African Grey keeps flying off of my shoulder!

[Chelsea304]

Hey everyone!

I recently was reunited with my childhood African Grey! My dad has had her for the past 10 years (It was my mothers bird since she hatched in 1999 and my dad got her in the divorce since she liked him better! )

Anyway - fast forward to this week! I've had her for about a week now! Originally, we thought she was pretty anti-social but she really has only been cage defensive (puffing or biting out of fear if you go near her in her cage but she will let you change her toys/food etc) and I am slowly teaching her that hands are good things!

When I open her door, she will come out. When I ask her to step up & she feels like it she will lift her foot and want to stay out of the cage etc.

When she is out she will not allow me to get her off of my shoulder (I think because she is afraid I will put her back in her cage). I will bring her back to the cage every so often to see if she wants to go back. Almost every time she is out now she has been randomly flying off of my (or hubby's) shoulder and since she has not really been taught to fly she will fly into stuff/the wall, etc. I'm to the point where I don't want to get her out now in fear she will hurt herself. We have begun target training to hopefully teach her to fly/land at some point. She is fully flighted and has not had her wings trimmed in a long time. I also keep all doors/windows closed, fans off, etc when she is out and I have no other pets in the home.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to isolate her and not take her out anymore...but what should I do about her flying away? Is she just done being out? I only have her out for about 30 minutes before she flies away? Is she scared? Or am I pushing her too far?

Thanks for reading and any advice would be excellent!

EDIT - I just asked my dad and she used to fly off of his shoulder as well!

 

[Dinosrawr]

If the issue is mainly about her hurting herself because she never really learned to fly, your best option is to slowly teach her how to properly land and fly to where she wants to go. It's definitely a great idea to target train her because you can use that training to show where you want her to land.

To teach her how to land, try training her to fly off your shoulder onto a couch seat, bed, or some pillows. That way when she lands she lands somewhere soft and comfortable. When you notice she's getting the hang of things, eventually you can start training her to land on different perches or locations.

Another thing to consider is if she knows somewhere safe to land. Does she have play stands and areas outside her cage in the rooms you go into? I find that when my birds get spooked, the fly to something they know and consider safe, such as the ceiling boings, the play stand, or the top of their cages. If they know a general place to go that they feel safe, they won't blindly fly around and hurt themselves when they're scared.

 

[Chelsea304]

Thank you! I actually have not yet found a playstand I like yet. I've been shopping around for one. That makes sense. When her cage was in the room she didn't fly to it when she launched off of my shoulder.

 

[Dinosrawr]

If the cage is close to a window or isn't high up enough, I could understand why she might not. My birds prefer to land on the orbits and boings I have hanging from the ceiling because they're high up and it's natural for them to feel safer when they're up there. Greys spook really easily, so it doesn't surprise me that she would take off quickly if something took her by surprise. Sometimes my birds flip out because someone outside turns on a light at night and they can see it happen, haha. They're prey animals, so it makes sense why they scare so easily.

 

[Chelsea304]

That makes a lot of sense. I was worried I was doing something wrong! I'm going to teach her to land so hopefully if she does spook she can land safely somewhere. I want to recall train her as well...hopefully. it'll be slow going as she adjusts to our home. Thank you for your help and insight.

 

[Taw5106]

Does your fid's cage have a playtop? I ask because I leave my fid's cage door open. She comes out and spends lots of time on top of her cage on the playtop. If you don't have a playtop a play stand that she can access from her cage would be great. Mine can go between the inside of her cage and her play area at her desire during the day, at night she's in her cage sleeping. It sounds like a play stand for her would help. Keep target training her too. One of my fids gets moody and he flies away from me, and to me, mainly because he's moody but that training can be done successfully. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Chelsea304]

The top of the cage opens and is a convertable playtop. She is doing well with the target training. She will move back and forth for the target now. I'm hoping to keep that up. We moved her cage into the room for now. I know greys are sensitive and the living room was getting to know much traffic (holidays!! Haa)

I will keep you posted!!! I think a playstand is needed for sure.

 

[Chelsea304]

Now she flew off of her cage into the wall some distance away! It almost looked like she wanted to fly to me or saw something in the living room to fly to. She isn't super proficient at target training yet. I'm going to try to flight train her by targeting. Should I consider a light trim on her wings or just hope I can teach her before she hurts herself? We go to the avian vet on Saturday.

We made a ton of progress. She asked to be picked up today for the first time! My hubby opened her cage and her foot went right up! I'm hoping we can target train her to land since she seems to be more comfortable! I'm worried about her breastbone constantly hitting the wall... Almost every time she is out of the cage she will fly off into a wall/closed window with blinds.

I've tried teaching her to hop down to the bed...but she flew away and hit the wall. It sounds so silly but she's always been a domestic pet and just never had the chance to learn to fly.

 

[Taw5106]

Venus has started to fly. Her clip is growing in but not completely. Right now I've got her doing short distances meaning it's short enough that I can catch her. I use treats, like almonds and pumpkin seeds. She can't fly far but she has improved in gliding and landing safely. Keep up the good work, she needs practice and to build her wing muscles like Venus.

 

[Chelsea304]

Thanks we are! She is really coming around. To be honest I think she is trying to fly to us but gets scared mid air. I'm sure she'll be a pro in no time!

 

[Chelsea304]

She did fly onto my arm tonight! It was partially accidental because she flew out of fear...but it makes me happy that she was able to latch onto my arm and land and felt comfy enough to go in my direction while we were in her training room!