What do you do if you don't clip?

[anbrownucsd]

I'm not asking if I should or should not clip. I *think* that I have already decided to not clip my new birdie. I just bought a beautiful Rose Breasted Cockatoo and the breeder has him flying around freely right now. It is so beautiful! However, I have always owned clipped birds. What precautions should I take bringing home an unclipped bird? What other things should I think about?.... do I need to buy a leash? are they safe?

Also, what should I be super concerned about if I decided to let my bird fly outside with a leash?

I am so worried! But this is so beautiful:


The breeder sent me this picture. But it was really amazing to see all of the babies flying around last night when I went to pick out Mickey/Apollo.

[sugarbeth]

Get some good recall training going, first of all. There are freeflight groups that can help with this if you google them. :)

The leash is not for flying - it is to keep the bird with you, not flying. It should be very secure so that he can't fly off with the leash on and get tangled in a tree.

[jmfleish]

OH WOW! Ashley! Congratulations! Seriously, you aren't going to regret not clipping this baby at all! I think you mentioned in a previous post that you live with other people and that you were in college? Make absolutely sure to have a very lengthy discussion with everyone in your house about the dangers of opening and closing doors and that you now have a fully flighted bird in the house! If you are cooking, make sure that Rosie is in his cage!:) Keep the toilet seat down and the bathroom door closed for good measure. If you leave windows open, make sure the screens are tightly on.

You have an advantage in the fact that your breeder has been fledging your little pink and grey powder puff, so you probably won't run into as many issues of him running into walls and windows and mirrors. It's harder for an adult bird to relearn to fly or to learn to fly for the first time. When you finally bring him home though, go around and show him all the windows and gently touch his beak to the windows so that he realizes that there is something there. Show him his reflection in the mirrors and let him touch his beak to the mirrors as well. If he ends up running into any of them at first, just put your blinds down until he starts to feel comfortable flying in the area and then slowly let him adapt to the area and open the blinds up one at a time to let him get a feeling for the house.

Definitely get a harness for him. There are lots of them on the market but my personal favorite is the Aviator. If you contact me privately, I can set you up with one. Now is the time to get him used to wearing a harness too while he's young.

You're going to do fine and you are going to enjoy this little guy so much! They really are just wonderful!

[svolk]

I agree about starting recall training right away.

Also have a system down pat as to what to do when the birds are out and, say, someone comes to the door, or someone has to leave, or someone wants to cook. In my house, my husband and I follow strict rules when the birds are out. Before cages are opened, doors get locked. People can only enter/exit through the back door, which is buffered by the attached garage. If someone comes to the front door, we make them go around back or they don't come it at all (we simply tell them through the screen door). No one uses the stove/oven when the birds are out - if someone wants to cook, birds first go back in cages and can come out again after the stove is not in use and has cooled off.

Until your bird knows the layout of the house, you'll want to draw the curtains/blinds on the windows or place the UV decals on the winds so that they know where the windows are. Take your bird around the house and actually show them the windows and mirrors, I tapped on them as I told the birds about them. It would probably also be a good idea to limit how many rooms they have access to at first. When the bird isn't used to the layout he can get spooked and take off and if given enough room he can build up enough speed to hurt himself if he gets too spooked and and flustered with where he's flying. (but if he's never been clipped then he probably has better navigation skills than any clipped bird)

[SDavid]

Congratulations and Good Luck!

I can't add to the good advice you've gotten so far....as you know I'm new at this myself.

[anbrownucsd]

Do any of you know how to make a "Tinkerbell" harness. I have heard this is the best, even though I am probably going to buy the Aviator. It seems to me like no one makes the Tinkerbell for purchase. :-(

[ROYJOY]

tink"s is a home made harness.

[jenseits]

In addition to recall training and letting him tap on the windows and mirrors (both excellent advice), I might add that you should set up some perches around the house/rooms where he'll have access so he has designated/familiar places to land. It's a safety thing but also a poop-containment thing.

[Freedomoflight]

Nope, don't know how to make a tink harness. Would be very interested in it, though. The aviator is probably the best bet for a flighted bird, because its bungee so if he suddenly flies off, it won't just yank him back like the fether tether does. Also, they have extension leashes you can buy so that if you do decide to train him outside, you can have him on the leash and he will have room to fly.

[Izzy]

I hear that the Aviator is the best harness - I just ordered two yesterday, so I'll give my review once they're home. I have a feather tether, but I found it too hard to use on my tiel so she's never been in it. I'm hoping I can get her used to the aviator. The aviator also can be attached to their flight line, in which you can fly outdoors with a harness...they're are differing opinions on this though, so do some research. I recommend the FreeFlight list at Yahoo Groups.

Sweety, my flighted tiel, is ALWAYS caged if I am cooking on the stove. We keep a sign on our sliding glass door, to remind us to check and make sure she is caged before going outside. Always check the top of doors before closing them-Sweety loves perching up there. If Sweety flies somewhere I don't want her flying to, I put her back on her cage, so that she learns (hopefully).

Recall training is definitely important. Sweety's onlyt mastered flight this year, so my goal for the summer is to get her doing recall, or at least started. I'll be working with it on Lily my meyers too, but she's still clipped (only came home a month ago).

Good luck! Gorgeous bird!