Parrot / Macaw. Afraid Of Heights.

It may sound odd but some parrots actually have a fear of heights. Both the macaws I have owned shared this characteristic. This unnatural condition was most likely to have been caused by their wings being clipped when they were too young so they never learned how to fly. Wing clipping should never be performed on a bird before the wings are fully developed. In other words, It should not be contemplated for any reason before a bird reaches 12-18 months of age Then it should only be attempted by an experienced hand I usually advise people who wish to have their bird's wings clipped to consult their veterinary surgeon.

Poor wing clipping can create severe problems with wing feathers never going
correctly afterwards In the past, I have seen some really sad examples of the
damage that can be done by Inept attempts at clipping. It can ruin a bird for
life, give it severe emotional damage and lead to constant feather-plucking,
especially sensitive birds such as the African grey parrot. Most people who
have their bards clipped do so to prevent them from escaping, but you should
try to avoid clipping for this reason, as It is better to simply keep your doors
and windows closed whenever a bird is out of its cage.

A more important reason for carrying out the procedure is when you have to
do it because your pet has learned bad habits andbecome aggressive so that
when she is free she physically attacks a family member or even its owner.

Clipping A Feisty Bird.
WHILE I have rarely clipped my own birds, I have performed this task in cases of bad behavior such as that displayed by a scaly-headed parrot that appeared in the television show Pet Power with Anthea Turner and his owners in 1996.

The bird was a particularly feisty individual that loved only one family member and attacked others with great enthusiasm to the point where he terrorized the whole family. I was asked for help and
over a period of several weeks, we devised a re-training programme for this out-of-control pet that included my clipping his wings and lowering his cage so that he did not tower above everyone.

Most of the measures I suggested were directed at teaching the family how to interact with this bird with greater confidence because he knew they were afraid of him. The process proved very successful and he became a much nicer pet thereafter. Perhaps, surprisingly smaller birds can often be greater tyrants than larger species. Most of the birds I have clipped have still been able to fly, but at a lower level, which makes them less likely to be aggressive. The territorial nature of a bird is strengthened if it is allowed to regard large areas of your home as its own. In order to prevent your pet.

Security Warning.
WHENEVER Irene clips a bird for someone, she always tries to minimize the clip. However, a point to bear in mind is that the flight feathers grow back far more quickly than you think, so you should never rely on security by the fact that your bird has been clipped from taking over the whole house, you need to be firm with discipline so you can avoid having to clip it to make it behave.

Recently, I had an experience with my blue- and-gold macaw, Max, which inclines me to believe that he has never learned to fly, quite possibly because he may have been wing- clipped at too early an age. Max has had the same bulky large cage for more than 30 years, and despite all my attempts to introduce him to a new, smarter cage, he will not accept such a change. The money I have spent on new cages has always proved to be a waste.

A Frightening Moment.
SINCE I have owned him, his rather unwieldy cage has always stood on the same stand. this recently succumbed to the effects of metal fatigue. (In his previous home, his cage was bolted quite high up on the wall, but my plaster could not cope with this) When this happened, I was alone In the house and was prepping to clean out his cage I was about to take him to another room Suddenly, there was a very scary moment when his cage suddenly tapped up and toppled over I tried desperately to hold on to it, as Max clung to the bars I was so worried that he would be injured, but he is a very calm bird and did not panic at all gradually, I managed to lower the cage backwards until It came to rest sideways against the wall and out stepped Max without so much as a ruffled feather. The stand proved to be beyond repair so I had to find another base for his cage I had only a heavy-duty plastic one that clicks together to make two or three platforms. The first time I assembled this contraption, it was quite high with all three platforms in position, rather taller than his previous stand.

However, as this would prevent him from a descending to the floor in my bird room I left it like this for several days. The only difficulty was that the seed and water pots were a bit too high for me to reach I realized that this would be awkward for my holiday career when she was feeding Max Furthermore, Max himself did not seem too thrilled about this new height - In fact, he appeared to be rather anxious. Finally, I got my husband to help me lift the cage to the ground while the bird was in another room and we reduced the number of platforms to create a lower level.

There was just one problem now the cage was low enough for Max to climb down to the floor without assistance. I fully expected to see him do this before long However, I became aware that although he could quite easily descend, he did not do so. I have never seen him fly or even attempt to do so, and his previous owners before me had never seen him try to fly either, so we know that he has never been airborne over the past 30 years or so.
I think this may be the reason why he exhibits a distaste for being too high up in his birdcage. He seems to be much happier with its new level in his previous home where he lived for 19 years, his birdcage was bolted in a high position. His present level is the lowest he has experienced, and he really seems to love it in fact, breaking his old stand, which I had used for more than 10 years, has not been a disaster after all.
Now when I go to his cage. I am looking down on him rather than up at him. I thought this change might not agree with him, but he seems very contented and it is easier for him to step out straight on to my hand.

Changing A Cage's Position.
I have mentioned many times before that an aggressive bird is easier to control when the cage is located at a lower height while a shy and timed bird is often better in a higher position where it feels secure if you have a bird that is badly behaved, reducing the height of the cage from the floor will often work wonders. My first macaw, Rodney, who was much older than Max, lived on just a stand, and during the years before he passed away, he never came down without assistance.

I used to take him outdoors on my shoulder regularly and he never flew either, except for a just one occasion when a bus passed us very fast and created a back draft, whereupon Rodney shot upwards and landed on a low roof nearby. When I bent to retrieve him, he did not fly down, he Just let go and jumped once he was safe is my arms, I noticed he was trembling. So he was probably scared of heights, too He never attempted to fly in our garden and would sit on the fence for hours quite happily, but I always had to lift him down.

Rodney had had previous owners before me and was accustomed to being taken out regularly on the shoulder of my predecessor. I think it is quite likely that he too may have been clipped at an early age. He ended up with me because he used to terrorize people other than his owner, especially his wife, who eventually said, "Wither he goes, or I do" My Amazon parrots have all been keen on flying around indoors and I have only ever clipped one, Polly, an orange-winged, which also appeared on television even when clipped, she could still manage to fly quite high. Indeed, I have noticed that many Amazons have what I would call advanced flying skills if you have an Amazon clipped, you need to be aware that the feathers grow back quickly, so do check them regularly. If you are complacent on this score, you may find your pet suddenly takes fight at just the wrong moment.

Sometimes wing clipping proves to be necessary but of possible, it is best to avoid having it done. A bird that is trained properly and taught well should not need to be clipped. Sometimes just one clip is sufficient. So bear this in mind and keep those doors and windows closed.