Does anyone else out there have an amazon parrot (or other kind of parrot) that just can’t manage to stay on his perches? Mine falls off at least twice a day.
Is it just me? Do I own the single most clumsy parrot in the world?
Today he fell off a perch and caught himself by his beak on the lowest perch. He is hanging by the very tip of his beak trying to swing his feet up to grab the perch. After about 30 seconds of attempted parrot pull up’s, he fell to the floor.
Watching him, I have this vision of walking under trees in Brazil and being pelted to death by the rain of parrots.
I thought perhaps he had some inner ear infection that screwed with his balence, but he was just at the vet for a check up and he’s quite healthy. No problems.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Amazons, but I’ve been around quite a few African Greys, Macaws (mostly blue & golds), and Umbrella Cockatoos. From what I’ve noticed, this is not all that uncommon in younger birds (2 yrs and under). The times I’ve seen them fall, is usually when they are very excited playing with or hanging from a new/favorite toy. One Macaw I was very attached to fell often, and would actually roll around on the bottom of her cage or outside of it (if she had been playing on her jungle gym), continuing to play! She was very goofy.
The only concern I had about this, was that if she was doing the rolling around on the bottom of her cage (it was a good-sized California Cage), she would sometimes get a wing caught in the grate on the bottom. Very scary, as she had trouble getting her wing out without assistance, though the cage was designed for larger Macaws.
I’ve heard from some bird owners, that birds can tend to appear clumsy if their wings are clipped too soon. I’ve heard many people advocate allowing a bird to fully fledge before its first wing-clipping, as this allows the muscles to fully develop. I think there may be some truth to this (it makes sense at least), but a lot of times there isn’t a choice for a hand-fed, fully -fledged baby, when choosing a bird. Since there are risks involved in keeping a bird unclipped (I’ve heard adamant arguments both pro and con), I guess it becomes a trade off. My guess is, as the clipped bird matures, it eventually gets the balance back anyhow.
You might ask your vet about this, who knows? Maybe he/she will suggest letting the wings grow out at your bird’s next molt? If your bird’s wings are not clipped, I have no idea. I’d ask my vet anyway, or maybe join a newsgroup. At any rate, I wouldn’t be too concerned as long as your bird’s appetite is unchanged, the stools look good, and she’s not acting stressed. Good luck!
I own a red-lored amazon and have co-owned a few other birds.
Unless Harry (the amazon) is playing or goofing around, he doesn’t fall off his perch. If he were sleeping and was startled, he might, but that’s about it.
Are you sure your bird has a clean bill of health? Maybe his perch isn’t the right size and he’s having a hard time holding on. How large are his perches? (diameter)
It is possible that the OP’s bird has a hip or leg problem.
I have a lovebird hatched out with a hip deformity that severely limits his ability to perch and walk, but he’s otherwise OK (he’s also nearly 9 years old). We just make sure he has extrawide perches, keep them low to the cage floor so if he does fall he doesn’t fall far. He normally sleeps under an old dishtowel on the floor of the cage, so falling while asleep is not an issue.
He does enjoy hanging from his beak and doing “parrot pull-ups”. Just 'cause he can, I suppose.
We don’t clip his wings because his mobility is quite limited without full flight. He does fall off things a lot, so we want him to be able to catch himself mid-air when he does so.
The bird does fall when he’s playing. If he’s just resting or sleeping he does just fine.
It just seems to silly to me that a bird get’s so wound up he falls off his perch. It’s good to know other birds do this as well.
Theios: He has 4 perches of various sizes. The main one he sleeps on is straight wood about 1 inch across. He has another straight wood one slightly smaller and a larger cement perch. The lower one is a natural perch which averages about 1 inch… but that one is all bent and twisty.
Broomstick: He doesn’t seem to have a leg problem. the vet didn’t notice anything and the bird gets around just fine. I think he’s just a clutz.
Some southern California areas have dozens of wild parrots flying about. They seem to have a cackle sound. But I love watching them. Have never seen one drop from a tree or the sky. See
