my freeflight preparation

[parrot14]

I plan to freefly zidane, my 1,5 yrs old CAG. Here are my preparations on him. I need to train him one year more to securing bonding between us.

Biking arround - socialization and outdoor conditioning
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiNqwhA3UL8&feature=relmfu"]zidane on a bike 2.3GP - YouTube[/ame]

Indoor recall training, ftm and perch

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZCYM-efnIU&feature=channel&list=UL"]zidane ftm back n forth.3GP - YouTube[/ame]

Tricks training for building solid bond between us

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq4k5fkMeAI&list=UU_M9EpVY7Plw3mkKx6buMmg&index=8&feature=plcp"]zidane doing tricks - YouTube[/ame]

Outdoor recall training on harness

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apDu9Fg0QEU"]african grey recall training outdoor on harness - YouTube[/ame]

any suggestions are more than welcome...

 

[MaraWentz]

I have taught mine a few tricks and how to fly on command to her perch, but how do you get him to fly to you?

 

[parrot14]

Ftm _ fly to me training needs some approximations on zidane.
first probably just step up. I proceeded with walk to me with food reward. next would be a little hop on perches, because he's so hesitant to fly from perch to me, and then i put him on a flat surface ; a table; and doing a small gap hop, then gradually increase the distance then it becomes a small gap of flight. Again I increased the distance and tadaaaaa he's flying. this is how I train him to fly because he came to me clipped. all trainings are executed indoor.

For outdoor I started all over again. that's why I just put him on the ground. Now he's not confident flying to me from the perch . But I would wait patiently as i did in indoor trainings.

 

[MaraWentz]

Lol I was thinking when I typed that lol. I just got done training Erin that. Sorry had a blonde moment. However, Erin never like to fly up.

 

[Pookamama]

Wow, excellent! I love watching him fly.

 

[Adinafloyd]

Love the videos, he is gorgeous

 

[parrot14]

after couple days fly from the ground, he started gaining confidence launched from the perch

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SKY70T4Pa0"]zidane recall training from the perch - YouTube[/ame]

tried a different location, again started from the ground

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZwlyVleoII&feature=channel&list=UL"]african grey recall training outdoor on harness - YouTube[/ame]

within minutes...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_KR0a7GO_E&feature=channel&list=UL"]zidane recall training outdoor on harness - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Pookamama]

He's doing amazing!
I want to train Pepper to fly eventually. Her owner kept her clipped and I don't know if she ever learned how to fly!

 

[Mare Miller]

I am no way trained in free flying a bird but, I have one. To me, the most important ingredient, would have to be, the bird being bonded to you or someone in your household that would make the bird want to come back to you. Food helps, for sure, but having a bond with your bird is more better, in my opinion.

 

[parrot14]

Agree,imo bonding is very basic reason why they're keep coming back to us. Food is just a trigger for motivation.

Solid bond would be tested by any strange condition perceived as danger by bird, when they're spooked of something will the bird respons to the emergency call trained?

 

[parrot14]

Zidane's training is progressing well. today he tasted the first recall training outdoor unharnessed, in the place he knew well... my front yard. I believe this is important in gaining his confidence.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5sjxOvsY0w"]african day first time recall training outdoor unharnessed - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mare Miller]

Great job! He's a beautiful bird!

 

[parrot14]

Thank you Mare, I planned to do both harness and unharnessed training for one more year before let Him doing his freeflight. I replicate the path of Carly Lu owns by Raz Rasmussen Carly Lu's Flight Blog: Parrot Training, Flight & Recall

 

[luvmytooo]

Im no expert on free flight , but shouldnt building a bond between the both of you be the utmost importance before anything else ?
Training the bird to come back to me would be higher on my list then anything else right now...
I know by doing all these activities with your bird should strengthen the bond , but if there is trouble with your bird flying to you , there certainly isnt a real true bond then. I would just concentrate on your bonding rather then doing the rest.

The bike riding is great , but he did look a bit freaked out IMO. Would it be better if he saw where he was heading ? Just a thought...all those loud noises and things whizzing by seemed to unsettling to him....

