Physical Fitness with a Flighted Companion

[WhiteFlight]

Curious who else involves their flighted companion in physical fitness.

I have four formats. Two of which Meisha accompanies me.

Calisthenics with Weight Lifting:
Meisha prefers to hang out with me when I do my workout. A complete set of 23 exercises takes an average of ninety minutes. The majority involve an extended strained position which I hold for twenty seconds. Pushups are the exception, holding the elevated and lowered position five seconds each.

I typically have a toy box out for her. She’s house broken, lets me know if she needs to return to her cage. She has a habit of flying, or jumping on to me during some exercises such as three point sit-ups. Performed on an elevated platform, I start with a backbend, hold for twenty seconds. I’m looking away in this position, which is when she usually flies or jumps to me, to get a reaction. It’s followed with a straight suspended position, hold twenty. And then move Meisha for the forced crunch, another twenty. When I work with weights, she has stood in front of me, looking up, watching me. Sounds rather, boring. She also spends time preening.

Speed-Walking:
I utilizing a bike route half a mile from my home. Meisha goes with me on speed-walks. The route is quite diversified with cyclist, runners, joggers, Rollerbladers, speed-walkers, dog walkers and stroller pushers. We have experienced a number of interesting interactions.

I started walking with her when she was a one-year old, flying her between my father and me. Wasn’t long before she discovered these natural play stations call trees. She does not have a value for time which created dilemmas. Once after failing to talk her down, I called out that I was leaving. Turned and walked away. She took flight, caught up to me. There’s been variations in the progress. The here and now, she does not fly on speed-walks.

I keep a fitness diary. The record to date with her for duration and distance uninterrupted with the exception of traffic lights at intersections was on May 2, 2020; seventeen miles in 5;11;35. Start temperature was 68°F ending with 86°. Wind speeds of 15 mph start, ending with 17. My personal record without her was on May 9, 2020; twenty-five miles in 6;38;54.

Prep includes loading up with safflower seeds, in front of her. I let her initiate the reward process. Chatting and activities for the payout. There are times where she clearly doesn’t want to go. At the mention of it she has flown back to her cage, retreating to the opposite side of the opened access. If I can’t bribe her with an ice cube or safflower seeds, I let her sit it out.

Speed-walks that include a sunset are rather noisy with her loud parrot calls. She is much quieter other times of the day and when we leave after sunset or with clouded sunsets. She goes noisy and she flaps her wings when start the return trek. She has leaned in the direction of a shorter route that we have previously taken.

Here are a few shots from this week:

64° with wind speeds up to 13 mph, yet here she is preening.

There is an idled crane on the shoreline, right.

Lunar crescent below Meisha’s beak. Unable to get a shot without power lines.

The fountain at night.

66° with 4 mph winds.

 

[saxguy64]

Meisha is amazing! Very cool that she gets to be so involved. Mine don't get outside much, (we're in the frozen northeast) so they're a little intimidated by the big open space. Baxter, not as bad, since she only goes out in a travel cage. Tucker is harness trained, but not so interested in flying outside being confined by the lead. He loves flying in the house, and sometimes sits on or near me if I do some treadmill time. It's nice because he can take off to his cage, tree stand, or a window if he's not feeling it. That's about it though. I may have to try some of your indoor ideas though, and see what my guys do.

 

[WhiteFlight]

I can appreciate the cold temps of the NE. The coldest recorded temp Meisha has experienced on a speed-walk is 59°F with sunlight and moderate winds. The warmest is 100° at sunset. She experiences all of the temp swings traveling to work with me. On cold days, I put her in my coat transitioning to and from a vehicle.

We’ve been caught in the rain a few times on the speed-walks. She loathes the rain. Have retreated to the covered entrance of a school to wait out for a break. There are three schools on the bike route.

We’ll walk with friends at times, the speed part of a speed-walk tends to fall off.

I have done a few speed-walks in the rain on endurance workouts. Typically use the treadmill on rainy days. Meisha usually hangs out close by.

