Monday, September 1, 2008

Quest postponed

The quest for Manzi to become a free flighted parrot has been postponed after I finally clipped the last of six feathers on each wing to keep him grounded. Tonight he is going to the neighbor's house for an extended stay (four to six months). I don't want him to escape when I am not around because I highly doubt he would fly back to the neighbors. I didn't want to take any chances. As soon as I get back, we are going to return to exercises to strengthen his chest muscles to get him flying again.

Anyways, since he has been clipped (I did it last night) he has been a humble little thing. Today, his cage was already moved, and he is just hanging out on his playstand without trying to go anywhere. It is nice to have him a lot less mobile since we are packing and going in and out of the apartment all day long. Luckily, it is only temporary and then he'll be back to doing laps around the apartment in no time.

7 comments:

Jen said...

how will you handle the separation from Manzi? It will be so sad :(

Adele said...

Manzi is already gone for the evening. I will be staying a few days with the neighbors who now have Manzi so that will help. I will be sad, but very busy so time will fly.

Stephanie Pulham said...

You will miss him more than you think. Especially knowing he is so sad without you, (I am sure he misses his wings too)

Anonymous said...

He sure is a humble little thing!After you (Adele) dropped him off last night, you heard his last screach as you were leaving- and that was it! After that the rest of the night he just said, "hello" every once in a while. Gabriel had fun responding back. I covered him up around 9:30 pm and he didn't make a peep after that. In the morning- he didn't poof at all when I took of his cage cover and fed him his pellets.

Adele said...

Thanks Aida. You're the greatest.

Anonymous said...

I am going overseas to London for christmas so I will be leaving Piccolo with the avian vet who boards birds for 15 days. I am already worrying about how Piccolo is going to be without me. I feel so sad for Manzi having to be without you guys for 6 months. Must seem like an eternity to the poor little mite.
Sandra

raz said...

I just came across your blog and have enjoyed reading about Manzi's training, especially flight training. It sounds like you have gotten very good advice on clicker training, etc.

I also have an African Grey, and she has been free flying for about 2 years now (she's almost 4 years old and was clipped as a baby). My blog, Carly Lu's Flight Blog ( http://likambo.com/flyblog ) has a lot of information about how I and others have gone about this, with links to some great professional resources. (See the Recall Training and Training Resources pages linked at the top of the blog.)

I urge you to be very, very careful with freeflight training (as it appears you are) and read up on what professionals like Sid Price, the Natural Encounters folks, etc., have to offer. (You may have come across their work already.) Things like consistent daily training routines and food management are extremely critical if you are going to be flying outdoors. Also, please be very careful when using the long line; I assume you know of Shanlung and Tinkerbell? Accidents are preventable to be sure, but can happen even to those who are very experienced. Personally I prefer getting a very solid recall first, and only using a harness and leash for initial short distance practice outside (including flying down).

Best of luck to you! I can't figure out where you are or if you are with Manzi now, but it's good to see someone so dedicated to enrichment training.

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