The maiden voyage - now what?!?!?

[DexMom]

We learned this evening that we now have a fully flighted parrot in the house. Dexter took his maiden voyage from atop his cage in the sunroom, through the kitchen and landed in the dining room. He took off, stayed aloft, made a nice s-turn path through 2 doorways and executed a graceful landing. His pilot daddy would have been quite proud to see that!

He is always supervised when out of his cage. He has been content to stay in the sunroom, which has french doors closing it off from the family room and a gate across the wide kitchen doorway to keep the dogs out when he's out of his cage. Someone is either in the room with him or in the kitchen next door, which has a wide doorway (bottom half gated) and a window-sized cut out so he can be watched. Most of the time he's out of his cage, I'm in the room with him - and I was tonight when he took off for his flight adventure. Thankfully, my 2 dogs were napping and didn't see him or it could have gotten dicey. I ran to grab the dogs and called for my daughter to bring Dexter back to his [previously] safe habitat in the sunroom.

I really, really, really don't want to clip Dex's wings again. It took him a solid year to grow them back after being clipped as a baby and I'm pretty sure he was never given the opportunity to fully fledge beforehand. Watching him regain his ability to fly bit by bit as those wing feathers have grown back in has been wonderful. Oh the glorious awkward hopping and flappy dances I've enjoyed! I don't know if it's getting his wings back or just overall maturity, but he's become a very different bird over the past few months. He's calmer, more handleable (not sure if that's an actual word or if I just made it up), his personality has really emerged and overall he simply seems happier and more content.

I'm trying to figure out how to allow him the capability and provide opportunities to fly, while keeping him safe from the canine housemates. I would never, ever trust them together as both dogs are retrievers and have an instinct to chase feathered prey. I have a fairly large house, but it's a lot of open floor plan and both pets live on the main floor (upstairs is bedrooms and downstairs is basement/husband's office).

Can anyone with both furry and feathered pets share your plan for keeping them out of each other's space? This is one of those times when I realize that I didn't think through every possible scenario before deciding to get a parrot. I always assumed we would just keep the bird clipped and not have to deal with him flying around. But now that I see my Dexter aloft an loving it, I feel like I can't take it away from him again. If it's the only way I can keep him safe, of course I will clip him again, but it's come to feel more like a last resort than a first plan of attack.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hi just some off the wall thoughts, see if anything sticks LOL

Do you think that Dexter is more prone to flying at certain times of the day and if so could you accommodate that better?

Encourage him to fly/exercise when he is ready and happy to do so and you have a safe path cleared of any dangers. Call to him to come to you.

Have you a play stand you could put at the end of his flight path to land on thus keeping him off the floor?

Hope you find a solution

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Hmm, I am trying to think of something that might help, but my furry pets are little tiny dogs, and quite frankly, they are afraid of the chicken.

The only thing that really comes to mind in your situation is would it be possible to encourage Dexter to fly while the dogs are not in the house? Like when they go outside for a bit, then encourage him to fly and see if you can wear it out of him before the dogs come back in. Even if he stays off the floor, I would be worried that the dogs may jump for him.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I agree with Plum and Spirit... certain designated times when dogs are out... for his own safety he may have to stay in the cage at non-fly times if he's going to insist on being a free-flier! That's good news, though, that he's flying. Good luck!

 

[Scott]

Congratulations to Dexter on his first solo! You can't perform the timeless ritual of cutting out the back of his shirt!

Seriously, you have a dilemma that does call for a binary choice. Either clip his wings or maintain a rigid protocol of separation from the dogs. I well understand the joy of a flighted bird, but also know the despair from having lost one in a terrible accident.

My solution is not directly applicable to you as none of my dogs since have been typically prey-driven breeds. Both areas with birds freely circulating are designated as dog-free zones; one bedroom turned aviary and the garage with flight cages. I roam around the house with one or more birds on the shoulder WITH dogs running loose, but they show NO interest. On rare occasion a bird will fly to the floor and attract no attention, and they are immediately rescued. Consequently, I do not clip.

Good luck, it is a hard choice!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Scott, you really put it out there pretty starkly, but it sort of shook me loose from my more casual earlier reply. I can't imagine the horror of one beloved pet hurting or killing another. I find myself really thinking this is a situation for clipping... dogs, kids, busy house...

 

[plumsmum2005]

Scott, you really put it out there pretty starkly, but it sort of shook me loose from my more casual earlier reply. I can't imagine the horror of one beloved pet hurting or killing another. I find myself really thinking this is a situation for clipping... dogs, kids, busy house...

