Teaching where not to land?

[MeganMango]

help! Teaching where not to land?

So Mango flies now, and mostly he comes to us if we go out of sight, or heads to the kitchen to "forage" for treats. Today though, he is obsessed with flying to Jake's (rescue sennie) cage and landing on top. Jake surprisingly isnt super aggressive about it, but seems nervous. Im worried he will eventually get upset and injure Mango. He is somewhat cage aggressive toward me at times. Mango on the other hand tried to eat Jake the one time he landed on his cage. Im not sure how best to teach Mango not to fly there? Hes never out of his cage unsupervised, so he isnt standing there long, but it only takes a second for an injury!

 

[crimson]

Oh I can relate to this!, lol... I put blankets on top of my cages, to prevent the toes from being chewed off.
sometimes they will climb down on the sides of the cages, that's when I worry about the toes being bit.
My Kakariki hung on to Safari's toe and man did he scream!. I watched the whole thing, and rescued him, no blood just a crystal clear warning....stay away!!

both of your birds seem somewhat interested in each other, but are probably territorial.
my sennie sure is....for months Safari was by himself when out of his cage.
then one day I couldn't stand it anymore, so I let out my 3 lovebirds, and 4 cockatiels, and you know all my birds knew to stay far away from Safari. He can never get close enough to bite them, they fly away.
One day my GCC Ninja was out, and I decided to take a chance and let Safari out....well, Safari eyed Ninja very closely, he slowly started climbing up to the top of the cage, and before I new it, Ninja was very quick to run over and stop Safari from going any further.
He knocked him right on his behind.
I thought for sure Safari would have been the dominant one but clearly he put Safari in his place.
clearly those two are not a match.
All I can suggest is try blankets and keep a watchful eye.
I'm sure someone else has a better suggestion....good luck Megan

 

[MeganMango]

Thank you Crimson, I am glad Im not the only one dealing with this. I dont want the two boys to make best friends as Jake is a foster bird and is up for adoption. Dave and I discussed this last night as he is also flying to my computer and ripping the buttons off my computer. I think for now when he goes places he isnt suppose to go we will calmly say "no" and put him back on his cage. If he keeps it up we will put him in and close the door. He knows not to eat my computer, we have had this argument several times. He really doesnt know where he can and cannot fly though as it is all brand new. I cant think of any other way to let him know where the boundaries are. I love that he is flighted, but we need to keep him and my house safe. Anyone else with flighted birds have any experience in teaching where not to go?

 

[MeganMango]

I have an exam tomorrow, so Im home studying and Mango just keeps flying right over to Jake! Whats more, he seems to be completely clueless about all Jakes warning signs! Jake is fluffing his shoulders, opening his beak and hissing while walking backward. Mango just wanders over and last time he actually said "hi". Jake is backing off for now, but I dont know how long he will remain patient. He is actually going through his first hormonal stage and he is pretty unpredictable. If anyone has any further experience with this please help. Right now Mango is in his cage, but I never leave him in there when Im home. Until now they both just hung out on their cages or play stands and mutually ignored eachother

 

[MeganMango]

Well I am at a loss. So far today Mango has driven poor Jakey bird crazy, peeled two buttons off my keyboard, snipped one of my bean plants in half, and removed a button from the remote control for the television. He is so incredibly fast, and he is determined to get into trouble. If he doesnt learn to behave himself from short time-outs we may have to consider clipping him. He has always just sat with us or played on his cage/playstand, but now hes like a little terror. I cant keep up with him, I spent the entire day trying to teach him where he can and cannot go, but its doesnt seem to be working and I dont know what else to do. What a disaster.

 

[crimson]

have you seen my converter???, you will laugh at this one Megan.
my cockatiels had a field day with it, and within the day it was almost destroyed.
I'll have to post a picture of it, lol.

I'm sorry you are struggling with this, now he has another bird to entertain him....hmmmm.
why don't you supervise and let them both out together?, and see what happens....
have your husband there as well for moral support if anything goes wrong.
if you remember I let Safari out with Ninja, my GCC, and it didn't go well, but there was no blood shed.
maybe it will turn out, maybe not, but why don't you give it a try?
Jake maybe behaving territorial cause he's in his cage, and if a bird lands on it, they are typically higher than the other bird. Most birds will bite if they are lower.
But might behave differently on the same ground.
let me know what happens, ok?

 

[MeganMango]

They are always both out together, but they have their own space. If Im home, both boys are out of their cages. Mango has just not decided to take an interest in Jake until now. Jake is clipped, only because he is new and completely unsocialized. He was left alone for years in a bedroom without even a window. We also suspect he was abused. He steps up for me but is terrified of Dave. Every time Dave walked into the room he would panic and take off, and he ran into walls and windows. Since we clipped him he has really come around, but he doesnt like hands and is easily scared. His response to Mango looks like its also primarily fear based. I cant let Mango and Jake physically meet without permission from the rescue, and I would rather have someone from the rescue here if we do it just in case something goes wrong. He isnt my bird, and although I do adore him he is up for adoption and will find another home. I will discuss this with the rescue and see what they suggest. For now I have continued with my strategy, and Ive got them on opposite sides of the house. Every time Mango heads over there I put him in his cage and close the door. I dont like using his cage as punishment, I dont want him to associate it with being naughty, but I dont have any other options at the moment.

My concern is not just the two birds meeting (although this does worry me considerably), but in supervision in general. How do people with flighted birds ensure their safety? How can I know that Mango hasnt ingested something toxic (seems like everything kills them) and that he isnt in danger if I cant keep him in the safe zones. To be fair, there are actually few places he cant go. My whole house is bird friendly. We have perches and play stands everywhere. Mango just wants to be in those few places he isnt allowed. People must teach their birds to stay in certain places?

 

[crimson]

ahhh, now I understand. I hadn't thought of needing permission to have the two meet.
Poor Jake, it never ceases to amaze me how cruel people are with nature.
I sure hope they find a good home for him.
I wish I could offer some better advice.

 

[MeganMango]

I've been giving Mango treats whenever he flies to me, and putting him in his cage when he flies to Jake or tries to eat my computer. In a few days I will update on how this is working. Im surprised more people dont have suggestions, I know there are lots of people here with flighted birds.

 

[crimson]

maybe it's the timing, or you've stumped everyone

 

[MonicaMc]

My suggestion would be to teach the bird where to fly, rather than where not to fly.

"Fly to cage"
"Fly to perch"
"Fly to chair"
etc


With the idea of teaching a bird where *TO* fly, you may be able to get them to fly there once they are somewhere they shouldn't be.... but it may be difficult to teach them in the beginning if it's more rewarding for them to be where you don't want them to be rather than somewhere you do want them to be. You'll just need to figure out how to make it more rewarding to be elsewhere than where they shouldn't be.

 

[MeganMango]

Im working on "come here", something he would do quite willingly when he was walking places, but now that he flies he seems confused about what this means. When he flies to me, his own cage, or his play stand Ive been giving him treats. When he flies to Jake, my computer or my bean plants I put him in his cage for a time out. So far this has accomplished very little, but Im going to keep up with it and see what happens. Once he will come to me Ill work on other places. Definitely stressful!