I wasnt able to see the rest of the videos , my computer is off today I guess , lol.

Good luck with your training. Beautiful bird

 

[parrot14]

I also believed that bonding is above all things in FF. I think that is the reason why the bird keep coming back to owner. The behavior modification follow after.

The bike riding I meant for outdoor conditioning, yes he's cautious a bit, and that is one of grey natural instinct. I want him to be stable outside, not easily get spooked by strange noises. For the same reason I train him indoor among my kids when they're playing... and now ZIdane is much more relaxed with situation, he did recall training very well in the middle of children playing.

I look forward any advice on how to build stable mentality for outdoor, any insight/ critics/tips are welcome...

 

[Mare Miller]

I admire your prep, parrot 14. Sounds like, to me, you've been working on a bonding relationship. Does your bird prefer you to anyone else in the house? Does he seek you out, above others? Would he KILL for you?! If so, this is called, bondage! You've got a good thing going!

Seriously, I think you are on the right track. I could never feel comfortable taking Amigo to free fly, anywhere but home. He knows nothing else. The fact that you are acclimating him to all kinds of environment means that he will be that more comfortable, while in it.

 

[Mare Miller]

I need to add, you should also feel a bond. If you don't feel this connection yourself, it could be iffy. Just my opinion, if I didn't feel like Amigo and I had a connection, it may have come out differently.

 

[Mudkips]

I look forward any advice on how to build stable mentality for outdoor, any insight/ critics/tips are welcome...

I can help with this!
Where do you plan to fly him? What do you think is the scariest thing that he will come across?

 

[parrot14]

I admire your prep, parrot 14. Sounds like, to me, you've been working on a bonding relationship. Does your bird prefer you to anyone else in the house? Does he seek you out, above others? Would he KILL for you?! If so, this is called, bondage! You've got a good thing going!

Yes, he seek me every time I let him out of cage, sometimes it creates trouble when you need to do personal things (going to toilet, read a newspaper)

I need to add, you should also feel a bond. If you don't feel this connection yourself, it could be iffy. Just my opinion, if I didn't feel like Amigo and I had a connection, it may have come out differently.

I did feel the bond Mare, and that is fueled my energy to train him for more than a year

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I can help with this!
Where do you plan to fly him? What do you think is the scariest thing that he will come across?

I planned to fly him to the field nearby, the most scariest things are stray cats and sound of cars passing by, that was because the field located by the main street.

 

[Mudkips]

I planned to fly him to the field nearby, the most scariest things are stray cats and sound of cars passing by, that was because the field located by the main street.

Remember - Any predators that can take Zidane will strike quickly from above or below him. Watching below him is easy, above is much harder.
Cats shouldn't be a problem if you are watching Zidane constantly. He's too much of a big parrot to be easy pickings for a cat!

Do you have any birds of prey in your area? These could be a huge problem.
Have you thought of any wild bird flying overhead? Threat or not, it still worries birds.
Have you thought of cyclists passing close by with high visibility jackets?
Or people in the park walking their dogs?

The traffic is not very scary to a bird once they get used to it. If you want, you can take Zidane to a busy road in a cage and sit with him for a while to help him get used to it. Make sure he only has one thing to worry about at a time.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er2VxF7Cyi8"]Birdy the Green Cheek Conure waiting for the Tram - YouTube[/ame]

Birdy knows that he's safe on this bench. It doesn't move an inch and he has full view of everything approaching from around him.

When Birdy feels he is in a dangerous new environment, he will do anything to perch on my shoulder. Bonded birds will seek you for comfort when they are stressed.
The only exception to this rule is when they get startled - this is very important. You need to know what Zidane will do when he gets startled.
Birdy will take off if something surprises him, even if he's on my shoulder. He's sensitive to bright objects (such as high visibility vests), but only if they suddenly appear close to him from outside his field of view.
He's also very surprised by sudden loud metallic noises such as a car driving over a loose metal drain.

Despite all this, it's possible to get our fids used to anything if it becomes repetitive enough.