Rita Shimniok
Often discussed in the raising of captive bred African Greys is the need for proper socialization and nurturing in order to help the baby become the best pet Grey possible. Baby Greys should be exposed to a variety of foods during weaning, and guidelines should be set for them. A very critical element of the weaning process is fledging. I strongly believe that if an African Grey is not allowed proper fledging time, that it can detrimentally affect their future as a companion parrot.
In the early stages of development, African Grey chicks exercise their wings, preparing for the day when they will launch their first attempt at flight. As the babies grow and feather, the wing flapping becomes a larger part of their past time, building strong muscles. Utilizing their wings for balance, attempts are made to climb on top of brooder containers and low perches. As the coordination of the chicks improve, breeders raise the perches in the weaning cage accordingly.
Finally the day arrives when the baby Grey is ready to take it's first flight. Often noticed by refusals to consume formula at hand-feeding time, it is instinct for baby parrots to lighten as their body prepares for the final adjustments that precede flight. Soon after, maybe hours - sometimes days - the first flight attempt is made. For many clumsy African Greys, the first flight is haphazardly accomplished - usually short, low and lacking a graceful landing.
Once a baby fledges, the urge to fly increases daily, and hand-feeding may become near impossible, except for the last feeding of the day. Morning feedings are often dismissed for the need to fly after a night of being caged. Gaining flight skills is a slow process for many African Grey babies. What can be done to help African Grey youngsters pass through flight school with safety and ease?
First, prepare the flight school. Remove all breakable objects in the designated "class room". The higher objects will be obvious landing targets for baby Greys - are they appropriate? For example, a tall houseplant is a natural landing perch for Grey babies. However, many plants are top heavy. Rarely can the base of the plant (pot and dirt) support the weight of an African Grey baby. From experience, I have had several large Jade trees trimmed into many smaller plants. It took me a while to learn this lesson, and fortunately Jade plants can be repotted without roots.
Select a room lacking large mirrors. All windows should have the window treatments drawn or panes covered before allowing soon to fledge Greys out of their weaning cage - they can take flight without notice! Do not forget to do this - even if the sun is shining warmly in the room. A forceful crash may cause a baby Grey to receive a concussion or even worse. Necks have been broken from young parrots forcefully crashing into window panes and mirrors. This is one of the greatest safety hazards involved in the fledging of baby parrots.
Once you think you have prepared the classroom - look it over carefully. Gaze across the room at your eye lever. What is above your eye lever? These will likely become landing perches. Often times this includes head rail valances on window treatments, curtain rods, framed wall hangings, etc. Is there a certain wall hanging that you do not wish to have chewed or soiled? Then I suggest you remove it for the interim of flight school. Strategically place landing perches. Position large play stands that can be wheeled into place. Set table top perches and play areas up hight, perhaps on top of entertainment centers and such. Cover the couch with sheets or blankets if you do not wish it to be soiled. It is natural for baby birds to defecate upon landing if they did not do so prior to take off.
When a baby Grey starts flapping excessively while perched on your hand, lightly press your thumb over the front toenails and encourage the flapping. Walk the baby around the flight school classroom and place it on top of the landing "strips" provided. I have even set a baby down on an appropriate perch area prior to hand-feeding time. Walking only twelve inches away or so, I call to the baby and hold my arm in front of me. Being hungry, and recognizing me as "mom", babies will sometimes jump onto my "landing perch". If this is accomplished be sure to lavish lots of praise and immediately hand-feed the youngster as a reward.
By helping the baby Grey identify landing perches prior to flight, it make take some of the confusion out of "where to land" when the baby launches its first flights. The greatest cause of clumsy landings is, in my opinion, having no idea where to land.
Once a baby African Grey fledges DO NOT clip its wings. We all know that baby Greys are clumsy chicks, therefore we need to help build their agility by allowing flight. With each flight taken, the acrobatic skills of the baby Grey increases, as well as its confidence. We allow our baby Greys to fly at least one full week without a single wing clip. Once the baby is flying well, INCLUDING sure-footed landings and the confidence to continually land out of arms reach, a slight wing clip is administered.
At Oakridge Feather Farm our baby African Greys are clipped over a period of several weeks. For the first wing clip, we clip only the outer 1-2 primaries on each side, depending upon the speed the particular baby obtains during flight. Too much momentum in a home is a dangerous thing. The first wing clip accomplishes one thing - it slows the chick down, it does not ground them.
Carefully we monitor the chicks. Those that manage to continue out of reach landings have another primary or two clipped. People often ask me how many primary flights I clip on an African Grey. To be honest, I have no set amount, but have never clipped more than five. Secondaries are NEVER clipped on an African Grey. Once babies have become accomplished flyers, their wings are clipped over a period of several days - sometimes more than a week. I judge the flight of the individual baby, and will clip every couple of days until a nice, soft descent is accomplished.
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