Kiwi and Loki went outside today!!!

[Sterling1113]

So, today since me and Brad were just sitting around, we decided to walk to the mailbox.
We also decided to bring the conures, since it was nice and cool out, and not windy at all.
Keep in mind, Loki is clipped and CANNOT fly at all. Kiwi is clipped but she can still fly, just not for very long.
Also, I know many people do NOT like to take birds outside without a harness, especially not a bird that can fly at all (Like Kiwi.) I am not recommending this to anybody, I am aware of the risks, and I was relying purely on the trust and bond between Kiwi, Loki, Brad, and myself. We are a flock, she knows that.
Well... at first, I kept her clutched in my hand. I was just nervous. I had no doubts at all, but like a child taking his first steps, you know he's bound to fall.. just a worrisome feeling.
After we had walked around for a while, I opened up my hand and let her sit for a moment. Then she moved to Brad's shoulder with Loki. They were so happy! They were chattering back and forth, it was awesome.
Then, we went to the car to get the mailbox key, and when I shut the door the sound scared Kiwi right into the air! She hovered for a moment, looked around, and promptly perched herself atop Brad's head. Such a relieving moment, to know that even when startled, she still comes back to US, not to a tree.
We went the rest of the way with them both on Brad's shoulder, and upon returning to our apartment building, Brad held out Kiwi and gestured her to fly to me. She jumped into the air, flew over me, then turned around and went right back to Brad's head. She did so good!!
She got lots of praise and kisses and millet, and so did Loki, of course.
The only reason we don't harness Kiwi is because she HATES anything on her body. She will chew it and panic and stress. She lets me put anything on her, but will do anything to get it off.
We will be getting a harness for Loki, though, so that when he molts we can work on flying him, too!
(Keep in mind with GCC's, they're flock birds, and do best outside as a flock. For this reason we would never take Kiwi out with us without Loki. We know that she would never go far from us on purpose, but with Loki near us as well, that just makes us feel better.)
I'm so proud of my little birdies. It was so nice seeing Kiwi fly outside, knowing that she could go wherever, but she still chose to come back to us.
Next time I'll get pictures/videos!

 

[MarciaLove]

thats amazing! Scary though! I really wouldnt take kiwi out withought some recall training next time the scare could be worse or she could see a tree she likes and not know how to come down even if she wanted to!

 

[Sterling1113]

thats amazing! Scary though! I really wouldnt take kiwi out withought some recall training next time the scare could be worse or she could see a tree she likes and not know how to come down even if she wanted to!

It was sort of nerve-wracking, I admit, but when Kiwi was little(and when I wasn't as bird-educated..) I would take her everywhere with me without a harness. She was always on my shoulder. That stopped after a couple months, and we haven't had much "outside time" since. She doesn't have a command to recall, but most of the time if I ask her to come to me she does. In this case she kept going back to Brad because he had Loki on his shoulder, so she wanted to be close to him.
I definitely plan on doing recall with her more extensively, this was more of a test-run since the wind was so low and she can't get enough altitude to get into the trees around here.