How do you teach them to be outside and not fly away ?

[Robyn]

Hi there,

Been wondering about this for a while now. I have seen other owners with their parrots outside, no leads at all, just free to fly.
Wondering how you owners do this , teaching them not to fly off ?
I did lose Jack once , a door got left open and just as I got to the door he was already out and flying off into the wild blue yonder. I just stood there gob smacked and I knew I was going to bawl my eyes out, so for a few minutes I went inside to compose myself and then ran out calling him. He ended up in my massive tree right up the back of my yard. He would call out when I called him ( sometimes ) and the times he didnt I freaked out thinking he had gone, only to find he was having a good old time in the tree. I stayed outside sitting in a chair and calling his name every few minutes trying to get him to "come up " on his stick as he always does inside.
I got so tired of it I ran to a neighbour who told me if I was close enough to wet him then he couldnt fly, I didnt and couldnt do that , also due to the hose not being able to reach.
My son came out, almost 3 hours later and he started teasing jack, jack likes to retaliate with my son so further down the branches he came till he stepped on one that was too thin and literally fell out of the tree. I took the stick to him and reached up on the side of a shed where he landed and he hopped up on the stick. Once he did this I ran inside with him very very relieved. It took me 3 hours to get him back.
So just wondering , how do you owners out there have the confidence to know your birdy will not fly away ???
I do take him out to the tree sometimes and sit him on the branches but with a lead attached and stay with him. I would love for him to go outside , but not take off or be frightened, I would love for him to know where "home" is. My neighbour said that once they are airborne they have no idea of their bearings and that I was lucky he went to my tree. I have no idea if thats true.
Just curious about your methods ????
Thanks ,
Robyn

PS. Now when I said my son was teasing him, its not quite how you think. My son loves him, but Jack doesnt seem to love him as much. So Jack likes him to know it lolol. So he was coming down the tree to let him know and literally fell out lolol

 

[Auggie's Dad]

While I've trained many animals for many activities I would not do this. If your career is in animal training and you get paid to spend several hours every day to train your bird then this is quite do-able. For the rest of us though this lesson is one chapter after "How to win at Russian Roulette" - Don't Play!

 

[parrotqueen]

What you are talking about is a method of training called "freeflighting". A man that I read about said that he just introduced his parrot to a larger room each day, calling his parrot to his shoulder. Once he was confident that his parrot would come to him every time he called, he went outside. His parrot flew around the yard, landed in his trees. He called for the parrot outside, and amazingly, the bird came back.

Maybe try reading more on this before actually trying the method. This was just one method, there could be an easier/better one out there somewhere.

Hope this answers a few of your questions.

~Samantha

 

[Robyn]

Thanks guys,

All I really wanted was for him to be outside for a little while and not take off. I wouldnt be able to cope with losing him outside, wondering forever if he was ok.
Maybe its just best to have him inside.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Why not just get a fly suit with leash?

 

[Robyn]

I had thought of the fly suit but he actually even hates wearing his lead, so I dont want to stress him further. I do manage every time to get his lead on, coz I know he loves the outdoors. I put him in the tree an tie the end of the lead to it and I stay there with him to keep an eye on him, he is quite happy to sit in the tree. I guess I will just stick to the lead.
Thanks

 

[westwood]

i can think of 2 ways to teach a bird not to fly off .
Neither one worked and i was up a 60 ft tall ever green after my Quaker once.
why not have an out door cage too for the birds its good for them and helps you when you need to clean the one they use .
Its always good to have a spare cage anyway.

 

[Robyn]

Funny you should say that. I have a friend who used to own an eclectus pair before they got stolen. She now has this big cage in her garage and wants to get rid of it. So thinking of getting it from her as a 2nd cage for outdoors.
He loves being outside, he likes to sit at the window and say " hello, How are ya ? " to everything that moves lololol

 

[westwood]

Thats just priceless.
My back yard is fully fenced, before i had a sheltie to warn me of intruders and now a blue heeler.
Both of them are protective of the yard LOL well partner died at 14 yrs old .
Im actually thinking maybe having pets is too hard on my heart.
They live well get 24/7 time and the best food .
I have freinds who wanna come back as my pets .
Its just really hard on my heart as to me they are family. like i said in another post i cannot have children and this is as close as i can get.
Tammy

 

[antoinette]

While I've trained many animals for many activities I would not do this. If your career is in animal training and you get paid to spend several hours every day to train your bird then this is quite do-able. For the rest of us though this lesson is one chapter after "How to win at Russian Roulette" - Don't Play!

I agree with you 100% :63:

 

[Ecclipse]

I used to own a lovebird called Dolmio when I was fresh out of school. His wings werent clipped and he used to fly around the house. He was quite a character and everything was on his terms, he would sit with me and take part in what I was doing but never gave kisses or got sentimental. I told the cleaner not to leave any doors open as he would fly away and she said that was fine. I had him for a year before he died. My friend's cat got him when I was away and she was caring for him. Anyways, about 4 months after I got him I walked into my lounge and he was sitting on the latch of the open window. I remained calm and coaxed him back to me. The cleaner then walked in and said that he had been flying around the garden for months and returning just before I got back from work - she saw no problem as he had always done that. After that I used to sit on the grass when he was flying around the garden and when I called he used to fly back to my shoulder. I never trained him, it just happened but I would never attempt to teach a parrot that. As mentioned above, rather get a nice roomy outdoor cage where your lil feathered friend can enjoy being outside. I never thought of it then but Dolmio could of been taken by a hawk or falcon. You get plants that are parrot friendly and can really do it up....