So the bird gets it once again It's the easy way out IMO

 

[Scott]

Scott, you really put it out there pretty starkly, but it sort of shook me loose from my more casual earlier reply. I can't imagine the horror of one beloved pet hurting or killing another. I find myself really thinking this is a situation for clipping... dogs, kids, busy house...

Scott, you really put it out there pretty starkly, but it sort of shook me loose from my more casual earlier reply. I can't imagine the horror of one beloved pet hurting or killing another. I find myself really thinking this is a situation for clipping... dogs, kids, busy house...

So the bird gets it once again It's the easy way out IMO

I believe both responses are excellent! The OP is seeking varied opinions, and everybody ought to freely contribute. I almost never view situations in black and white, but this topic is pretty concrete to me.

The third option is to take reasonable precautions and hope for the best. That was my philosophy pre-tragedy but abruptly changed my perspective to include altering my choice of future dog breeds.

 

[DexMom]

So the bird gets it once again It's the easy way out IMO

I'm trying to avoid clipping. He came to us clipped and as brand new parrot owners I believe that was for the best during our learning period. Now that I'm more confident handling him and we all know each other, I'd rather allow him to be flighted. Ultimately, safety is paramount.

For now, while the weather is nice, I can put the dogs outside for some time each day and let Dexter have run of the house. This is the time I plan to let him practice his flying skills, while also trying to figure out how to deal with things when I can't put the dogs outside (winter or other foul weather). Overall it will be a reduced amount of out-of-cage time for him, probably cutting it in half. He's accustomed to between 3 and 5 hours of freedom per day (split into two sessions). When he was content to stay in the sun room, this was manageable. There's no way I could lock the dogs outside for that much time. They are accustomed to free inside/outside access through the doggy door and have spent most of their time in the air-conditioned house of late since it's been in the 90s almost every day for a month.

Please keep sharing ideas, I'm open to trying anything. I love having the collective wisdom of the members here and my family (human and animal) have benefitted so much from the generosity and willingness of everyone to offer help.

 

[plumsmum2005]

So the bird gets it once again It's the easy way out IMO

I'm trying to avoid clipping. He came to us clipped and as brand new parrot owners I believe that was for the best during our learning period. Now that I'm more confident handling him and we all know each other, I'd rather allow him to be flighted. Ultimately, safety is paramount.

For now, while the weather is nice, I can put the dogs outside for some time each day and let Dexter have run of the house. This is the time I plan to let him practice his flying skills, while also trying to figure out how to deal with things when I can't put the dogs outside (winter or other foul weather). Overall it will be a reduced amount of out-of-cage time for him, probably cutting it in half. He's accustomed to between 3 and 5 hours of freedom per day (split into two sessions). When he was content to stay in the sun room, this was manageable. There's no way I could lock the dogs outside for that much time. They are accustomed to free inside/outside access through the doggy door and have spent most of their time in the air-conditioned house of late since it's been in the 90s almost every day for a month.

Please keep sharing ideas, I'm open to trying anything. I love having the collective wisdom of the members here and my family (human and animal) have benefited so much from the generosity and willingness of everyone to offer help.

It was great news to hear Dexter had found his wings and was happy to use them. I am happy to do some sharing to help find a solution because clipping I feel should always be last choice not the first. There are times that it is the only option to keep the bird safe, I appreciate. But to me no one would and should consider muzzling their dogs 24/7 or cutting the paws off a dog that keeps running away so why consider denying a bird their right to fly.

Talking of muzzles would you do this for Dexter's 'flying time'? Would this even help? When the weather closes in could the dogs be tied up in-house perhaps after a good walk, for the short period Dexter needs to explore? They may not even be bothered if they are pooped from enough exercise? Good news that family are helping find a solution too. Sincerely hoping an answer if found for you.

 

[DexMom]

Our house is three levels - upstair is bedrooms, middle-floor is main living areas (kitchen, dining room, family room, sunroom) and downstairs is my husband's office, exercise room, media center for the kids (TV, dvd, video games) and utilities. Since we moved here, we had decided that the dogs would be on the main living level only, keeping them off the beds and saving me the dog hair in every square inch of the house, and they have been trained not to go up or down stairs. Dexter lives on the main level as well.

The main living area of the house is pretty open floor plan. I was able to close off the sunroom so the dogs can't go in, but there is a wide open doorway that, even when gated, Dexter can fly out of (which he proved!). I may look into putting a curtain across this doorway as a possible solution. It's going to look pretty awkward and I'm not 100% sure if it will keep him in.

