Spoiled little flier!

[SilverSage]

Many of you know that I am really excited about Flick, my GCC's flight feathers coming in, and that I am leaving her flighted. Until today she had only made one " intentional" flight, and it was a short one. Well a couple of days ago she hurt her toe, but I had to leave the house, so I left my sister with strict instructions not to let Flick out of her sight, and to watch for any bleeding, call me if ANYTHING changed. I got majorly delayed getting home and what I thought would be less than an hour away turned out to be over 5 hours. When I got home my bird and sister were still together. Just now I brought Flick out and set her on the tree stand, and walked into the kitchen. Flick followed! She even "paused" mid-air, redirected, and flew straight to Ellene, my sister. Well that was fine until Ellene needed to go back to her room, where she has a ceiling fan, so I told her to put Flick on the tree and I would be right there. She did, but Flick immediately flew to her. So I said to put her back and run away. She did (my sister is 14, and she took me seriously and RAN) well Flick chased her again! Through the living room, around a corner and down a hall! Her landing was a bit off - she landed on Ellene's braces But all in all I couldnt be happier! She is now on the tree, chirping along with the budgies (9 of my fosters are headed to new homes today so they are in the living room meaning EVERYONE is flock calling!) and preening herself. =D Oh, wait... Ok now she is with me

 

[veimar]

LOL, I have a similar situation - my gcc came to us clipped and just had his first molt (not finished yet). In a very short time he became a virtuoso flier!! First he had some "off" landings, but now he flies extremely fast with sometimes very complicated trajectories and always makes it just perfect. He never hits the windows glass or walls.I only have to be really careful with the outside door - once he flew out so fast that I didn't even see it, just heard the noise. Thanks God he landed on his favorite shrub on our patio and I came and took him back in.
Your bird will fly like a rocket soon!!

 

[weco]

Since your sister has a ceiling fan, you probably need to set some new house rules, if they're not already in place, to be sure her door is always closed when Flick is out of his cage.....

 

[Staggsmalexis]

I would love to foster birds!! I really want to house rescued animals and I have really taken a liking to parrots. If you don't mind could you tell me a little about fostering, how to get involved, and your personal experience with it? And that's exiting news to hear about your gcc!

 

[SilverSage]

Weco you are absolutely right. We have very strict rules about this, and since both of us grew up in a house with ceiling fans and birds we are very good at remembering. That is why she was making sure not to take her into the bedroom she does not have air conditioning so the fan makes the room bearable.


As for how to get involved in fostering it really depends. If you want to go through a local rescue, you call them and ask me about it. In my situation I just rescued the birds myself and have paid for all the medical care and testing, food, etc, myself. Well, me and the friend who was with me when we found them. It is on me to find them new homes, etc. we have hundreds of dollars in these little birds. Be careful when considering a foster pet, they will usually cost you more money, cause you more grief, and be more work than your own pets.

 

[ACE209]

Congrats on your flyer, I hate clipping Sherlock's wings... I'm thinking about letting keep em next molt... I live in the country so we spend a lot of time outside enjoying the patio and pasture. I'm just worried he'll take off and a hawk will get him. Maybe I should do a limited clip this time short distances or time to buy a flight leash. Any suggestions where I can get a nice one? Sorry don't mean to hijack your post lol.

 

[SilverSage]

First, I am glad you let your bird enjoy the outdoors, BUT it is very dangerous. Even a clipped bird can be startled into a flight MUCH farther than what you think. Take it from me, who watched my clipped tiel fly away and never return. It was heartbreaking, and I hear stories about it all the time. So my belief is that no matter the clip the bird should be on a leash. By far the best and safest leash out there is the Aviator Harness. You can buy it right from the Parrot University or on Amazon, though I think Amazon only sells red ones. In the end, clipping a bird limits their control of their flight, they are more likely to land where they don't want to, but it does not make them unable to fly away from you unless you give them a "skeleton clip" where they fall straight to the floor with no ability to break their fall - this kind of clip is dangerous and cruel. Now, since I siad all that, please do not misunderstand me; I DO BELIEVE that there are circumstances under which having clipped wings is best for the bird, I just think it is done far too often with far too little research into the consequences.

 

[ACE209]

No harm in sharing your opinion. I guess never really put thought into it. I've been extremely lucky these 14 years of bird keeping. With that said harness is on its way!