|
|
Post by beccilouise on Sept 18, 2016 13:13:56 GMT -5
Thanks Julianna! She still has a way to go and she is still not 100% ok with it going over her head, but once it's over her head she seems ok, and she's enjoying being out more and more every day! I think it may take another long while to get her fully used to having the harness on for long periods of time (for walks) but she really is getting there. She's such a good girl!
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Sept 21, 2016 15:15:57 GMT -5
Hi everyone! Maya has been continuing with her harness training and I wanted to share some more pictures with you. We went for a (slow) bike ride around the park with Maya on a short leash so she didn't hurt herself. It took her a while to get used to the bike, but she did really well! We've been enjoying the last of the summer together    Once again, please excuse the stupid faces, I was blowing kisses to Maya to get her to look at the camera! |
|
|
|
Post by aaron on Sept 23, 2016 14:44:08 GMT -5
Haha, she is so cute in her little harness. Great photos! What a sweetie.
|
|
|
|
Post by easttex on Sept 23, 2016 16:44:18 GMT -5
She is a little doll!
|
|
|
|
Post by zim on Sept 24, 2016 7:13:35 GMT -5
Very good pictures, thanks for sharing! Maya is very cute, glad to see your hard work training her has paid off!
I may be asking you for advice on that soon. Yoshi has 3 flight feathers on each wing now, and is able to now sustain altitude for a small amount of time. I figure one more on each wing and he will be getting some lift. So I need to make the decision of whether I'm gonna keep him flighted, or clip him again.
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Oct 1, 2016 14:33:45 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! I just got back from Greece and am picking Maya up from birdie boarding tomorrow. The week away from harness outings may have set us back a bit, but we'll try! And Greece was lovely so...you know!
Zim: Maya has all flight feathers on one wing and four on the other because of the poor way she was clipped in store. She has a little more control over her flight now but is not fully there. My plan at the moment is to keep her flighted and use Michael Sazhin and Rebecca O'connor's method of recall and station training. If she begins to fly into Windows or otherwise become a danger to herself, I will clip back the first few feathers on both wings. I would really like to keep her flighted as, for me, I want her to have a go at being a fully able, capable flighted bird. It's good exercise and supposedly better for them psychologically, however, I have no idea if flight will suit Maya, or whether she may just get herself into trouble. The harness training was HARD and we're still not there. I've realised she needs me to hold her and cover her eyes to keep her still for the harness going over her head, but once that bit is done she will stay pretty much still and let me put the rest of it on her. She still pecks and pulls at it but is becoming gradually more fascinated with the world than with the evil harness. It will still require A LOT of acclimatisation but I'm really determined to give it a go to keep her fit, healthy and to enrich her life more. I think it has to depend on the bird, the owner and their individual situation, but no decision is permanent and, if I feel I've made the wrong one for Maya, time or a visit to the vet will reverse it. Maya is a pretty steady girl and seems to have mastered the concept of Windows, although she is not fully flighted yet, so this may just be wishful thinking on my part! I'll keep you informed of my progress both with the harness and Maya's flight status. Aaron or Biteybird may be able to give more comprehensive help as Cupcake and Bonnie, I believe, are both flighted.
|
|
|
|
Post by aaron on Oct 2, 2016 0:06:00 GMT -5
It's entirely possible for them to master the concept of windows and mirrors, in my opinion. Cupcake is around them all the time and has never really had any issues detecting them as barriers. Obviously not all birds are like this, but it's definitely possible. Cupcake is fully flighted. We got her clipped, and we clipped her once, and it went very poorly. They clipped her too severely and she fell to the floor and cracked her beak open. We never clipped her again after that. I love having her fully flighted... I can't imagine her any other way. She is quite autonomous, and visits individuals throughout the house as she pleases, but we do always make sure that someone is supervising her. ("Who has that bird?", "Where's that bird?", "Do you have a bird?", etc..) Of course, she would always prefer that we all sit in the same room together. That makes her happiest. At any rate, she is a very skilled flier, and it's part of how she expresses herself and I can't imagine her not being able to do that. Getting to see her go where she wants to go, and be where she wants to be, lends an understanding of her character and motivations that I really appreciate. And generally speaking, she is very good about sticking to approved locations. She is often very chill and accommodating, despite her ability to take off at any moment... That said, we live in an apartment with a layout that is extremely condusive to what I am describing. Given the nature of her autonomy, it would be a major factor in choosing a subsequent home... One that has thus far