow underwings, etc., to show their sexiness) and while he was still annoyed by it, he was considerably less annoyed once it was the color of cockatoo sexiness. I'd guess red for African greys?

/No matter how loud someone else's parrot may be, mine was an old wild-caught male umbrella.
//With a younger U2 within a mile. When outside and they could hear each other? Oy.

I can assure you, sir, that this thread is quite dead. It has ceased to live.

No it's not, It's just pining for the fjords.

You might also try jesses instead of a harness. They are easy enough to make.

LabGrrl: ExperianScaresCthulhu: Speaking of, my guys hate their halters. :( Is there anyway I can get them used to it without tramautizing them for life? It's getting to be summer, and they can really fly now; great indoors, a tragedy outdoors.

This probably seems like the lamest answer in the history of ever, but try changing the color of the harness.

Went from blue to yellow on my late, wild-caught, rescue male umbrella cockatoo (they flash their yellow underwings, etc., to show their sexiness) and while he was still annoyed by it, he was considerably less annoyed once it was the color of cockatoo sexiness. I'd guess red for African greys?

/No matter how loud someone else's parrot may be, mine was an old wild-caught male umbrella.
//With a younger U2 within a mile. When outside and they could hear each other? Oy.



I don't think it's a lame answer at all, and it might explain some things. I got what was available at the store, which was black, purple and neon colors. I thought the neon colors would make them easily seeable, like humans when humans wear reflectors so folks don't run over them at night or at dawn when jogging or biking. But if that's disturbing to my guys, then I need to make a change. Luckily, they don't cost *that* much.

Thank you for your help. :) Now to figure out 'the sexy' for each of my guys....

YouWinAgainGravity: When you all take your birds out of the house, do you use just a harness or do you use a flight suit as well?

Harnesses are cheaper than flight suits. I'd love flight suits, but if they aren't digging the harnesses, no way they'd dig the flight suits/diapers. But the flight suits would definitely curb down on some of the accidents since they are not potty trained.

There are some really gorgeous ones out there. Have to keep LabGrrl's 'bringing the sexy' in mind, though, if I do try to step them up from harnesses to flight suits.

PeregrineBF: You might also try jesses instead of a harness. They are easy enough to make.



Jesses for conures? I can't find any, I do see one dude talking about it for much larger birds: The Parrot and the Falcon (I love how the falcon is extremely well behaved and stock still, like a doberman, on his glove; but the Parrot is just having a good time preening and moving on his unprotected shoulder, like a mutt. I guess that's the difference? Does anyone actually keep falcons as 'pet' pets, who will love and cuddle with you, or is it stricly guard bird stuff?)

I guess it's all the same though, in the end, when it comes to one's birds protection, and all comes down to training and making them used to it.

dodecahedron: You can hang swings and toys and attach perches to the side of a sturdy cage. It makes a decent temporary playpen. Again, though, the older and more set in their ways, the less they'll want to try new things. I got a gorgeous large bird playpen for mine a couple of months ago for the screened in porch and he's still wary of it.

Mine are the same way. I'll buy some toys and they won't touch em, I'll buy others, and they can't get enough. I put some regular branches from outside in, and they go crazy. They each have their own personality about what they'll play with.

I'll have to look into the adventure pack cages y'all were talking about. I have regular travel carriers, very roomy, but I'd imagine claustrophobic for them since there's only airholes and not grating.

Xioxia: If I brought my birds to work, the female would probably just sit next to me picking at my sandwich while the male would pull a Mission Impossible on me again...He grabbed onto the curtain with his beak, slid down before I could grab him and ran into a vent for a few hours until I coaxed him out with apples.
/I'll get you, my pretties

I salute your boy's ingenuity, that story made my day.

/the conures also love vents...
//...because they like to hang upside down from the gratings on the ceiling
///...because they are weird, but I love them.