My family has three cockatiels, all in the same cage in our living room. We have this big stick structure for them to play around on over top of their cage and they absolutely love it! But a few times a day, the cockatiels will either jump off because they get scared or they just simply want some attention from us. They've broken many of their tail feathers doing this. I guess my question is: Is there any way to make them stop jumping off and breaking feathers?
2007-01-18 04:45:02 · 4 answers · asked by Charlene L 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
There's not really too much you can do to prevent the jumping. What you can do is buy one of ladders made for birds and set it on the floor propped up close to their perch. That way they can use that to climb down to the floor instead of jumping.
2007-01-18 05:01:17 · answer #1 · answered by tays232003 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have had birds all my life and i have a cocatiel now. I do not clip her wings. She loves flying around and sits on my shoulder to beg for affection. Of course, i keep windows curtains closed and I don't cook on a stove while she is out of her cage and I'm very careful not to step on her. And I got towels and newspapers all over "her" room.
Although you hear that wing clipping is a "must" for birds, especially small birds that are easy to take care of like tame hand-fed cocatiels, wing-clipping is really just an option, and I don't believe that it's the best option. Sure you need to be more careful not to have ANY dangerous things in the room (no cooking, no ceiling fan, no open window or door, no clear glass window without curtain on it, and never let anyone open windows when the bird is out of the cage) but I take great joy in watching my cocatiel make 5-6 circles in the air every day when i let her out of her cage.
I keep her food and water in her cage, so she always goes back inside the cage to eat. And birds always get hungry in the PM before sleep. With three birds you'd probably need three cages, or you'd never get all of them inside one cage at the same time if they can fly.
I don't know if this is the solution to your problem, but not clipping wings should be considered as an option -- an option with both risks and benefits for both the human and the bird.
Check for websites about having a full-flighted bird or a bird with unclipped wings for more info.
2007-01-18 14:34:44 · answer #2 · answered by mockingbird 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If their wings are clipped, it sounds like they've been clipped too far or unevenly. I don't really feel comfortable clipping wings any shorter than what would let them glide to the ground, for reasons like this. Falling like that not only ruins plumage, but it can be very unsafe since their bodies are so small and fragile. As a sort of long term solution, I'd allow their flight feathers to grow in enough so that they don't fall like rocks but can make a safe, controlled glide to the ground or wherever.
Is this directly attached to the cagetop? If it can be taken off, I would put it lower. If not, I'm not sure.. put a cushion or something soft to break their fall where they normally land? The ladder idea is good, too, if they're trying to get to you.
2007-01-18 13:30:09 · answer #3 · answered by PinkDagger 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Clip your birds feathers.
Heres how to clip them:
I don't really know why they are scared sometimes.
My cockatiel & budgies do it too.
2007-01-18 15:08:25 · answer #4 · answered by Silly-Junos 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