If you care for a perching bird which is "flighty", as I do, then control and trust during handling are the only things keeping your bird safe from sudden, unexpected injury. I am not a professional bird trainer, but this is what I do to safely control the Jungle Crow under my care. Please let me know if you think this information is useful, or totally off base. I am open to feedback and input from anyone at anytime.
When moving Fig from place to place, I error on the side of caution. I always opt for the surest way to get from A to B with the least risk to Fig. I simply never know with 100% certainty, that she is not going to decide to panic, play, misbehave, etc... She has her own mind, she is young, impulsive, energetic, playful, a bit overly imaginitive in a paranoid sort of way, and at times hyper, so I can never rule her out of the equation. Flying is very hazardous, dangerous stuff. Every time. Especially inside. There have been times when she spontaneously decides to have herself a full tour of the house just for fun, and or to embarrass the resident predator.
So, when I move her from place to place I use the following protocol:
1. I talk to Fig for a good while, and let her know that we'll be going to such and such a place, indicating with gestures, and words. She knows where we are off too.
2. I wait until she is totally calm, and at ease. Usually, this is indicated with her fluffing up while perched on my shoulder or hand.
3. I sit down, and ask Fig to sit on my knee. She always has an out; she can choose to jump away to an available perch instead. I do not force her to comply. I ask her gently. If she chooses not to sit on my knee, then I simply wait a few minutes and try again. Usually there is no issue.
4. I then ask her to come in for a hug with a gesture, like you would do with your child, "Come for a huggies." She will then hop into my lap, against my body, with her tail tucked under my left arm." It would be very unusual for her to reject a hug, so I would take that to mean that she is not interested in coming in, or moving, and try again later.
5. I then slide my hand under her, say, Up Up, and slowly stand up while gently holding her back against my chest, and her feet tucked back slightly. Higher is better than lower. She feels safe under my chin. If I hold her low, she is likely to feel vulnerable, or see a chance to "escape",, flap, and get injured. Then we walk to the destination. Plus the chin serves as an extra hand if needed. And she can hear me well while I talk to her softly, and reassuringly.
6. I say, Down Down, and slowly lower myself, keeping my left hand on the doorjam for balance. Fig stands in my lap again, tail under my left arm.
7. As I remove my right hand, my right side opens up to easy hopping distance to the perch.
8. I count 1,2,3, and slowly lower my right arm to release Fig to hop free.
This is quite a controlled moving protocol, but I find it very safe and successful compared to moving Fig while she is perched on my hand or shoulder, in which case I am trusting her, and there will always be a chance that she will decide to play, misbehave, freak out about something or other, decide to look for a mirror or window, or break a leg attempting to land somewhere slippery. She can be like a bull in a china cabinet if she decides she'd like a bit of "fun". The environment is not static, so there may be something new, or some tiny change she sees that I was unaware of. I also need to be constantly mindful of the fact that she can only manage to fly so far, but that she is daring, and a bit over confident; she will overstretch herself if I let her alight in a place too distant from the place we were intending to go, and then she puts herself at risk of missing her perch, spraining a leg, straining a wing, or worse, falling, slipping, or crashing, breaking her beak, what have you.
My philosophy is, never take an unnecessary chance for a simple thing like moving here to there. Besides, the bird understands that handling such as this, is protective. She does not object before or after. However, Fig will blame the blue blazes out of me, utterly, and completely, if she suffers a fright or misstep in transit; in those rare instances, she lays the blame squarely, and rightly on me, 100%, and she is not afraid to give me a very loud earful for several minutes. So, I believe that this sort of "over protective" handling reinforces bond, trust, and, yes, a bit of dominance which can come in handy. I think it is appropriate, but I wonder how other bird handlers feel about this approach? Please let me know your thoughts.
Yes, there are certainly times, when Fig is very calm, or sleepy. At these times I feel compelled to trust her more, and simply move her while she is perched on my arm. It is easier and more convenient for me. I simply put a hand over her to gently assure that she remains on my arm. Crows have a very wide birth comfort zone. Being close to them, face to face, is stepping into their comfort zone, their personal space. The sound of your breath. The closeness. It quickly builds up tension, even in a very tame Crow like Fig. I suppose as the years go by, she will become even more tame, but I have come to accept that it is a natural fact that closeness is avoided as a survival tactic. For this reason, even when Fig is sleepy, or calm, I employ the safe handling I have outlined above. A house is just too full of mirrors, windows, slippery surfdaces, things to break, fall, startle, and frighten, and it is good protocol to avoid all possible endangerment as a course of habit.
