New Parrot: Skull the Cape

[Marsha]

Oh, do pleasseeee tell! Im dying to know

[Michael]

Ok, don't get offended. It's only out of concern for the parrots or their behavior. These are nice pictures and it's nice that you're sharing them but a few things stand out:

Pen Chewing - I'd never give a parrot a pen to chew on or let them swipe them. The ink is anywhere from toxic to not good for them. A Cape could shatter a pen like that in half a second and get ink all over its feathers and ingest.

Stovetop Playing - Even though the stove is (obviously) off now, I wouldn't let parrots play or land on it ever. Parrots are creatures of habit. When they know some place is ok to go (and even more so when there is tasty food there), they go their at will. You inadvertently taught the parrots to go on the stove. Which is really the exact opposite of what you want them to know. It's important to never have the parrots out when the stove is hot anyway, but there's still a small chance that this can happen. Even more so with a flat electric top like that. Could be that someone forgot it on or maybe even parrots played enough with the knobs to turn it on. On the other hand, when you never give your parrots a chance to do something and they never see you do it, they usually leave it alone. For example I have a desk across from my parrot's cages that is full of stuff that I wouldn't like to be chewed but I dumped it there anyhow. Since I never use that desk and the parrots never went there before and see no benefit of going there, they simply don't. They see it every day from their cages but they leave it at that because they are used to seeing it as a passive thing and not an active thing. On the other hand things I encourage them to do or things they see me doing, they want to join right in.

Even if you are 100% perfect with ensuring they don't get hurt on the stove, I still don't believe in allowing bad habits to develop. If for some reason some day the parrots need to be cared for by someone else and they have a bad habit, it could hurt them. Practicing good habits up front is the best long term strategy. You'd never let a child play on a stove....

The bicycle enclosure doesn't look tight enough that the Cape can't get out. I like the idea of a device to safely take your parrot on a bike ride, but if it isn't fully closed, I feel the biggest risk is of the parrot falling out and getting caught in a pedal or wheel. That's why I'd never bike with a parrot on a harness. Even if all fly-off and loss risks are prevented, the danger of getting caught in the wheels/chains/gears, etc is too much.

Looks like you feed colored pellets, it's been talked to death so I won't get into all the details but they are far from ideal. I'm not thrilled about the idea of taking a clipped parrot outdoors without a harness but I'll grant you that with the way your yard is enclosed and their size you'll probably get away with it. It's fantastic that the birds get outside but I'd be a bit more protective regardless.

Lastly, I'm appalled to see a clipped Cape Parrot. I don't like seeing clipped parrots at all. But I feel like some parrots especially take worse to it than others. Budgies, Cockatiels, Conures, and Macaws seem to take it less bad than say Capes and Greys. Dunno about Eclectus. Not that I would in any way suggest clipping those other ones but I see it as a much bigger crime to clip a Cape or Grey because of their personalities and clumsiness. It seems to take a far greater toll on them. Looks like you have a young male Cape Parrot? I think you'll run into some pretty serious biting and aggression problems. Capes are really... well let's just say they get what they want. The flighted Cape flies away before things get too hectic but the clipped one bites. And I can tell you, getting bit by a Cape sucks! I can't count the number of times my Cape has fallen down (even with the ability to fly). So I don't even want to imagine how much more frequently he'd be hurt for all the falls where he did save himself with flight.

I hope you will consider these things and ways to fix them. If you are set to change them but need help, that's what my articles and this forum are for. I didn't post all this at first because it isn't directly relevant to the topic. But when I see a cute picture of a clipped parrot doing something potentially dangerous, I can't think "cute parrot" because all I'm thinking about is "poor bird is clipped" and "poor bird is going to get hurt." I can't overlook those things out of concern for the parrot.

[Marsha]

Actually, my previous post was kinda sarcastic because I already knew what was coming, you making me feel bad about how I keep my birds.
But I'll give you some feedback:

Pen chewing:
That was just 3 seconds for the photo and as you can see, he only chewed on the back, for only 3 seconds. Offcourse I'm not that stupid to let him actually play with a pen, I know how strong his beak is.

Bike basket:
He sit on his rope and cant climb out that easily as it looks like on the pictures. Because the rope is on the same level as the beginning of the steel basket, he cant fall out of the basket, only IN the basket, plus, he holds on to the basket when I drive the bike. When I'm standing still my eyes are on him all the time but he stays on the rope because he feels save there because of the grip.
I could maybe put a towel in the openings next to the basket.

Stove:
The stove is never on when they are in the room because I dont cook when they are there.
I weigh them on the counter tops on a scale and sometimes they walk over on the stove, countertops are black and the stove is black so maybe they dont even notice any difference.
They are clipped so they have not learned to fly to the countertops and they never attempt to.
It only turns on by touching 1 panel really long so they wont be able to turn it on because they cant press that button.

Coloured pellets:
Are for my eclectus because they need more fructose, one of my eclectus doesnt do well on fruit and veggies because he cant get his nutricion out of those. He almost died because of that and had to stay at the vets for 3 nights. Me and the avianvet decided that with pellets I know he gets the right things and he gets 8 different kinds of pellets and not all of them are coloured. Plus, in holland you dont have as much choices of pellets then you have in the US. Beaphar care + has more fructose too but my eclectus taps his toes (toetapping) when he eats those so I give them Zupreem fruitblend.
So I have my reasons why I feed them those pellets.

