Splat against a window? Bumps & biting!

[Viatrixa]

We let our Simo out daily and let him fly around the house a lot. Our house is a kind of a t shape, the elongated bit is our normal living space, and the "Bend" gives way to the entrance and the bathroom.

Our bathroom is downright huge (bigger than some apartments in France, I kid you not). However, Simo got into the bathroom as I myself had to go. That in itself is okay - everything in our house is bird safe including the bathroom. This means that: no sharp objects, no toxic organic things are out of visible. Medicines are locked up, etc. I won't have to list the rest, I'm sure we all know how this goes. Same goes for the bathroom, all soaps and such are put away.

However, we do have a glass shower separator, a very clean and clear one. Naturally I didn't notice how quickly Simo got in and the poor baby hit himself against the glass window. He fell to the floor; not hard mind you, but still he fell. I tried to stand still and away from him so he wouldn't panic. Naturally, he sat there confused for a second or two before he got up, flew up, and SMACK. Hit the window again.

Again he fell, and this time he made distressed noises and looked really confused. He didn't get up, so me being the overly fussy bird mommy grabbed for a towel, very, very gently wrapped it around him and carefully inspected him to see if things were okay.

Well, of course they were. Not only that, but he saw how I wrapped the towel onto him and quickly unwrapped it himself with his beak. Enough that just as I was about to release him, he nipped my finger to thank me for all the care.

To my credit I didn't yell or scream - I kind of looked at him calmly and spoke with my normal voice. "You know that kind of hurts. In fact it really feels sort of unpleasant."

He let go out of his own accord and I let him out of the towel into our main house.

He flew to one of the many toys we have hung for him around the house, sat there, looked at me and....


LAUGHED. THE LITTLE BLEEPBLOOP SITS THERE AND GOES "HAHAHAHA". He was perfectly okay for the the entire day and even took a raising out of my hand after he went back to his cage. Wasn't scared of me, showed no signs that anything had even happened.

Well, okay - I do have a question in all of this. It's about birds bumping into and hitting things. I've heard differing opinions about this. One being that they do have different bones like that and in nature, especially younger birds, tend to hit things and bump into them all the time. That if this happens in your home one shouldn't get too worried. I do ponder if this is true? Logic kind of dictates that it is - we also often see city birds bump hard into windows. They're stunned for a second or two but then just go about their day.

Mind you - it just looked so HORRIBLE to see him bump into the glass and fall. He looked so confused and out of it and it broke my heart which is why I decided to check him quickly just in case.

So what IS the truth here? I mean I'd imagine a bump or two are normal, but what isn't? Or will logic and observation serve here? Our main living area in the house is very straight and wide - and when the bird is out, we have these shutters on the windows set so they let in plenty of light but also serve as objects covering the otherwise see through glass, especially so he doesn't hit anything. This bathroom episode is seriously the first time I've seen him bump into something in flight. However, the lights there are also extremely bright so this too could have contributed to the incident.

What's the truth here? I know birds have hollow bones and in nature parrots do bump into things all the time, so was I being an overly fussy bird mom here? Was it wrong of me to check him for injuries?

That having said, when he is wrapped in the towel, he makes the most heart breaking noises. Enough to make me almost cry but he was bright enough to see how I wrapped him into it, and undo it himself with his beak and then nip my thumb. (It wasn't very tight). Much to his credit though, he didn't actually nip me too hard. I'm well aware of just how much pressure that little beak of his can produce and that this was only a "LEMMEGO MOM" bite. I'm just pondering if I'm interpreting him right here; because after a while he did let go. That's also when I let him go myself. Once again, I'm confused because other people say you absolutely should react to a bite, and others say you shouldn't so the bird doesn't learn bad manners.

So what is the truth about both flight bumps and bite reactions? Was it wrong of me to give him a quick check up? I feel I'm being incredibly fussy but I adore his feathery butt so much that I want to get everything right

[liz]

If your kid fell down you would run and check it. You did good.

I would not be concerned about the bite. You got that right too. He was telling you to let him out of the towel. I have been bitten while trying to help a bird get free from a situation. I don't call it a bite even if it brings blood. The bird was not biting but was grabbing my hand for leverage to help get free.

Being quiet was the best way to handle it. It is like not blowing your car horn and instead drive through the situation. I see no need for a verbal reaction at that time. All it does is confuse the bird and make him think he was bad.

I use "owe" as a way to teach the bird that it hurts.

[Wolf]

I will start off with biting, and in this incident biting would be a normal reaction and unless the bird is accustomed to being toweled the bite should be expected. It is up to you about how you react, sometimes I don't make a sound or react in any way, other times I yell ow or ouch or whatever, followed by a pained, but calm and firm " NO BITE". It depends on the circumstances, in neither case do I make a big deal about it.

Flying into things. This is a bit trickier, generally it is normal for a bird learning to fly to run into things and as a young bird they are able to withstand most of these impacts, until they learn how to not run into things. The difference is that in the wild they don't usually fly into things that are as solid as our windows and walls and such. The older they are the less they can withstand these impacts although they still need to be able to withstand some. Walls, they can see and rarely run into without having applied their brakes unless they are panicked which means that when panicked they may hit harder due to their speed and this is the problem with glass, they can't see the glass, they see an opening and in the case of mirrors it is an opening that they see so with both of these they are more likely to fly into at full speed and could sustain a concussion or even broken bones. So it is always a good idea to check your bird out to make sure that is in not hurt and that it is acting right for several hours after a major impact.

