Hide and go seek!

[KimberlyAnn]

Emmi is getting really good at flying, so that means I'm getting pretty good at hiding. Call it a foraging experience? A break for mommy bird?

I leave the room to do something and I will totally be right back! I always come back! Normally I don't mind that she follows. But sometimes I just want to disappear for two minutes and come right back..in peace! Lol

I've learned that if I duck behind beds, in closets, or behind doors, she will fly into every room looking for me several times, then go back to her cage. If I take too long, she will do another sweep and this time look at the hiding spots of mine that she's discovered before. Keep in mind that 99% of the time, someone else is home with whom she can be with. Lol but no...she needs to follow me.

But now it's turned into a game where we all hide and she has to come find us. Everyone plays except for me because I'm the one who's not doing this as a game and my husband and step son are ruining all my hiding spots! Soon she will be able to find me everywhere, darn it! And they give her treats if she finds them! I'm losing this battle. Lol

But it has helped her fly better, turn tighter in flight and be able to fly for longer periods of time. It also wears her out and she dances when she's found someone. I think it's also helping her exercise her mind a little. I see her listen for us before she takes off and look before she leaps.

Does anyone else play the hide and seek game with their parrot?

[GingerBird]

That is cute

Mine will fly to me when she is left alone, but regarding to some safety-issues I just close the door behind me or put her back in the cage. It is a fun game, but even when I am certain of her safety: she is still not experienced enough, and will fly until she is too tired to land properly which leads to a crash-landing which might even hurt her.

Just to be sure, you are aware of potential safety problems when the bird flies around the house like that? For example, window might be left open, cooking in the kitchen, door that smashes because of the draft, electric devices, hot lights, danger for drowning (vases, toilets), sharp landing-surfaces etc?

[shiraartain]

I cannot play the hiding game yet since Fajr is still pretty young and won't return to his cage as he gets nervous when he's alone in the room- even though his play gym and cage are right there!

It was enough of a battle getting him to feel safe with not being on top of me and just being content with being able to see me, and i've attached a rope perch to the top of the doorway leading out of his room so I can grab things without him flying after me as long as he can see me.

But I know what you mean about wanting to grab something in peace. There are some days where I can't wait until my Dad comes home so I can have a minute to myself. Once I've had my minute, I come back to play with him .

(I'd love to see a video of Emmi's dance sometime!)

[KimberlyAnn]

Oh yes, we have a flying bird safe home. In fact I'm moving and dreading redoing all our bird safe set up. We will have a large patio instead of a balcony and we are trying to figure out how to contain the area before we move. The balcony was so easy to contain in case of a fly away. My husband wants to create a pvc type shade unit. I want something that looks nicer! Lol we will see! But everything so far is secure. We just have to watch the fridge. Just Sunday night we had a terrible accident when my husband was closing the door and she lost a bit of the end of her beak. We got really lucky that it was not serious and that we have a really good vet. So human error when closing the doors is what we really need to be watchful for. But Emmi being a green cheek, needs a lot of exercise. I swear, that bird has more energy then I've ever seen in any pet birds I've ever had. This is a great way to use up that energy and get her to master flight. She's been doing really good so far. She's getting very good at hovering when she's looking for us. I swear, she flies like a humming bird going forwards and backwards while she's looking. Not bad for a bird that was once clipped.

I will have to try to get Emmi to dance on camera more then I have before. She will dance all day and then I lift my phone to get a video and she will stop. So much so that I have not tried recording her in a few months. When I recently took Emmi to the school I work for, she danced for hours with the children. I don't know where she stores this energy, but I want some! Lol

And tonight we played again kinda, I just went into the pantry for something and I heard my husband say, "here she comes!" Not only did she find me in the pantry for the first time, but she went the other way around to get me. Smart bird! I totally didn't see her coming!