Bring your parrot everywhere?

[vicky2200]

Back in the 90's my dad used to take our TAG to the bar with him. He knew the owner and the guy didn't care. They even let our german shepherd in.

 

[wildwest]

I would be extremely careful about taking your bird outside without a harness. There are quite a few ads on craigslist for missing birds from owners that assumed their birds wings were clipped. When you ask them how long has it been since their wings were clipped, they claim oh, a few months back. But in reality I expect it was more like 6-8 months ago.

Also, most large bodied birds such as Macaws, Eclectus or Greys, bird groomers give what they call a shallow cut on their wings so that they are able to glide versus drop like a rock. Unfortunately, it also allows them to be able to fly a fair distance as well if they get spooked while out and about. Besides, where I live, most stores will not allow animals in their stores period, except for seeing eye dogs. There is a liability issue there that most store owners especially large chain stores like Walmart don't want to absorb.

I guess I should clarify that before entering any store we went into, including Walmart and Ross...I asked permission from the security workers at the door. Because Franklin is soo little and was leashed AND stayed right on my shoulder or held in my hand, they had no problem with it. I'm not saying EVERY store would be this way and I totally respect any store telling me No. In that instance, I'd just walk back out and put him in his travel cage in the car. No harm, no fowl.

Also, when I have any of our birds out and about..I don't let people pet or attempt to hold any of them...they can look and talk, but not touch.

Toni

Wow Toni, your lucky. I asked my Walmart yesterday while I was there (without my bird I might add) if they would allow me to bring in my bird if he were on a harness on my shoulder. The person I asked had to ask two or three other people by phone. But when she finally got back to me the answer was "NO" and said that if they allowd me in the store with a bird, then others would expect the same courtesy and want to bring their dogs or cats into the store in carriers. So it's best to discourage it in the first place. They will only allow see and eye dogs for handicapped folks.

I asked mainly because I was curios. But I wouldn't carry my birds to places like that because of the amount of people who carry germs. Open air areas such as parks are different because of the open air situation.

thats because grocery stores do not want the health dept making a visit because somebody brought their pet it. Service/companion animals do not appy. along those lines you can tell them that your bird is your companion animal prescribed by your shrink and by law they have to let the animal in the store.

:22:

 

[horsesculpter]

Sunny goes everywhere she is allowed. She loves it! Today she got a half hour trip to the hardware store. A chore for most of us but the highlight of her day! As for touching, that big macaw beak intimidates most people which is fine with her. Only rarely does she indicate she would want touching from strangers but there is nothing she likes better than an audience, the bigger the better. She rides on a perch between us and will hopefully say "go in truck?" She has been to 8 states now. She canoes, rides a golf cart, whatever. She is always up for an adventure as long as there are people to see and Mom and Dad close by. I think she has missed her calling. She should be in a bird show where she could entertain audiences, especially kids, daily.

 

[azdesertrhino]

Mac on one of our other trips. Taken in Tombstone AZ

We were up in Williams AZ last month and Mac went to Cruisers for lunch. He enjoyed a couple of french fries and some ice cubes.

I wish we could get him in to a harness, it would be even more fun!

 

[Mudkips]

A bit of a long post incoming...

Birdie has come everywhere with me since the very beginning. Although I don't use carry cages or a harness, having him clipped makes it much easier.
As soon as I left the bird store, I had the little GGC baby on my shoulder. He was so scared of everything that was going on around him that he quickly decided it was safest to stay put. It was kind of like an overload on his birdie senses, causing him to freeze in place. A few hours later he had relaxed a bit, but he was not comfortable leaving the safety of my arm until later that night when he finally got used to his new cage.

Going outside regularly was quite dangerous at the beginning. Birds that are not used to your day to day occurrences will get scared by the simplest things – take a ride on a train for example. The train doors automatically opening were the first thing that freaked him out. Then second thing was the noise of the connection between the carriages. Of course there were many other things, but he stayed true to my shoulder the whole first trip. Nowadays he can’t wait to get out of the cold and into the warm carriage. I’ll place him on a seat and pass him a snack and he’s just as comfortable munching on it there as he is at home!