I've been trying to gently convince my husband to start allowing the dogs downstairs, so that I can close them down there when Dex is out and they can't be outside. He's not being particularly agreeable. I'll keep working on it. It's stressing me out.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Our house is three levels - upstair is bedrooms, middle-floor is main living areas (kitchen, dining room, family room, sunroom) and downstairs is my husband's office, exercise room, media center for the kids (TV, dvd, video games) and utilities. Since we moved here, we had decided that the dogs would be on the main living level only, keeping them off the beds and saving me the dog hair in every square inch of the house, and they have been trained not to go up or down stairs. Dexter lives on the main level as well.

The main living area of the house is pretty open floor plan. I was able to close off the sunroom so the dogs can't go in, but there is a wide open doorway that, even when gated, Dexter can fly out of (which he proved!). I may look into putting a curtain across this doorway as a possible solution. It's going to look pretty awkward and I'm not 100% sure if it will keep him in.

I've been trying to gently convince my husband to start allowing the dogs downstairs, so that I can close them down there when Dex is out and they can't be outside. He's not being particularly agreeable. I'll keep working on it. It's stressing me out.

Ah it's OK, please don't stress something can always be found. Re a door curtain, how about something like a bead curtain, Dexter won't fly through that? Think you could hook it back out of the way when not needed? Perhaps a bit naff to coin a phrase but just thinking out loud LOL.

 

[DexMom]

I was thinking of something semi-sheer that will be thin and can be tucked away to the side when it's not needed. It's a 72" wide doorway, so a heavy drapery type curtain would be a big hunk of bulky fabric when gathered up to open the doorway. But, I'm not sure something thin and see through would discourage him from trying to pass through the doorway. I'm also getting side eye from my husband when I suggest a curtain. He's being a big baby and thinks the dogs and bird just need to "get used to each other" and all will be fine. I disagree and think they should really not be able to interact, for fear of Dexter's safety.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Perhaps just show him some of the threads on here where things didn't go well!

A vertical blind on a track could be pulled/wound right back out of the way when you don't want it?

Semi sheet/net would look softer though.

 

[Piasa]

Plum's Mum is so right. It only takes one time for something terrible to happen. You cannot trust a predator around a prey animal, no matter how well behaved.

Do you have any outdoor space where you could make Dex an aviary? It's a big project/investment, but he can get lots of fly time in there safely.

Partitioning and shutting of doors - I've had to do this time to time when I lived or visited with other people. I live in an RV so I also have to watch the main door when the birds are out. I decided on some rules, and I don't break them. In fact, times I did break the rules ended up with a bird outside. Things like bird doesn't come out of cage until door is latched (Double check the latch!), lock the door if there is any possibility of someone unexpectedly opening it, and know 100% where the other animals are (like make sure they're not hiding in the bird's fly room)!

Grats on Dexter's flight! I love watching the joy they get from flying, it is magic.

 

[DexMom]

I bought a curtain for the large open doorway between the sunroom (where Dexter's cage is) and the kitchen. That was the escape route, since the other doorway can be closed with french doors. We're going to try this for a while during the times when the dogs cannot be closed outside.

Also, after talking over the situation, we realized that our downstairs space, although used for a number of things, is not really carved up with walls. It's a pretty large open area. So, my son and I are going to spend a day this week really crawling around and looking carefully for bird hazards and we'll try to figure out if we think we can let him fly safely in that space. He will be 100% supervised and it will be for relatively short times, but it's better than being cage-bound on days when upstairs out-of-cage time might be restricted. The only drawback is that it's 100% carpeted and cleaning up after droppings will be a challenge.

Thanks for listening to me go on and on while I tried to work through this one!

 

[plumsmum2005]

All of us who have chipped in here will be pleased to be of some help to you, I am sure. It's good that answers have been found.

I am thrilled that Dexter gets to enjoy what he is supposed to do and listening to Plum shrieking whilst flying up and down the kitchen has made me realise what a thrill it is for him to be able to do it. Happy flying Dexter.

Ps re carpet area, protect the main 'splat' areas with either paper or plastic sheeting or runner or even an old rug you don't bother about anymore. It can still be cleaned up. The odd ones come off easily with 'Poop Off' I have found.

 

[DexMom]

Thanks. I use Poop-Off for cage cleaning and floor cleaning in the tiled area. I haven't had any reason to try it on the carpet, yet, but it's good to know it will work .

 

[Scott]

I once had a beaded "curtain" as barrier. Worked well for a few days, but they eventually grew curious and would nibble the beads from below. Then got curious about the natural "perch" at top that hung a short distance from the ceiling. They'd fly to the top, rest for a few moments, then break out into the adjacent room!!

It's worth a try!