advice please anyone

[kyria]

While cleaning out the bird room, My naughty Jordan was out in the lounge just off the bird room, he got a hold of a box of matches and proceeded to tear them apart, pickle helped. When I came out to find the rascals in amongst the mess of sticks I noticed that they had eaten the sulphur off the ends of ALL the matches.

Will this harm them, I have no idea about the affects this may have on the birds and if there is anything I should do beside be more vigilant

I feel like such a bad parront letting them get a hold of them. It was our first cold night last night and Jim had lit the wood heater, having just come out of summer, matches was not something I was on the hunt for and frankly did not know jim had left them on the hearth.

Any opinion would be welcomed right now.

Thanks

[Datsun and Family]

Yikes, to be honest hun I don't think theres anything you can do now, just watch them like a hawk and hope there is no reaction... give a vet a bell and tell them about it, hopefully if there is any adverse reaction they can tell you what to do.

Little buggers!!

[kyria]

I have been watching them and they seem just fine.. Jordans first morning poop when I picked him up was normal so I guess all is well. I have scowered the house for matches and any other such thing, and have told everyone about leaving matches around, I have a special container for them now that cannot be opened by the birds

.

[Lauren]

Glad to hear lil Jordons poop was ok. Still keep an eye on him for now. Hope all is well. Accidents happen, the lil buggas will chew on everything they can get their beaks on.

[ringneck]

kyria what happened? Are they ok? Did you take them to the vet?

Hope to hear from you,

Imran Chaudhry

[kyria]

Hey Imran,

thanks for your concern

I kept a close eye on them for 24 hours, there was no change in poop, appetite or behaviour at all. I saught advice from the vet via phone, also called my breeder that lives a few streets away. They all said the same thing, watch for any changes in the above mentioned, and if so bring them straight in to the vet. Its been 2 days now and they are both just fine.

Jordan is as cheeky and talkative as ever and pickle is still picking on him .. lol.

I dare say eating the matches is not good for them, of course because its not natural, but I gather a small one off event like that is harmless, as it turns out.

I still feel a little irresponsible, but I have learnt from this, and am so much more vigilant now.

I need to be, now that Jordan is full flight, he can get into so much mischief. It's a little like a parent with a child that can now reach the shelves and benches. I need to start making the home safe for him. Never had flighted birds before, have always clipped. But we adore having Jordan able to fly to us, even though he can be a real pest, always wanting to be on us and with us. But deep down we love it and so does he.

So I have begun the rounds of the rooms, making it fid safe.

scary lesson though

[ringneck]

It’s good to hear everything is going good and none of your birds had a case of being poisoned. And also, keep in mind it’s not your fault. Owning a bird is an ongoing and lifetime experience that continues to evolve and change daily. A parrot is just a curious creature and can get into trouble even if the room is parrot proofed. Don’t be so hard on yourself—cause you never intentionally gave your Ringnecks the matches.

Also, I must agree with you about having a rigneck in full flight. It’s something that’s really amazing. I enjoy watching their tails fan and watching my Archimedes dive bomb while screeching—really neat. I know when my Archimedes is flying he becomes so naughty. I’ll try to grab him and he’ll go do something else. Can’t keep him on his stand either because he likes to come to me. He is like a parasite that continues to fly on my shoulder—never mind his rules of staying when put on his stand….lol…I guess flying gives him the power!

Obviously, you know to take extra precautions to avoid an accident when having a bird in full flight. Might I suggest one thing? Start with recalling exercises with Jordan. This is a simple exercise used in falconry to recall the bird while in flight. If Jordan ever decides to make a dash for the door, at least you’ll increase your changes by 90% of getting him back.

Best wishes,

Imran Chaudhry

[kyria]

thanks Imran,

recall him ? lol .. he rarely leaves me alone as it is

but in all seriousness, is thre ae process or tenchnique for recall ?

(edit) I just read hetias post /question on clicker training, would this be what is used to train for recall ?

[ringneck]

yep, you got it! Recalling is simple to teach and your parrot can have it down in a few days. Although, it is something I believe you should practice daily if you do not clip the wings to really cement the recall command. When I normally call Archimedes I’ll say “come here” but when I need him to come to me for an emergency I’ll say “Archimedes come!” I keep a distinction between the two commands and give him no choice for the recall command.

To start your ringneck recalling, move a few inches away and say “Jordan come.” When he comes, click and reward. Gradually move back a few feet and continue this until you can go into another room and he will successfully come on command. Then play tricks on him…move into different rooms or hide a bit—he will start to listen to your voice when looking for you.

Good luck and enjoy your ful flight bird—I know I do when Archimedes wings are grown.

Best Wishes,

Imran Chaudhry

[kyria]

Thanks for the advice.

Do you have Archimedes clipped sometimes or is he full flighted all the time.

One more question if I can,

If I train Jordan to recall in flight correctly and then I end up having to clip him for some reason in the future, will this frustrate him, being such a good and disciplined flier or do you think they adjust quickly to their new limitations ?

And WOW ! what a great new signature you have Imran, love it ! .. inspiring me to get onto a new one for me aswell, so sick of mine.

[ringneck]

I keep Archimedes wings clipped—although I am not morally opposed to keeping a parrot in flight. It just depends on how I feel. I know he really enjoys flying, so I’ll keep his wings grown for a while to let him be a bird; however, he gets really naughty and I ask myself why I even let his wings grow.

So, to answer your question, Archimedes is grounded about 10 months out of the year. He is really good and completely readjusts to having his wings clipped after enjoying his freedom to fly. I find Archimedes to be really smart—he knows his limits and so far, I have never seen him get frustrated over getting clipped—he becomes so dependent on me and that’s the way I like it.

Hope this helps,

Imran Chaudhry

[kyria]

Thanks.. yes it does. I love the control I have with jordan and the dependence he has on me when his wings are clipped also the security I have in knowing he can't fly away on me. So I will let him fly a little longer, teach him to come to me, and then maybe decide to clip him again so I can trick train him and keep him safer. But for now hubby and I and the children love him flighted.

[Lauren]

Great to hear Jordan is ok. What a scare that must of been!

I've often wondered whether I should clip Jibbys wings. But he doesnt need it. He comes to me. All I have to do is jingle his bell. And I know he just luurrves flying. The bell has become a training tool with us. Didnt mean for it to be. But it just happened. He'll do anything if I have his bell. Haha. All I have to do is jingle it and he is mine!

I love to watch an IRN fly. They are so swift and quick thinking. Ive seen Jibby make split second decisions on where to fly. He flys up the hall looking for me, checking every room, till he finds the room I'm in and quickly darts in to see me. They are pretty remarkable the way they can hover, change direction so quickly, dive bomb, fly straight up up and up... I just love it! But for now I'm keeping Yodas wings clipped for training. I'd love to see Yoda fly as good as Jibby does though... one day.

Imran, love the signiture!

[kyria]

Been doing a bit of searching for info on clicker training and came across this, although there may be better info somewhere else, thought I would share it;

http://www.parrotchronicles.com/novdec2 ... aining.htm

Cheers !

[CatsChair]

The thread has drifted a bit (very interesting though), but I wonder if it is worth pointing out that there are poison control centers (at least in US) that you can call to get quick information on potential toxicity of ingested compounds. They may not be completely up on avian medicine, but can usually get the information pretty quickly if something like this happens in the middle of the night. Glad your fid is doing well!

[kyria]

Thanks CatsChair, I will have to source one out and keep it for standby/future