been a major contributor in why we still remain here. Having a flighted bird in the house is a lot of work. It is worth noting that while she is compliant most of the time at this point, this is a progression that has taken years, and a lot of that time was much less fun. If she is hormonal, or sleep deprived, or having a bad day, we can certainly regress quite a bit  I am a fairly anxious person, and frankly, I struggle with being here alone with her for extended periods of time, largely because my health sucks and sometimes I just need to sit in peace, and that's hard to get with a bird, especially one that can decide she wants to object to what you are doing and simply relocate, forcing you to relocate, etc... I'm sure my nerves would be less frayed were she a clipped bird and her control over the situation was lessened. It definitely takes the intensity up a notch... Nonetheless, if you can manage it, I truly think it's the best way for the bird to live, for a number of reasons. But keeping avians in a human world is complicated, and clipping is definitely the best move in many situations. As far as your situation goes, maybe let the feathers grow out and give it a trial run. Nice thing about feathers is nothing is permanent, so you don't have to make any sort of binding decision |
|
|
|
Post by biteybird on Oct 2, 2016 0:16:48 GMT -5
Aaron has pretty much summed up the joys of having a flighted bird. Bonnie loves "flying around stupid" and we enjoy watching her land in her favourite places (except we had to remove a photo frame on a high ledge, as she was being territorial & trying to 'nest' behind it). Re windows, we never thought about them prior to getting Bonnie. She just seems to know they are there, although some of them have lace curtains, so it's pretty obvious - I shudder to think of how unprepared we were and what MIGHT have happened, but luckily it doesn't seem to have been an issue so far. Beccilouise, CONGRATULATIONS in harness training Maya...I'm still in awe of you! Both of you look really happy and content in the photos. |
|
|
|
Post by zim on Oct 2, 2016 2:37:40 GMT -5
Aaron, is cupcake pretty good about pooping in dedicated areas? If so, did that take a lot of training?
I'm really considering letting yoshi keep his flight feathers when they come in. Safety is my biggest concern, and poop all over my furniture and everything else is my second biggest concern lol.
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Oct 2, 2016 13:07:21 GMT -5
I picked Maya up today and, before she came to see me, she did a little flying lap of her holiday living room, finishing with a little hover in the air before she landed on my shoulder. She's now got nearly all of her flight feathers back and, although her flight is still a little laboured, she's clearly enjoying it.The people who boarded her for me said she had been flying around the living room quite a lot. They've got a huge front window and a big decorative mirror, both of which Maya demonstrated she could navigate with ease, and understood that they could not be flown through. I took her back on the harness and, while we were walking, she barely chewed it at all! Of course, once we got on the bus and weren't by a window, she attacked it with gusto, but she is SO enjoying walking around outside with the sun on her feathers.
Zim, have you heard of Poop-Off? It's a cleaning brand which also produces 'anywhere cleaning wipes'. These are BRILLIANT! Maya has pooped on our sofa numerous times, but I have been spared from getting into trouble by these brilliant wipes. They dissolve the poop almost immediately, which means it doesn't leave a stain. I swear by these things. Mostly, of course, Maya poops on me because that is where she's sat, and if I'm worried about her soiling my clothes, I just throw a tea towel (one just used for Maya) over my shoulder. But if you're worried about ruined furniture, seriously, these wipes are the best. Also, it is possible to poop-train a bird to go in specific areas. Maya tends to hop back to her playstand to poop (unless we're on the move, or the playstand is too far away), but I know people who've trained their birds to poop in certain places. The other option is to work out where Yoshi's favourite perches are and put newspaper underneath these places while Yoshi is out. It was so lovely watching Maya fly today and she is clearly loving her new ability! I know it's not right for every bird, but I really, really hope she deals well with the windows because it's so exhilarating to see her fly! I'd rather try other options with the windows, like pulling the blinds across, or marking the glass, to help her work it out. It's just so great to see her taking advantage of this beautiful birdie ability. Now that she's learning to do it, I don't think I'd have the heart to take her flight away again.
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Oct 2, 2016 13:11:19 GMT -5
Also, thanks Biteybird! Persistence is paying off! It is now nearly ten months since I started the training, so it has certainly not been easy, but knowing Maya's needs, knowing the individual way to put it on her and getting her used to it is really helping. She's gradually getting used to it. She's still not 100% happy about having it put on, but is nonetheless grudgingly compliant and, once we're out and about, she seems to love it. It was definitely worth it!