When moving Fig from place to place, I error on the side of caution. I always opt for the surest way to get from A to B with the least risk to Fig. I simply never know with 100% certainty, that she is not going to decide to panic, play, misbehave, etc... She has her own mind, she is young, impulsive, energetic, playful, a bit overly imaginitive in a paranoid sort of way, and at times hyper, so I can never rule her out of the equation. Flying is very hazardous, dangerous stuff. Every time. Especially inside. There have been times when she spontaneously decides to have herself a full tour of the house just for fun, and or to embarrass the resident predator.
So, when I move her from place to place I use the following protocol:
1. I talk to Fig for a good while, and let her know that we'll be going to such and such a place, indicating with gestures, and words. She knows where we are off too.
2. I wait until she is totally calm, and at ease. Usually, this is indicated with her fluffing up while perched on my shoulder or hand.
3. I sit down, and ask Fig to sit on my knee. She always has an out; she can choose to jump away to an available perch instead. I do not force her to comply. I ask her gently. If she chooses not to sit on my knee, then I simply wait a few minutes and try again. Usually there is no issue.
4. I then ask her to come in for a hug with a gesture, like you would do with your child, "Come for a huggies." She will then hop into my lap, against my body, with her tail tucked under my left arm." It would be very unusual for her to reject a hug, so I would take that to mean that she is not interested in coming in, or moving, and try again later.
5. I then slide my hand under her, say, Up Up, and slowly stand up while gently holding her back against my chest, and her feet tucked back slightly. Higher is better than lower. She feels safe under my chin. If I hold her low, she is likely to feel vulnerable, or see a chance to "escape",, flap, and get injured. Then we walk to the destination. Plus the chin serves as an extra hand if needed. And she can hear me well while I talk to her softly, and reassuringly.
6. I say, Down Down, and slowly lower myself, keeping my left hand on the doorjam for balance. Fig stands in my lap again, tail under my left arm.
7. As I remove my right hand, my right side opens up to easy hopping distance to the perch.
8. I count 1,2,3, and slowly lower my right arm to release Fig to hop free.
This is quite a controlled moving protocol, but I find it very safe and successful compared to moving Fig while she is perched on my hand or shoulder, in which case I am trusting her, and there will always be a chance that she will decide to play, misbehave, freak out about something or other, decide to look for a mirror or window, or break a leg attempting to land somewhere slippery. She can be like a bull in a china cabinet if she decides she'd like a bit of "fun". The environment is not static, so there may be something new, or some tiny change she sees that I was unaware of. I also need to be constantly mindful of the fact that she can only manage to fly so far, but that she is daring, and a bit over confident; she will overstretch herself if I let her alight in a place too distant from the place we were intending to go, and then she puts herself at risk of missing her perch, spraining a leg, straining a wing, or worse, falling, slipping, or crashing, breaking her beak, what have you.
My philosophy is, never take an unnecessary chance for a simple thing like moving here to there. Besides, the bird understands that handling such as this, is protective. She does not object before or after. However, Fig will blame the blue blazes out of me, utterly, and completely, if she suffers a fright or misstep in transit; in those rare instances, she lays the blame squarely, and rightly on me, 100%, and she is not afraid to give me a very loud earful for several minutes. So, I believe that this sort of "over protective" handling reinforces bond, trust, and, yes, a bit of dominance which can come in handy. I think it is appropriate, but I wonder how other bird handlers feel about this approach? Please let me know your thoughts.
Yes, there are certainly times, when Fig is very calm, or sleepy. At these times I feel compelled to trust her more, and simply move her while she is perched on my arm. It is easier and more convenient for me. I simply put a hand over her to gently assure that she remains on my arm. Crows have a very wide birth comfort zone. Being close to them, face to face, is stepping into their comfort zone, their personal space. The sound of your breath. The closeness. It quickly builds up tension, even in a very tame Crow like Fig. I suppose as the years go by, she will become even more tame, but I have come to accept that it is a natural fact that closeness is avoided as a survival tactic. For this reason, even when Fig is sleepy, or calm, I employ the safe handling I have outlined above. A house is just too full of mirrors, windows, slippery surfdaces, things to break, fall, startle, and frighten, and it is good protocol to avoid all possible endangerment as a course of habit.
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