chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (08/29/89)
I've got a question for everyone. I've got a cockatoo that *loves* to play.
One of her favorite toys is her food or water dish -- primarily picking it
up out of the holder and throwing the contents all over the room, then
repeatedly taking the dish to the top of the cage and dropping it on the
floor (which is sheet metal. At 7AM on a sunday, this is not fun). She's
also a world-class contestant in the "shot-put the food-dish from the top of
the playpen for distance" competition.
I originally stopped this for a few weeks with hook clamps. This ended when
she figured out that hook clamps came off (I started coming home to her
holding a clamp in one foot and repeatedly opening and closing it with her
beak while standing on a perch.
I escalated to c-clamps. These worked for a few months, but Morgan has
recently figured out how they work and so I'm back to square one (she has
this really annoying habit. She unscrewed the C-clamp, pulls it off, turns
the lever to close the clamp again and *then* tosses it out of the cage. She
has also successfully used a c-clamp to clamp her cage shut from the inside
on me, sort of turning the tables. She used to open her cage doors almost at
will until I finally got the latch holders out of her physical reach. Never,
never let someone tell you birds are stupid).
So, I'm now currently keeping the dishes in place with a combination of
brute strength and numbers. This is only going to work for so long (she's
unscrewed a C clamp I put on with pliers, and more clamps is simply more
toys) so I'm looking for more permanent solutions.
How do people keep their cups where they belong with a bird that wants them
elsewhere? I'm tempted to buy locking cups (advertised in various bird
magazines) but I've never used them -- do they really work? Can it keep a
motivated bird at bay? (It's not like she doesn't have toys or things to
destroy. She just knows that playing with the clamps drives me crazy).
What do *you* use to keep things where they belong on a cage, short of an
arc welder?
Chuq Von Rospach =|= Editor,OtherRealms =|= Member SFWA/ASFA
chuq@apple.com =|= CI$: 73317,635 =|= AppleLink: CHUQ
[This is myself speaking. No company can control my thoughts.]ooblick@intercon.uucp (Mikki Barry) (08/30/89)
In article <34382@apple.Apple.COM>, chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: > What do *you* use to keep things where they belong on a cage, short of an > arc welder? A very heavy Fenix feeder on my Moluccan (also keeps down the mess since it has a hood of sorts that makes it more difficult for him to toss things around) and a very large crock (8 inches tall) on the floor of the cage for the Macaw from hell who flings everything possible. For water he has a weighted dog bowl that is real tough to lift. Worked so far :-) Mikki Barry --
pmercer@apple.com (Paul Mercer) (09/03/89)
Yow! Chuq's Morgan sounds like a mighty smart bird. My lesser, Binky, is not nearly as smart (yet) but just as infuriating. I've never had trouble with the food dishes; I use the heavy hooded ceramic dishes (~5" tall) that are becoming popular these days. Binky doesn't have show interest in the dishes but has a great time banging his beak against the bars of the cage. Larger versions of these dishes can also be had, if Morgan one of the bigger cockatoos. So Chuq, has anyone ever accused you of sounding like a parent showing? I for one am jealous. Paul Paul Mercer Finder Team Apple Computer, Inc. I'm responsible for my thoughts