One of my clients has a blue and gold, fully feathered that doesn’t fly at all.

 

[Laurasea]

Meisha is living her best life!
A large parrot like her, isn't likely to be attacked by hawks.
For us with little ones, this isn't possible , to many aerial predators.

Very beautiful pictures!

 

[ParrotGenie]

Yep take mines for walk and runs all the time. Baby my female like to fly instead. My male u2 cooper rather sit on my shoulder and loves to lean as to point the direction he wants to go. Yes my birds know directions even better the I do and short cuts. It took my female twice to learn to take shortcuts.

Hawks is not a problem as they fly back and warn me when they see one of course squawking directly in my ear. They are trained outdoors and use to loud noises, predators and etc. Cold weather not a issue as a umbrella cockatoo can handle even 40 degree temperatures. If it to cold put in coat to warm them up. Hot weather can be a problem but mist them when they get overheated and give them water. They put wings out and start panting beak open when to hot. They need shaded area and a water bottle to mist them to keep cool. I take them pretty much everywhere with me, so they are also use to people and don’t bite, or attack, but do keep them on harness while in stores just in case.

 

[WhiteFlight]

Meisha is living her best life!
A large parrot like her, isn't likely to be attacked by hawks.
For us with little ones, this isn't possible , to many aerial predators.

Very beautiful pictures!

Thank you.

I have a great respect for hawks, having watched them consume their prey at a close proximity.

Meisha often prefers roosting on dumbbells over standing flat footed.

 

[WhiteFlight]

Cold weather not a issue as a umbrella cockatoo can handle even 40 degree temperatures.

If it to cold put in coat to warm them up.

Hot weather can be a problem but mist them when they get overheated and give them water. They put wings out and start panting beak open when to hot. They need shaded area and a water bottle to mist them to keep cool.

I take them pretty much everywhere with me, so they are also use to people and don’t bite, or attack, but do keep them on harness while in stores just in case.

Meisha tends to do the cold-shake in temps much less than 59°F. Especially when it's windy.

You know, there's a few problems with putting our birds in coats and jackets to protect them. I have way too many shirts with missing or slit buttons. She can even pop a button off and leave the center still attached to the shirt. She definitely has a button obsession. Another down side is broken feathers. Breaking of the shaft. And then there's the damage to writing utensils. An easy way to determine a gold Cross pen from the pencil is a gold button ID at the top of the pen. Well, Meisha plucked it off.

I intend to avoid the sunny heat of the day with Meisha and have cut endurance workout short when we lose our cloud cover.

I also took Meisha just about anywhere, before covid. No harness, but I restrict her from flying. Would take her on visits to clients, by request. She finds elevators quite disturbing. Once took her to an aircraft instrument company with product on a dolly. She was in carton number three, at the top, on the dolly. They were quite surprised. She has the power to stop nearly all production at the company. Can get more attention than I might want at home improvement retailers from customers and staff. There are some tools or gadgets she is skittish to be close to. She is housebroken which has greatly expanded her opportunities. I give her a verbal or hand signal to relieve herself before entering a facility, grassy areas.

Low altitude cruise with 16 MPH headwind. I use a handheld analog Dwyer windmeter.

 

[JohnH]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.

I bring my too outside also. This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood. Most of her outdoor time consists of sitting on my shoulder while i do yard work or trips to the store. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

 

[saxguy64]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.



I bring my too outside also. This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood. Most of her outdoor time consists of sitting on my shoulder while i do yard work or trips to the store. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

Banned from Petco? A company that is by design pet friendly? Did your too do something wrong, or did someone at the store just make up a no bird policy?

I can understand stores that sell food having restrictions on animals. It's a health code thing, but pets in a pet store? That I don't get.

 

[ParrotGenie]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.

I bring my too outside also. This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood. Most of her outdoor time consists of sitting on my shoulder while i do yard work or trips to the store. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

Petco I am shock. They love when I bring mines in. Only one worker is terrified of them. Due to he had one and broke the broom stick when he tried to get the bird to step up and wasn’t tamed. He ended up rehoming him which was a M2 cockatoo.

