How safe is it to grab a flying IRN by the tail?

[willowisp71]

Only being new to IRNs (or any bird keeping) myself, I would still have to say, No, this is not a good way to catch a fleeing bird I'm not sure how tough a birds tail feathers are, but I would imagine if it tried to struggle after being caught by them, it is entirely possible that they could be ripped out - and very painfully too, I bet!

Rather, I would try to encourage the bird to get back into his/her cage by themselves. This is what we do with Skittles. When we are home and inside the house, we leave his door open, and he has free run to come and go as he pleases, between his cage and his 'playgym' tree. If there comes a time when we need him to go back in before he is ready, we show him a small piece of millet (one of his favourite all-time treats!), and place it in his foraging toy inside the cage........he literally trips over himself in his haste to get back inside to his little 'treat'! (we always wait for a short period of time before we shut his door, just so he doesn't associate his treat with being locked up). Using this method, we almost always never have a problem of him going back into his cage when we need him to

We should always bear in mind, especially when dealing with older IRNs that haven't been hand-reared, or left in an aviary for too long, that to them we look like big scary predators, and reaching out to them with our big hands and long arms can be quite a frightening experience for them........especially if it ends in them being 'grabbed'! No matter how gentle we try to be, it still scares the heck out of them, and the more they struggle in fright, the more chance of them being injured. Better to teach them the step-up command, so they step onto your finger willingly, or failing that, allow them to make their own way into the cage.

Hope this helps with your query

[willowisp71]

I definitely recommend getting them a play stand or gym as soon as you can....IRN's are renown for getting board very easily, and can be quite destructive (of your curtains, curtain rods, and anything else they can get their beaks around!), lol

We may our own from a dead tree branch stuck in a plastic bin full of sand to keep it stable, but I've seen others made just from branches being nailed together to make it stand upright or onto wooden platforms. They need things they can chew and hang off, and swing off etc etc etc

At least you can scratch your IRNs neck! The bets we can do with Skittles is to get him to take bits of food out of our hand, but there's no way we could actually 'touch' him....he won't put up with that But we love him anyway, and still get much joy by having him around

Good luck with your 3 IRNs....hope they come round eventually

[MissK]

Hey rritoch,
Best wishes,
MissK

[sanjays mummi]

Sanjays breeder told me she sold an IRN chick to an inexperienced couple, two days later they begged her to take him back because he wasn't hand tame. When she arrived she found the poor wee mite with a nasty raw open wound where his tail had been, they had been grabbing him by the tail and trying to drag him out of the cage by it Sanjay has always gone back into his cage for food.

[MissK]

You would think they'd stop when the first feather came out.

-MissK

[sanjays mummi]

Sanjays the same!, he loves playtime but when he sees food going in he tries to shoulder us out of the way!, sometimes he will sit and munch while we do his mousework around him!, he is so laid back!.