|
|
|
|
Post by aaron on Oct 2, 2016 17:18:48 GMT -5
Aaron, is cupcake pretty good about pooping in dedicated areas? If so, did that take a lot of training? I'm really considering letting yoshi keep his flight feathers when they come in. Safety is my biggest concern, and poop all over my furniture and everything else is my second biggest concern lol. No, she isn't... and this is because we have not tried to train her to poop in certain places. I think she would pick it up very quickly... She is very situationally aware of where she is pooping, and clearly makes an effort to not poop on us, but since we haven't given her any clear guidelines, she still poops all over the place. We hadn't wanted to burden her with those rules, but frankly I think it would be fine. I don't really think we have a good reason for having not trained her in this regard. |
|
|
|
Post by biteybird on Oct 12, 2016 1:45:49 GMT -5
Aaron, is cupcake pretty good about pooping in dedicated areas? If so, did that take a lot of training? I'm really considering letting yoshi keep his flight feathers when they come in. Safety is my biggest concern, and poop all over my furniture and everything else is my second biggest concern lol. No, she isn't... and this is because we have not tried to train her to poop in certain places. I think she would pick it up very quickly... She is very situationally aware of where she is pooping, and clearly makes an effort to not poop on us, but since we haven't given her any clear guidelines, she still poops all over the place. We hadn't wanted to burden her with those rules, but frankly I think it would be fine. I don't really think we have a good reason for having not trained her in this regard. Our reason for not having done it is...COMPLACENCY. Bonnie just lets it go wherever she happens to be, but I have to admit that we haven't tried at all to train her yet. If I had more control over the amount of unpaid hours I put in outside work (not gonna happen anytime soon) I'd definitely try it. |
|
|
|
Post by julianna on Oct 12, 2016 13:24:32 GMT -5
Oscar almost always will poop on paper. This is something I started when I first got him. When I could tell he was ready to go, I would hurry over to the newspaper around his cage and say "good poop". It did not take long before he knew the best place to poop was on paper. He always gets praised when he does.
Now when he is on me, he will not poop but start to back up... and when I see this I put down a Kleenex on the floor, hold him over it, and tell him "good poop". And he lets it go. When we are up early in the morning, many times I would take him to the kitchen with me to turn the lights on and on our way there he would poop. So I started putting a Kleenex on the floor (before I get up) and hold him over it and tell him "good poop". He understands this and will poop on command. Now I don't have to worry about cleaning up the floor.
I am very fortunate to have him toilet trained. He makes enough of a mess that I don't need more... (smiles)
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Oct 16, 2016 17:21:38 GMT -5
Quick update! Maya is still doing really well but the chewing of the harness continues on and off. She's been with me to various events and I've been a little concerned about her chewing through the harness. It's held out well, but is beginning to fray. Although she's much more comfortable with it, if we sit still for long periods of time, or we're on the train, she gets bored and picks at it for something to do (I know it's this because if I give her a nutriberry or a toy, she'll chew on that as well). So. As a solution, I've been using the jungle vest (www.diapersforbirds.com) over the top. It has saved the harness, but the velcro on the vest has become a little worn and she's a bit uncomfortable with it going behind her legs.
I've been looking online and have decided to try one of avian fashions' hoodies over her harness. There's also a company in the uk called babes in the hood who sell well manufactured bird hoodies. The idea of putting animals in human clothing makes me a bit squeamish if I'm honest. I'm of the opinion that an animal should be treated as that animal and I'm really not into this idea of dressing up dogs, cats or birds like they're kids. I've thought about this for a long time, and spoken to a number of people, but I've been assured that the hoodie will not restrict her flight or her movement. The purpose of it will be purely to protect the harness and so she will only wear it over the harness. It doesn't go behind her legs, it doesn't restrict her wings and the position of the hood will hopefully prevent her from chewing through the velcro. I figured it was worth a try. If she chews through the hoodie, it doesn't matter too much, but obviously I don't want her chewing through the harness. I still feel a little weird about it. She's a bird, not a child. Her flying is really coming along, she's been flying back and forth between me and david. We've also been encouraging her to fly to her cage and playstand. I want to do everything I can to enrich her life and help her live a full life in our home as a bird, because that's what she is (I don't mean anything by this to anyone who clips their birds, I know every situation is different and I also know that everyone on this forum makes the choices that are best for their birds.) I'll try to keep everyone posted on how this goes. Wish me luck!
|
|
I am a fairly anxious person, and frankly, I struggle with being here alone with her for extended periods of time, largely because my health sucks and sometimes I just need to sit in peace, and that's hard to get with a bird, especially one that can decide she wants to object to what you are doing and simply relocate, forcing you to relocate, etc... I'm sure my nerves would be less frayed were she a clipped bird and her control over the situation was lessened. It definitely takes the intensity up a notch... 