My usually do ok in cold weather, just when it windy then notice shivering, or fluffing. Then again during colder weather I use the avian fashions flightsuit instead of the aviator harness I typically use. My female U2 love to rip buttons off and is sneaky about it as she pretend to want a head scratch which I notice her and then goes for the button

 

[ParrotGenie]

Meisha is living her best life!
A large parrot like her, isn't likely to be attacked by hawks.
For us with little ones, this isn't possible , to many aerial predators.

Very beautiful pictures!

Thank you.

I have a great respect for hawks, having watched them consume their prey at a close proximity.

Meisha often prefers roosting on dumbbells over standing flat footed.

Hawks are quick and powerful as work with them at a wildlife shelter and it amazing how fast they are. With smaller birds I don’t risk free flying them for that reason as hawks are capable of diving 90 to 120mph when going for the grab and usually attack from behind. Even with larger parrots it still dangerous for free flight unless bird is adapted.

 

[Scott]

Love the commentary integrating parrots with fitness. Pics of Meisha are gorgeous!

Most of my fitness routine is outside and involves long runs. That coupled with hordes of raptors swooping from above rule out including my medium-sized parrots.

I really should get a Pak-o-Bird for local hiking. However we have tons of coyotes, often visible from "safe" distances as close as 50 feet. They generally avoid attacking humans, but wonder if they'd be emboldened with a bird enclosed in mesh? They really are audacious, gives me great pause.

 

[JohnH]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.



I bring my too outside also. This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood. Most of her outdoor time consists of sitting on my shoulder while i do yard work or trips to the store. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

Banned from Petco? A company that is by design pet friendly? Did your too do something wrong, or did someone at the store just make up a no bird policy?

I can understand stores that sell food having restrictions on animals. It's a health code thing, but pets in a pet store? That I don't get.

I'm not exactly sure why the fellow from petco said i couldn't bring my bird in the store. I didn't question him. Just turned around and left. He intercepted me immediately when i walked through the entrance.

 

[WhiteFlight]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.

I bring my too outside also. This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood. Most of her outdoor time consists of sitting on my shoulder while i do yard work or trips to the store. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

Cycling outside your neighborhood, sounds safer, clear of traffic. Never tried it.

Haven’t had Meisha out with me doing yard work, but have detailing a vehicle. She’s flown down from her cage as I’m completing the task of putting it up on jack-stands. A complete detail job on this one starts with hand-washing the undercarriage. It’s the only time she has gone under a vehicle:

 

[WhiteFlight]

Petco I am shock. They love when I bring mines in. Only one worker is terrified of them. Due to he had one and broke the broom stick when he tried to get the bird to step up and wasn’t tamed. He ended up rehoming him which was a M2 cockatoo.

My usually do ok in cold weather, just when it windy then notice shivering, or fluffing. Then again during colder weather I use the avian fashions flightsuit instead of the aviator harness I typically use. My female U2 love to rip buttons off and is sneaky about it as she pretend to want a head scratch which I notice her and then goes for the button

I tried out a moluccan cockatoo for a few days before acquiring Meisha. The particular bird was rather large and heavy, a very beautiful bird. The issue I had was with it whimpered excessively unless it was physically with me. When I returned to the store that had it, it was start start up with the whimpering as soon as it saw me.

Meisha has improved over the years, button damage has fallen off, but has not ended. She responds to verbal demands to leave them alone.

Your Petco experience reminds me of one of my Blockbuster visits long ago. Meisha had the attention of an employee, a young woman. I asked if she would like to see Meisha fly. That’s when I realized the employee was mortified, fearful. Which leads me to reflect on a new client visit at my office a while back. I heard her ask where the bird was, as one of my employees was assisting her. So I went back to my office and had Meisha fly to the front office. I found out later the women asked about the bird out of fear. My employee suggested caution in what she asks for.

