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How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

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How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby amanda » Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:46 pm

Hello - My CAG lives in open-top cage and I am going to be getting her a new play top cage soon. I'm looking for ideas on how to keep her from climbing down to the floor when the cage is open or when she will be on the playtop of the new cage. She can negotiate past seed guards,plus I may not want to use the seed guards on the new cage. I don't want her on the floor because we have cats and a dog, and because she chews wires. In the past, I have make tin foil "extensions" that I binder-clipped to the seed guard, and that worked, but is not very attractive and kind of a pain. Anyone have ideas for me? I didn't know if bird spikes were an option? Thanks!
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby Michael » Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:01 pm

Yeah, don't clip the bird. Then it could fly over where it wants to go without having to walk on the floor to get there.
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby friend2parrots » Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:41 pm

Michael wrote:Yeah, don't clip the bird. Then it could fly over where it wants to go without having to walk on the floor to get there.


i totally agree with this. read Michaels blog (click on top left corner icon) and go to the sitemap on bottom of page, and read through the whole thing. you will get a sense of what a lifestyle with a flighted parrot is like. it will be really enjoyable for you, and very healthy mentally and physically for the bird, provided you bird proof your house properly. michaels blog has guidelines on how to train your bird towards a flighted lifestyle.

now, you mention cats and a dog. the opinions on this forum are mixed about how closely cats/dogs (predators) and parrots (prey species) can interact. personally, if i were in your exact same situation, and i had a CAG, and cats and a dog at the same time, I would allow the CAG to be fully flighted, and i'd place the cats and dog in a separate room away from the bird when the bird comes out of his cage. that way, the bird gets to be a bird and not feel the stress of having predator animals around when its flying about, training, and enjoying itself, and can go whereever it wants to go, and basically be itself. while the bird is in the cage, MAKE SURE (even now, when your CAG is clipped) you have a lock for the cage, esp. if the cats and dog will be in the same room with him. CAGs are extraordinarily intelligent and generally figure out how to let themselves out of their cages if left unlocked.

flight also offers the maximum defense against accidental death/injury for your CAG, because he will be able to escape in case for some reason the animals are able to reach each other. even if all the animals SEEM like they all like each other, letting them interact has its hazards, because each of the animals definitely has the potential to get into moods, to get touchy, etc, and can provoke each other. even a playful scratch from a cats claw is toxic to birds because of the cats saliva residue on the claws.

also, another reason that CAGS should not be clipped, and why flight exercise is ESSENTIAL for their health: the plucking, self-mutilation, and screaming and biting problems that one often hears CAGs being susceptible to generally tends to happen to clipped birds. so if you want to prevent these problems in the long run, and save yourself a broken heart, I would totally recommend working toward setting up a safe environment for your CAG and letting him grow out his feathers, and offering him vigorous daily flight exercise. i am sure both you and your bird will enjoy the experience!

all the best with your :gray: :)
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby amanda » Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:56 pm

Thanks for the responses. Mingo is not clipped - that is not the issue. The issue is that she climbs down to the floor, and I am trying to prevent her from doing that. Any advice on blocking the climbing path down to the floor? Thanks!
amanda
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby Michael » Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:28 pm

You can't. If the bird can fly, then it can fly to the floor no matter how much you block. You have to make the floor a safe place instead because there is nothing you can do to make it impossible to bird to end up there when it is out.
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby amanda » Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:34 pm

Thanks again - she can fly but she doesn't fly.

Looking for specific information on BLOCKING THE CLIMBING PATH - can anyone chime in on that topic? Thanks!!!
amanda
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby marie83 » Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:46 pm

amanda wrote:Thanks again - she can fly but she doesn't fly.

Looking for specific information on BLOCKING THE CLIMBING PATH - can anyone chime in on that topic? Thanks!!!


Why put "no" on the profile under flighted then? If your bird isn't clipped and its normal route is blocked then it will figure out that flying is a successful way of getting down to the floor in no time at all if it thinks being on the floor is worth the effort.
If you want the floor to be less interesting to you bird then keep the areas you do want it to be more interesting, though you will never stop it completely.
As for the dogs and cats it only takes once and no animal is 100% predictable, keep them out of the room when the birds out. Also they can climb and jump so your birdy isn't even safe if he isn't on the floor.
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby friend2parrots » Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:23 pm

amanda wrote:I didn't know if bird spikes were an option?


have never heard of these, and even if such a thing existed, there may be potential for unintended injury to the bird. also, i doubt if it would work to block the climbing path, for the reasons Michael and marie have pointed out above.

amanda wrote:Thanks again - she can fly but she doesn't fly.Looking for specific information on BLOCKING THE CLIMBING PATH - can anyone chime in on that topic? Thanks!!!


i think your best plan of action at this point would be to abandon the idea of blocking the climbing path, for the reasons already mentioned, and focus on getting your bird into a flighted lifestyle, and keeping the dog and cats in a separate room during her out-of-cage time. i think thats your best bet to solving the issue. the fact that "she can fly but doesn't fly" is common among sedentary heavier-bodied birds like greys - her flight and chest muscles are underdeveloped right now, and thats why she doesnt attempt to fly. please do browse the blog as I mentioned in my first post, and you will learn there how to get your bird gradually used to flying short distances, and then build up over time to real flight. once your bird gets the hang of it i'm sure she'll love it. just make sure the dog and cats are in a separate room during her out-of-cage time.
all the best :gray: :)
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby Michael » Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:51 pm

friend2parrots wrote:[have never heard of these, and even if such a thing existed, there may be potential for unintended injury to the bird. also, i doubt if it would work to block the climbing path, for the reasons Michael and marie have pointed out above.


Image

:roll: :roll:
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Re: How to keep Mingo from climbing to floor?

Postby friend2parrots » Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:56 pm

Michael wrote:Image

:roll: :roll:


goodness gracious - those look very dangerous! defintely don't wanna use those!
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