Clipped parrot:
That's my personal decision and I know how you feel about that.
My cape isnt clumpsy at all, maybe truman is but not every bird or cape is the same. He doenst bite but I do know how that feels because my eclectus had a biting fase when he was younger (not anymore).
We'll see how he does in the future, I know 2 parrots who are flighted and are being more aggressive because of that, because they know they can bit and then fly off.
I also feel like I can give them more freedom clipped, than unclipped, ofcourse you think this is a reallyyyyy stupid comment.
Now they can walk in and outside as they please, and play with each other outside without getting tangled up on each others harnesess.
In the future I will turn one part of our house in 1 big avairy and they I will give them back their wings but untill then I think this is best for them, eventhough you think differently.

I'm not some idiot who does things without thinking them through. I decide alot of things together with my avian vet and they think I'm doing a good job. The birds all are in great shape and the vet always says they look very good and healthy. They have big cages, alot of toys, interaction with other birds, time outside the cage and in the open air, they go with me to the park. 12 hours of sleep.
I think I raised them well, they dont scream, dont bite, arent 1 people birds etc, dont have any behavioral problems.
So this is all Im going to say about it because it doesnt matter how many good things I do for my birds, you are always going to find that 1 things that doesnt fit into your view on how to keep birds.
I think its a shame that all you can think is: what a poor bird. when you see my birds. Because I think they could do alotttttttttttttt worse. You probably think thats a stupid comment either. When I hear that people keep only 1 parrot, thats when I think: poor bird because I feel they need birdcompany to keep them healthy, you think that of clipping.
I post here because I think its nice to share experiences, not to feel bad about myself/my birds because I dont think I deserve that.
So I would like to leave it with that and just go back to the topic about Skull.

[Michael]

http://TrainedParrot.com/Good_Behavior

Striving for success and improvement results in better and better outcomes.

[Marsha]

I said that I didnt wanted to discuss this any further and still you cant help yourself by posting that link.. So sad that always try to push YOUR opinions down everyones throat.
This will be the last time I post here.. You can really suck the fun out of everything.

[Nir]

Such beautiful pictures marsha. I sometimes do feel like clipping my budgie. My budgie for sure won't ever be able to get on a harness therefore I won't ever be able to take him outside without a carrier. My only other option was clipping then retame him while teaching him to like being touched and grabbed and teach him to like harness. Who knows I might clip him in the future and see what happens. Your finds are beautiful and look amazingly happy. Keep up the good work

[GreenWing]

I was away from the site for several months, now trying to catch up, and then saw this thread. Firstly I had to respond because I read your mention of the Legend of Zelda and naming a parrot after the series, as I am a huge, and I mean HUGE Zelda fan. I swore if I ever took home a green parrot, Senegal or otherwise, I'd name him Link. And if I get another parrot that happens to be female, she'll be named Zelda (Medli would be another really good one as she is a bird-like creature, but never would I name a bird after Midna, ugh).

ANYWAY. I read further... and it's probably not my place to comment at this point (sorry), but I've already read it and feel involved so I can't help myself. I realize the clipping debate is sensitive to some, and sure, being told you shouldn't do this or that can be irksome. But owning a bird is a mature decision -- parrots are perpetual toddlers -- and I think it's important to listen to those who are far more experienced with a lot of advice to share, even IF you don't agree. Just my two cents. All the best to you and your beautiful birds.

[JaydeParrot]

Yeah, the clipped verse non-clipped debate is quite a sensitive one, I personally think that at the end of the day, it's up to what the owner thinks is best to suit their and their bird's lifestyle. I don't have the kind of area where I could take my birds outside, so keeping them unclipped is fine to me. But I've known alot of people who won't even let their un-clipped parrots out of their cages because their afraid they'll never get their birds back into it's cage.

Your birds seem really happy though, you seem to give them lots of freedom and free time outside where you can enjoy and watch them without fear that they'll fly off. I think a parrot getting blown away by the wind would be the only thing that might worry me, but you seem to have put a lot of thought into what you're doing.

I personally think the stigma of clipped parrots should be taken off a bit, the idea that 'if your parrot needs to be clipped you shouldn't have a parrot at all', is silly. Everyone has a unique lifestyle and if your parrot will have much free-er life clipped, maybe that's the way to go.

I can completely see Michael's point of view, but not everyone is the same as Michael, there are different lifestyles, views and theories around parrot rearing. As far as I can tell, the only one who will ever know if you are truly doing the right thing is the parrot itself. You can't ask the parrot, but as long as it doesn't seem depressed and seems to be having a great quality of life, why change what you're doing with your parrots just to please other humans?

All the best with your parrots, they seem really happy!

[Rebellious]

I really like your Cape...such a pretty bird. Your Eclectuses are really beautiful as well.

[Marsha]

It's been awhile, and like I promised, I would not clip Skull anymore when my birds were getting their big avairy and that time is almost here so here is a video of him, flying like a champ

http://youtu.be/cV86WYMbgcE

And thanks for those who stuck up for me because I try to do my best