A favorite line I use when someone comes into my business, see’s the empty cage and asks where the bird is. I have replied, “Did that snake get out again?”
Reply when asked about Meisha missing a day at work:
• “Something about flight school.”
• “She’s at a Robert Blake convention.”

I broke tradition with my 59° F threshold on a late afternoon speed-walk yesterday.

At 58°F 10 mph winds, Meisha shivered in the shade.

A woman on the bike route asked if Meisha was a parakeet. Laughs!

On the return trip at sundown, she was shivering. The last thirty minutes in nighttime darkness with the temp down to 55° and winds at 4 mph, she did not shiver. At various times she preened, rousted her feathers (a reset for trapping warmth) and flapped her wings (which dumped warmth). Inconsistencies.

55°F • windspeed: 4 mph

 

[WhiteFlight]

Hawks are quick and powerful as work with them at a wildlife shelter and it amazing how fast they are. With smaller birds I don’t risk free flying them for that reason as hawks are capable of diving 90 to 120mph when going for the grab and usually attack from behind. Even with larger parrots it still dangerous for free flight unless bird is adapted.

I put an end to the unsupervised time outside the house due to a pair of large hawks in the neighborhood.

Meisha looks a bit vulnerable in this shot.

 

[WhiteFlight]

Great picture white flight. What a great bird.



I bring my too outside also. She has been banned from Petco, Walmart and most recently the local grocery store.

Banned from Petco? A company that is by design pet friendly? Did your too do something wrong, or did someone at the store just make up a no bird policy?

I can understand stores that sell food having restrictions on animals. It's a health code thing, but pets in a pet store? That I don't get.

I'm not exactly sure why the fellow from petco said i couldn't bring my bird in the store. I didn't question him. Just turned around and left. He intercepted me immediately when i walked through the entrance.

I took Meisha to a local Petco years ago. A guy walked around the corner with a German Shepard. We had an immediately wet clean-up on isle three. Not from the German Shepard.

I’ve been turned away from Walmart with Meisha in hand, once. Never tried it again. I’ve gone in with her countless times, concealed in my jacket/coat. Pharmacists and staff would ask about her and ask to see her when it was obvious. Once experienced security following me aggressively, like pursuing a “purp” concealing something in a coat. When I got outside and revealed the contents, she did her usual opened wing flap of excitement. The security officer laughed with smiled.

Have taken her into grocery stores, concealed. My buttons fall prey.

 

[ParrotGenie]

I broke tradition with my 59° F threshold on a late afternoon speed-walk yesterday.

At 58°F 10 mph winds, Meisha shivered in the shade.

A woman on the bike route asked if Meisha was a parakeet. Laughs!

On the return trip at sundown, she was shivering. The last thirty minutes in nighttime darkness with the temp down to 55° and winds at 4 mph, she did not shiver. At various times she preened, rousted her feathers (a reset for trapping warmth) and flapped her wings (which dumped warmth). Inconsistencies.

55°F • windspeed: 4 mph

That what mines does when they get cold, they fluff up. It takes time for them to adapt to colder weather. But they do get use to it after a while.

I have people that think they are cockatiels, which at least is kind of true, since they are from the same family species wise.

 

[WhiteFlight]

This past summer we went on our first bicycle ride outside of my neighborhood.

Cycling is one of my four workout formats. Hadn't given cycling with Meisha any thought until you mentioned it. I'm able to restrict her flying on speed-walks as I carry her on my hand where I can read her body language. I foresee Meisha would want to fly on a cycling quest. The many safety issues and distractions make flight impractical to attempt on the bike route I frequent. I would like to find a remote isolated roadway free of traffic, trees and raptors. Maybe this spring.

Came across a video earlier this year of two guys on motorcycles with two parrots with them, flying. Unable to locate it this morning, however I found these:
Parrot Follows Owner During Motorcycle Rides
Webxtra: Cycling with Parrots Precious and Obedient Notice the discoloration on the back of the cyclist shirt. I don't have that problem. Laughs!
Bird Hitches a Ride with Cyclist Skip to 1:36.