Flight training

[birdsnreps]

gosh, i would love to have my birds trained to fly around outside and come back to me!! im wayyyy too chicken to ever trust them outside without a harness though

[macawlover]

Yeah, I'm too chicken to bring her outside as well!
I brought up the idea to our bird club if we can have a meeting where everyone brings their birds (if they're fully flighted) and we invite a flight training professional to help us out with the first steps. There are people at the minnesota zoo who have come to our meetings before, so maybe we can ask one to come again.

[Irish]

Chris Biro has a forum on free-flight training. You might want to do some googling for it, as I don't remember where it's at. Chris flies his macaws in the Moab desert in Utah, and all around the country as a traveling educational "Pirate and Parrot" show. One can also attend seminars taught by him every so often.

[sugarbeth]

Here's the Freeflight group:
Freeflight : Freeflight

They might know of a freeflight group in your area. :)

[ROYJOY]

very good advice here from: karen1, irish, sugarbeth, jenseits , and others.

how perfect it would be to have an indoor area that size. you should have no trouble at all, with your training.

my sun, tiki enjoys free outdoor flight, and soon my GW, ruby will.

once you have it perfected, til its a conditioned reflex, you will have no problem outdoors.

the indoor part of tiki's training, was just my apartment. you should make great advances with that larger space, without the fear and adrenaline (SP?) that goes with the first few long distance flights, that most of us must try outdoors.

keep us posted.

[Many Feathers]

Good luck with that! How fortunate for you to have an indoor soccer field available to fly your birds. I'm totally envious. Mine are stuck with the parameters of the rooms in the house, until I build a good sized outdoor aviary, when I eventually have some funds for one. They're not cheap to do right. None of my birds are clipped, (unless I aquired them that way, but then they are always let to grow out.) I think its cruel to clip. Macaws are designed to fly. My cockatoos fly, too, (in their room, or the living room.) I want to free fly the birds, but I am afraid its me who is handicapped. I have a damaged-surgeried knee, and cant run any more, and have since become fat, too, as a result, to complicate the issue even more. I'm not so worried about losing birds as I am about not being able to chase after them if they go off somewhere. 3 of the macaws will fly to me on command, but sometimes drag their heels a little before they come just to show me they are in control. Of course, a treat will bring them quicker. But, they usually fly to me because its fun. I still need to learn recall and all that other good stuff, too.

[macawlover]

I'm so sorry about your knee, Many Feathers!
Well I got a response back from one of the soccer field places, and they said that because of "health concerns", they woulndn't allow me to use the soccer field as a training place. So, onto the next one! LOL

[birdsnreps]

oh puh-leeeze!! i would be way more worried about getting sick from one of those kids, not a little birdie!! those little kids always get sick!!

[ROYJOY]

still alot of paranoia about avian flu.

and many feathers. if your birds are trained, you wont have to run for them. thats the whole idea. even if they drag their heels, you know they eventualy come for the treat. i think with some more reiforceing training, you can do it. flying and soaring and glideing are much more fun for them than flitting from place to place in a close room. even skinny people, who are in good shape, with good knees, cant get a bird out of a tree if the bird doesnt know how to come on comand. they just fly farther and farther away.

[Irish]

Originally Posted by Many Feathers

Good luck with that! How fortunate for you to have an indoor soccer field available to fly your birds. I'm totally envious. Mine are stuck with the parameters of the rooms in the house, until I build a good sized outdoor aviary, when I eventually have some funds for one. They're not cheap to do right. None of my birds are clipped, (unless I aquired them that way, but then they are always let to grow out.) I think its cruel to clip. Macaws are designed to fly. My cockatoos fly, too, (in their room, or the living room.) I want to free fly the birds, but I am afraid its me who is handicapped. I have a damaged-surgeried knee, and cant run any more, and have since become fat, too, as a result, to complicate the issue even more.

By "fat", she means she might weigh in at 125 lbs., soaking wet, if that :-).

Originally Posted by Many Feathers

I'm not so worried about losing birds as I am about not being able to chase after them if they go off somewhere. 3 of the macaws will fly to me on command, but sometimes drag their heels a little before they come just to show me they are in control. Of course, a treat will bring them quicker. But, they usually fly to me because its fun. I still need to learn recall and all that other good stuff, too.

You know, sweet Kenobi will fly to me every single time (indoors or out in the aviary), no questions asked. You raised him up right! Even Rowan isn't 100%, but Kenobi is. I think we need to find someone to help us train our most trusted birds. Can you imagine the sight of your yellow "Scarlets of another color" flying free like they were intended to? That would be magnificent! I hope we can do it someday.