New found flight = TROUBLE

[Mandolin]

Well Kameko now has 3 flight feathers grown in and has dicovered her new ability to fly..... everywhere!!! I keep her in my room with me, but there is lots she can get into. She flies in the bathroom to see her friend in the mirror, then around and around, landing usually on my head. The worst habit i am trying to get her out of is tormenting my fish. I have 2 fish tanks, and she can see in one through a glass window on the hood, so she watches them. She seems so happy being able to fly, but she has suddenly gotten so independent and this is only with 3 feathers!!! It is driving me crazy!!! She keeps chewing on my book cases, and looking for bits of fish food that i have to pry out of her beak, and her newest thing is playing in the water as it flows through the fish filter (that can't be healthy to i have to constantly take her away) . Is there any way to curb this independent behaviour, or make her listen (hahaha , yeah right), without clipping her wings already? I want her to be able to have some flight (more than she did with a full wing clip), but right now she doesn't want to play and hang out with me nearly as much as she used to, she just flies and plays by herself, checking in with me only every so often .

[BarbieH]

Is there any way to curb this independent behaviour, or make her listen (hahaha , yeah right), without clipping her wings already

Short answer: no.

Long answer: If she is indeed flying around in circles, can turn in mid-air and flies like a little daredevil, she has gotten very strong in flight. You could give her a partial clip that limits her ability to fly up and around.

It's very important to make sure she can't get to that fish tank. It's too easy for small birds to drown in even small amounts of water.

Good luck!

[Mandolin]

She can swoop up and down, and round and round. She doesn't like it when the bathroom light is off, so she flies in, does a 180 and flies out. She has quite a few more feathers to come in still so she's only going to get stronger and more daredevil-ish .

[butterfly1061]

I have to agree with Barb. A little modified clip would bring her back down to earth. Works like a charm.

[Janie]

Yep, I agree, too! My older birdie, Oliver, it the most laid back little bird in the world and even he can't be trusted with full flight. I tried it.....once! With my other two, never!!! They are nothing but trouble with a capital "T" w/o full flight! :eek:

[Asue]

Mikey wasn't too bad when he could fly. He liked to fly from the playgym, on to my fiance's head, and then chase me around the living room when I would get up from the couch. It was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
Lovies are so independent when they KNOW they can go where ever they want. I don't think anything will help ya now!

[LauraO]

I agree with Barb that the only way to curb Kameka's behavior is to clip her wings. She will get worse with time and the attitude a flighted lovie can have far outweighs most big parrots.

My house is chaos right now. We have 19 lovies and normally 90% have wing clips, but we have someone living in our house so I don't trust them not being flighted right now. So I have 19 flighted lovies:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: . This is something I DON'T recommend at all and I can't wait til' the day I break out the scissors .

[kimsbirds]

Snap and Pop received their first clips last week...I clipped 3 flight feathers on each wing and gave them a chance to get used to it..no problems at all ! Tonight I clipped one more feather on each wing, and they're fine with it...they can't gain altitude, but they can sure get around no problem...they also tend to land on me more, as I'm the taller landing perch in the room now..compared to the table, couch etc, and when they land, I make a big deal out of it with chirps and whistles and petting...that way they associate me with happy reactions Works for us...give it a shot !
K

[Z28Taxman]

You're all complaining about your lovies flying around too much and I can't get Ditto to fly other than to get to me.

[Elle]

My personal experience with one lovebird is for the first year, year and a half, you are best to clip feathers. This is still al earning curve for both of you. What you are allowed to do, what you are not allowed to do ( I'm talking about the birdie, not you) and you still have the opportunity to develop a strong bond with your lovebird.
I found that after a year, the relationship is established well enough that at that time, if the decision is made not to clip wings, it's not as dramatic.

I give my lovebird a chance to experiment with the new flight feathers and really keep an eye on her behavior. If I have a hard time keeping control, I clip. If birdie is well behaved, I leave the flight feathers alone, keeping in mind its NEVER too late to clip and the feathers WILL grow back.
Don't set yourself up that Kamiko has control over you. Lovebirds are very domminant if given a chance.