i spoil and baby cricket too much and i know that... so here's my question...

cricket is clipped. i don't usually let him climb on the outside of his cage. why? i don't know. i just help him to the playtop and help him back off.

today i decided to just leave his door open and let him climb on the outside to see if he could make it to the top. he was SO close but ended up plopping to the ground.

my question is... do i let him try again or do i continue to help him? i don't want him to hurt himself! he was fine tonight but if it's possible for a bird to look scared... he certainly did! i called to him and he ran up to me so i could give him kisses

here's his cage and how far he fell.

How clipped is cricket? Usually I have mine clipped so they can have a soft landing. However if cricket has never flown before becoming airbourne can be rather confusing for them.
I cant remember how old cricket is either sorry but alot of times age gains experience in re to climbing around the cage as well. For now if cricket just drops you might want to throw a fluffly comforter or something similar on the ground so if they ever fall it softens the blow. I guess from my view I wouldnt discourage cricket from climbing but just make sure he/she has a safe landing and wait until the flight feathers grow out a bit and have the wings not clipped so drastic.

cricket will be 6 months old this week. i don't think he's every really flown since i carry him everywhere! i haven't had him clipped since i've gotten him and he's just going thru his first molt.

i just don't want him to do something to his crop. after i feed him at night (his spoon fed baby food) his crop is pretty full and tonight when i watched him fall he actually landed on his feet but almost landed on his face too.

So when he 'falls', does he fall hard? Or flutter down to the ground? If he's falling hard, you might want to reconsider allowing him to go exploring like that. Or, at least put something soft for him to hit (a pile of towels or something).

Aww! I know it's so scary when babies fall, but they need to learn and climb in order to become more coordinated later. Try getting a rope perch or something similar and attach one end to the outside of the cage and the other end to the playstand somehow. This way, he can climb up the perch (or whatever you decide to use) and he can build his self confidence and coordination. He will get much braver and more adventurous and he will eventually figure out ways to get up there on his own.

One question: He is weaned, right? He should be weaned by now and the splitting of the crop is less of a concern as they get older because they know when to stop eating (mostly...) when they are full. When handfeeding, we always make sure their crops are full to the brim and there is a much greater risk of it splitting if they fall.

Hope this helps!

I agree he needs to be allowed to learn to climb to develop his coordination and his muscle structure. If he's still clumsy a padded landing area around the cage is a very good idea. Remember, if you continually carry and infant child, they will never learn to walk on their own and their muscle development will delayed.

I'm also curious...if he is 6 months old why he's still being fed a night feeding.. He should be totally weaned by now and eating on his own. If its just a comfort feeding and a bonding time that's one thing but if you are feeding him to be feeding and its to sustain him through the night that's something entirely different.

Why not get something easier than the cage for him to climb up on the outside of the cage ..e.g a rope perch fastened to the outside or some circular ropes something her can grip better...
see my small travel cages the rope perches can be twisted to the outside of the cage up to the top for you little guy to climb on or see the rope rings I have on the playstand you could hang something like outside the cage door for him to climb on..that would be easier to grip and hold onto..

i do have a rope perch on the outside of the cage (you can kind of see it on the left hand side of my picture) and i've tried coaxing him in that direction when he comes out of the cage but his first instinct is to climb on the door of the cage. i will put a quilt on the floor, just in case!

yes, cricket IS weaned but... i spoon feed him warm oatmeal in the morning and veggie baby food in the evening. he eats pellets during the day as well as a few safflower seeds as a treat before bed.

i know i probably shouldn't spoon feed him but its our bonding time. he will eat out of the bowl if i put it in his cage, i just choose to spoon feed him.

so i guess i'll try to step away and let him grow up and pick him up if he falls

sometimes i wonder if i got him a cage that's too big?

Put the rope perch from the inside of the door to the top rather than on the side that is where he would normally climb out you would need to take it off of a night when you want to close the door but it might help...GOOD LUCK..P.S I don`t think the cage is too big , but I would cover the grate with newspaper that way he can climb around the bottom to play also , I stack a load of paper so just remove the dirty top sheet as needed..

i will definitely try moving the rope perch tomorrow as well as putting paper on the bottom of his cage! thank you for the advice!

We just ordered that cage for are (soon to be) blue crown. I was wondering if you've had any problems with him unlatching it??

It seemed a little easy to get open to me... but I couldn't decide if they can actually reach the latchy thing.

Hi Lindsay,

I really love this cage and I'm glad I bought it although poor Cricket looks so tiny in it, it does give him a lot of room to play.

My cage has a small latch at the top that just holds the door in place as well as the main latch to the cage door. I honestly don't use the main latch mostly for my convenience since I've never seen Cricket try to open the cage (yet. I've probably just jinxed myself!)

The latch on my cage is very hard to open and close (which explains the convenience of me never locking it). I think Carrie~Ann just posted a thread about this lock though!!

Yep But don't let that deter you from purchasing/using the cage. Just be diligent about making sure the latch is in the down position. I've been using that type of latch for years and never had any troubles with it (always in the down position though).

None of my birds have figured out how to open it. Now, for a larger bird, such as a 'too, I can see how they might figure it out. But that's a 'too for ya!

Carrie~Anne, did you look at my picture and see how the lock is in the open position? i jumped up so quick especially since I'm letting Cricket explore the outside of his cage!

I love the cage though and I think Cricket does too.

lol!! Actually, I totally missed that. I was too busy checking out all the cool toys!!

At least you know now And after a while, it just becomes a habit to check it. I know with mine (I used to have three of those types of latches, now just two of them), I'm constantly checking to make sure they are pointing down...especially after one of my boys has opened the cage. My oldest son remembers, but the younger one forgets at times

Where did you get the toys/cage from? I might have to shop there too!

i bought half of the toys from Petco and the other half from the exotic bird store that I got Cricket from. it would be great if he would actually play with some of them lol.