 

[Gos]

I can tell you how you do it in Falconry.
Weigh the bird every day, keeping track of what food you give him and how many grams.
By first stepping up to the fist for a treat, then backing off for short flights the bird soon gets the idea that a specific call or whistle means "come back and get a treat". This only works when you've discovered the best response weight for your bird. Over time, you increase the distance and again through monitoring the response and keeping track of the birds best responsive weight and type of food fed. Some feeds have a better energy level than others. First flights outside should be done with some sort of restraint just to make sure that "wind under the wings" does not encourage him to go some distance to a tree rather than your fist. Again, through weight and food monitoring you'll be able to tell at what weight they instantly respond and at what weight the passing butterfly distracts him.
But that's in Falconry.
Of course if you just clip the wings your problem is solved...

 

[Auggie's Dad]

There is very little outside to frighten a bird of prey. Parrots on the other hand BEING PREY get spooked by many things (like the neighbor's falcon!) and they may just flea and not know how to get back.

 

[Robyn]

Thanks everybody for your input, definitely wont be trying anything. My leash will do fine.

 

[logan-x]

Hey,
I have alot of hawks here so no unsupervised runs outside. I trim the wings, to much danger in ceilling fans, and the chance the will fly away.When i take the outside (everday when its warm) i roll there cages out. im now in the works on a avairy for more room to play for extended time outside.

logan

 

[DustyBZoo]

While I've trained many animals for many activities I would not do this. If your career is in animal training and you get paid to spend several hours every day to train your bird then this is quite do-able. For the rest of us though this lesson is one chapter after "How to win at Russian Roulette" - Don't Play!

I agree with you 100% :63:

Dittos from southern indiana!

 

[DustyBZoo]

Thanks everybody for your input, definitely wont be trying anything. My leash will do fine.

Keep us updated on the leash. I've been interested, but i've had concerns with being able to get it on my bird?! I know I could do it, I just wonder if he's going to be p'd-off by it. If anyone else has insight I would like to here it too!

 

[Robyn]

Jack doesnt like the lead initially when in the process of putting on, but I eventually get it on him with a bit of fighting on his part lol. But once he has it on and is outside he forgets the lead is there. But if I still have him inside and the lead is on then he is fighting to get it off. So i try to get him outside as quickly as possible with it. One thing though I dont like though is that the lead I got which is a very reputable one and is the size for eclectus , seems to be a little big around the breast area.
I am with him always and make sure he isnt tangled in it or having problems. Thinking of trying for a smaller one, he isnt underweight or anything, last weight check he was just under 500 gms. But it works well while he is outside.
Im still trying to get my head around Ecclipse's bird that flew around in the garden and back inside.

 

[Birdfriendly]

I can tell you how you do it in Falconry.
Weigh the bird every day, keeping track of what food you give him and how many grams.
By first stepping up to the fist for a treat, then backing off for short flights the bird soon gets the idea that a specific call or whistle means "come back and get a treat". This only works when you've discovered the best response weight for your bird. Over time, you increase the distance and again through monitoring the response and keeping track of the birds best responsive weight and type of food fed. Some feeds have a better energy level than others. First flights outside should be done with some sort of restraint just to make sure that "wind under the wings" does not encourage him to go some distance to a tree rather than your fist. Again, through weight and food monitoring you'll be able to tell at what weight they instantly respond and at what weight the passing butterfly distracts him.
But that's in Falconry.
Of course if you just clip the wings your problem is solved...

No, clipping wings is not 100% either! Inside he couldn't fly high, he just sort of kept from plopping on the floor.

Thinking it was safe, I took him outside. He either got lift from being outside (and/or adrenaline) and flew off. I immediately began calling desperately, but he just laughed at me from a tree he landed in.

Thankfully a couple of wild birds flew toward him, which frightened him into flying back toward me. It became obvious he wasn't coming to me, because he bypassed me and tried to land on the roof of our house.

It had a steep roof and he wasn't liking being there, so when he turned to fly over me again, I jumped up as high as I could and blocked him with my hand. He fell to the ground, I grabbed him, and that was the last time I took him outside!

 

[Keatz]

Thanks guys,

All I really wanted was for him to be outside for a little while and not take off. I wouldnt be able to cope with losing him outside, wondering forever if he was ok.
Maybe its just best to have him inside.

You could put him in an outdoor cage for a little while.
I put mine in an avairy during the day.
He sits on my hand when I take him out, whether it's to put him in his cage or put him in the car, and I don't worry about him taking off, but if he appears scared or startled by anything, I just place my thumb over his foot as he's sitting on my hand just to make sure.