My lovebird loves to free fly, every day.

Sharky34

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Mar 13, 2019
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[ame="https://youtu.be/vuYw7DMnWig"]Yellow love bird free flight - YouTube[/ame]
 
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I could not see the video. :(

I let my birds free fly.... in my house! They would be gone in a second if I let them outside!
 
My Cooper decide he was going to stay outside today for about 30 minutes today. Granted he haven't been able to fly outside since last summer as been to cold and they are use to being outside almost daily, so was expected that and ended up bringing Baby outside as well and stay outside for a while. Usually they prefer to me to walk and stay on shoulder and Cooper will lean the direction he want to go, he a lazy bird at times. Thankfully getting warm and they rather be on my shoulder then shoved into a carrier when riding in car. Frankie and Cockatiels have to work on flight training them. Already have 2 of my cockatiels Pepper, Wylie and Cockatoo Frankie recall trained indoors and high spots and getting them use to wearing harness.

The cockatiels worry about outdoors as hawks and may not ever free flight outside as don't want them to become lunch. Looking to buy a good outdoor aviary that predators can't get in, but big enough that I can sit inside if I want. My Cockatoos will just stay on me, or come right back and scream if they see one looking at direction they are at as they are pretty well trained and adapted them to all sorts of noises surroundings and ETC and use a 3g GPS. Plus usually look and stay close by.
 
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I also let some of my lovebirds fly free. But only the tame ones. They fly a few circles around the house and then they come back. There are a lot of hawks here in the tropics, so they never go far.

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That's a nice video. A little anxiety inducing but heart-warming. Pretty much the ideal for any pet bird. Hope they stay safe! It's good exercise and what they're meant to do.
 
Just curious................... are you concerned about predators? Especially raptors. I would imagine that lovebirds would be a very eye-catching treat for kestrels. They punctuate the power and phone lines around here. Vigilant, hungry-looking little scamps.
 
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Hi, in the beginning, I was scared but after flying my lovebirds every day for more than two years I learned valuable information that you can't find in the literature; 1. Love birds are such agile and fast flyers and not many birds can catch them. 2. My lovebirds on purpose provoke crows, rooks, magpies, seagulls, They start to chase my lovebird but these birds are slower in flight with there broad wings don't have any chance of catching lovebird. When they get tired off flying they will land on me it's a safe area for them and my lovebirds know that. 3. There is plenty of kestrels in my area and never in two years kestrel try to give chase to my lovebirds, they are more concern about searching for the rodents when they see a fit unfamiliar bird that isn't their usual prey kestrel will give it pass like they don't care. Powerline, are not issue for a small bird like lovebird.
 
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Chilling in my garden with my Kestrel and with my male Lovebirds Sarenko. I noticed unlike training hawks or falcons when I train parrots for a free flight it is gender specific. With males is always 100 % success and with females 100 % disaster.
 

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While I admire you allowing them to be free-flighted, the potential for a predator of any species to carry-off and eat a LoveBird at ANY TIME is too great for my heart. I know you must realize that you could free-fly your Lovebirds every single day for 10 years with no issues, only to have them killed the next day by a predator, as that's just the risk you take when you free-fly your birds...Well, that along with something spooking them like a falling ladder, as happened in the case of one of our long-time, professional free-flight trainer members and his Macaw, who has now been missing for years after years and years of free-flying her with no issues at all in the same place every single day where the ladder fell and she took-off forever...That's the best example of why it's just not safe, it can happen at any time to any bird, regardless of their level of training and experience. Just the risk you take...
 
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Hi, thank you for replying but I think that you are wrong and will explain to you why. I'm a falconer so I apply everything that I master and learn with my raptors and use my knowledge when I train my parrots. As a falconer, I am prepared to lose my birds its a fact of life and that is the difference between falconers and professional parrot free flight trainers.