[Viatrixa]

If your kid fell down you would run and check it. You did good.

I would not be concerned about the bite. You got that right too. He was telling you to let him out of the towel. I have been bitten while trying to help a bird get free from a situation. I don't call it a bite even if it brings blood. The bird was not biting but was grabbing my hand for leverage to help get free.

Being quiet was the best way to handle it. It is like not blowing your car horn and instead drive through the situation. I see no need for a verbal reaction at that time. All it does is confuse the bird and make him think he was bad.

I use "owe" as a way to teach the bird that it hurts.

I'm no expert and while I'm still a newbie to parrot keeping I do know the basics of checking an animal for injuries and such - did I ever mention my grandfather used to be a vet? BUT, the little check up went well all the way until he decided he had enough of being in a towel. What I found the most amusing is that he saw me how I wrapped it around him and he undid that himself.

His bite was most definitely a nip, not even something I'd like to call a bite. He drew no blood, and if anything my finger looks like it has two tiny pecs on it rather than "bites." My husband when he first saw it actually wondered if our cornsnake had bit me instead. Looked like this:

Warning: It's an imagine of a small snake bite, there's a tiny bit of blood, please don't click if that makes queasy
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... 3170fa.jpg

(just an info bomb here: our cornsnake is not poisonous and when a non poisonous snake bites you the mark looks different. Random!)

Mine looked exactly like that sans the blood. Heck, doesn't even hurt. And little Simo himself was totally okay. Still not sure about the whole "ITS OKAY TO LET YOUR BIRD HIT STUFF IT'S NATURAL". thing. I don't know, if I see that again I'll likely just check if he's okay again. But now I'm trying to be careful about not having him fly into the bathroom.

[Wolf]

My shower doors are not clear, they are frosted, kind of and the birds have no problem seeing them, so you could put a couple of those nice appliques on the glass part so the bird can see that there is something there or just close the door. Normally your bird will see an obstacle and either put on the brakes or try to swerve to avoid hitting it and in neither of those cases is the bird at top speed and will normally be fine. But an impact at full speed is dangerous for them and can even kill them, usually they will get a concussion from too hard of an impact or sometimes may even break a bone but these are all when the bird is flying too fast and runs into usually windows or mirrors, unless the bird is scared and panics and then they may even hit a solid wall at full speed.

[liz]

Viatrixa, In know way did I mean that you did not know what you were doing. The first time I read your post I thought I caught something that made you wonder if you needed to check him.

Sorry.

[Pajarita]

Your problem is that you are TOO clean! If the shower door had been a bit dirty, poor Simo would have seen it. I'm kidding, of course!

Now, bumping and crashing into things are normal, as well as booty landings, for young birds. They are the same as puppies, kittens or toddlers, they need practice to master proper locomotion so, usually, they are just fine when something like this happens. You should only worry if you see that the bird does not recover almost immediately or if it's dragging a foot or a wing so, going by what you described, he sounds fine to me. And, yes, Wolf is correct, the hard nip is normal. Even a loving bird that never, ever bites would get freaked out by a crash and end up giving a good nip when you grab it so nothing to worry there, either.

I also think that putting something on the glass would be a good idea (they have these things that cling to the glass without any glue or anything so they come out clean). I don't like shower doors, I like curtains - and my windows are never THAT clean (cats and dogs noses 'prints' on them all the time ) so my birds have no trouble in that regard.

[pukeko]

Also 'introductions' to all glass and reflective surfaces. Tap-tap with your finger, touch beak to surface gently, either you or the bird, repeat a few times per surface per session. Ideally they will learn to like the tapping game and be very aware of all of the places they can play it Some birds learn windows and mirrors very well and never need blinds or stickers; others need a bit of help. The tapping game is a great way to try to get Simo into the first camp!

[liz]

Also 'introductions' to all glass and reflective surfaces. Tap-tap with your finger, touch beak to surface gently, either you or the bird, repeat a few times per surface per session. Ideally they will learn to like the tapping game and be very aware of all of the places they can play it Some birds learn windows and mirrors very well and never need blinds or stickers; others need a bit of help. The tapping game is a great way to try to get Simo into the first camp!

Pukeko, I have used the same method. Myrtle accepted that the windows were solid and never flew into them. She flew up and touched the tip of her wing on the ceiling fan one time and learned to fly under them. She had a thing about hanging on anything that was hanging. She did get into a mess with the fly paper. When I freed her she was covered with glue that I baby powdered out. When I put up another fly strip I she was on my shoulder and I told her it was a no no. She is smart enough that I don't think I really needed to but she never went back to the fly strip.

I don't know anything about your birds personality. All I can do is give mine as examples.

[seagoatdeb]

They are always going to bump and bang into things from time to time, and its rare that they will hurt themselves badly. The worst one i had recently was Gaugan was doing acrobatics on one of her toys hanging from the ceiling by the window and fell and tired to catch herself on the window blinds and got tangled up in the cords. i ran over immediately and told her it was okay and she patiently waitied for me to unwrap her and she was really wrapped up. Amazingly she was not hurt. That day i cut all the cords very short and my hubby is still miffed about it since you have to reach so high to open the blinds but once i saw that danger i was not going to leave it. So besides windows, there are other dangers to look out for too.