This spring I will hand raised and free flight train Macaw and I will equip him with trackimo GPS satellite tracker so I can't lose him. But there is no such small tracker for lovebirds and I'll accept that risk. Because is worth it. The quality of life they get with me is like they are born in the wild, total freedom. Even if you keep the cage parrots at home people lose them sooner or later, they open window bird fly away get scared of the outside world. Or land on the stove, became sick because birds that are kept in the home are not fit and they are not healthy so their life is a shorter plus is monotone and unnatural should be illegal, I would never keep my raptors cage so I won't do it to my parrots it's not life that is worth living. Keeping a parrot at home is cruel. Birds should be up in a sky, not a cage.

Another thing when my raptors are chicks I teach them with exposure not to be afraid of loud noises. So I toss firecracker lunch firework fly drone next to them take them in a car motorbikes so they develop a brain that is adapted and nothing on this planet can surprise them the same thing I do with my parrots I drop the plate,firecracker, play loud music, let them hear barking dog,drones,landing planes. I took them next to the highways while they were fluffy babies so nothing in this world can surprise them. That goes to show how far behind ”professional parrot trainers” are compared to falconers.
 
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The trackimo GPS satellite tracker is my favorite and they haven't ripped it apart yet, works well. I agree with you when it come to large parrots, but also worked with with raptors as well, work with wildlife sanctuary and rescues for a while. Now with my umbrella cockatoo name Baby was scared of everything, including door ways when I first bought her home, due to previous abuse and being cage bound. So I kept walking back and forth through one till she no longer jumped off and then eventually just one at a time worked out her fears, by making her faced them. Yes she broke a couple of blood feather and ETC. Well worth it. She way more happy and now she way more active and healthy. Then started recall training and then outside training and adapted her to noises and also other birds.

She now hangs off my shoulder everywhere I go and doesn't get scared of anything. Mainly she knows to come back to me if she see danger. She outside with me all the time, even goes to work with me. Only time I keep them in cage is at night for sleep, or eating. She when from being one of the most aggressive bird that sent the last owner to hospital for stitches to now being a very social and doesn't bite anyone anymore. Nothing scare her, motorcycles, car and any loud noise, or make her jump, or she won't get lost.

Yes most so call YouTuber professional trainers are not good at all and make a lot of mistakes and put out misinformation, I have a earlier thread on that.

Cooper my male umbrella Cockatoo was already use to being outdoors, so it was easy to train him. Have to work on my Frankie, he does come to me when commanded and even goes to his cage by himself at night. Just have to work with him outside this summer. Smaller parrots just way to risky reason I haven't trained my Cockatiels outdoors and just let them fly inside. I am flight training them, but likely won't let them free flight
 
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ParrotGenie said: “Yes most so call YouTuber professional trainers are not good at all and make a lot of mistakes and put out misinformation, I have a earlier thread on that.”

Can you specify which ones plz? Also link the thread where you talked abt that? Thx!
 
Hi Sharky34,

Do you still fly yours? I'd love to hear your updates.
I'm going to give it a try with mine, if they're not females.
 
Hi, in the beginning, I was scared but after flying my lovebirds every day for more than two years I learned valuable information that you can't find in the literature; 1. Love birds are such agile and fast flyers and not many birds can catch them. 2. My lovebirds on purpose provoke crows, rooks, magpies, seagulls, They start to chase my lovebird but these birds are slower in flight with there broad wings don't have any chance of catching lovebird. When they get tired off flying they will land on me it's a safe area for them and my lovebirds know that. 3. There is plenty of kestrels in my area and never in two years kestrel try to give chase to my lovebirds, they are more concern about searching for the rodents when they see a fit unfamiliar bird that isn't their usual prey kestrel will give it pass like they don't care. Powerline, are not issue for a small bird like lovebird.
Thanks for sharing, I agree with you totally. After letting it free fly, it's almost even much bonded and understand the route that it should go and uturn instead of flying further away. So I'm quite touched by the natural and smart act of my lovebird.
 
Mine goes to playground weekly and play with kids. He free flight as he likes and he is getting used to outside environment which we thought was a blessing.
 

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