As for getting refused entry into certain areas, you’d be surprised at how many places you can go with a GGC perched on your shoulder. Most people don’t even notice him, but the more people that come up to greet him, the higher the chances are that you will get asked to leave. I’ve only been asked to leave a shopping centre once due to a couple of older women that found him fascinating and made a fuss over him.

I fully understand that what I’m doing could be considered dangerous for Birdie, but he really loves it and will hop onto my arm at any time of day to go off on an adventure with me - we’ve done it every day for 6 months now.
He really is the definition of a "Companion pet"!

 

[suebee]

A bit of a long post incoming...

Birdie has come everywhere with me since the very beginning. Although I don't use carry cages or a harness, having him clipped makes it much easier.
As soon as I left the bird store, I had the little GGC baby on my shoulder. He was so scared of everything that was going on around him that he quickly decided it was safest to stay put. It was kind of like an overload on his birdie senses, causing him to freeze in place. A few hours later he had relaxed a bit, but he was not comfortable leaving the safety of my arm until later that night when he finally got used to his new cage.

Going outside regularly was quite dangerous at the beginning. Birds that are not used to your day to day occurrences will get scared by the simplest things – take a ride on a train for example. The train doors automatically opening were the first thing that freaked him out. Then second thing was the noise of the connection between the carriages. Of course there were many other things, but he stayed true to my shoulder the whole first trip. Nowadays he can’t wait to get out of the cold and into the warm carriage. I’ll place him on a seat and pass him a snack and he’s just as comfortable munching on it there as he is at home!

As for getting refused entry into certain areas, you’d be surprised at how many places you can go with a GGC perched on your shoulder. Most people don’t even notice him, but the more people that come up to greet him, the higher the chances are that you will get asked to leave. I’ve only been asked to leave a shopping centre once due to a couple of older women that found him fascinating and made a fuss over him.

I fully understand that what I’m doing could be considered dangerous for Birdie, but he really loves it and will hop onto my arm at any time of day to go off on an adventure with me - we’ve done it every day for 6 months now.
He really is the definition of a "Companion pet"!

excellent day for your birdie i am sure, but have you thought how he is going to react when he gets in season?? and the need to find a mate will make him braver and leave your shoulder, his still a young bird.

please at the very least micro chip him, but i personally would start harness training him

 

[MacawGuy]

I take my bird out all the time with no harness on. Bit his wings are clip. In if I don't think they r I will open his wings to see if there fine but I got them clip last week.

 

[henpecked]

I hesitate to reply to this because i'd hate for someone to lose their bird because of my post.I've clipped "Jake's" wings maybe 100+ times. We've had each other for 40+ years and have been though it all.She has been everywhere and done most everything, unharnessed. We didn't have bird harnesses back in the day. She's been though car wrecks,boat sinkings,fires,snow storms, i can't recall it all. I can recall 3 times i've "lost" her but ,able to retrieve her. I can't count how many close calls we've had or how many places we've been kicked out of.Having carried her everywhere and done everything we are very,very lucky to still be here. My point is ,do as i say and not as i do. Harness train or at the very least learn to clip your bird's wings yourself and don't rely on someone else.Now days Jake is pretty much free flighted and if spooked will fly back to me,i only clip about 3 flights. Jake and i have survived the odds and she really enjoys going out and about. Enough said. PS you can check with your vet but last i checked a GCC is too small to microchip.

 

[Oedipussrex]

Pickle loves going on drives with us, and the view he gets from his carrier in the front seat. But i dont really like taking him anywhere where there's people who will make a fuss over him, i get so embarrassed

We have taken him out in his harness a few times in parks; but then i realised that my favourite park has those no cats/dogs/horses (even on a leash) signs... and i got worried, that even though they weren't being specific, they might not appreciate a foreign bird in a protected park or whatever...

so that's really narrowed down the interesting places i can take him. but i really want to save up and buy a pack-o-bird for him.

 

[Mudkips]

my favourite park has those no cats/dogs/horses (even on a leash) signs... and i got worried, that even though they weren't being specific

Well it sounds like the signs are pretty specific to me! Pickle is nether a cat or dog. And I'm doubting he's a horse.
You should go back there. The worst that anyone would do would be to kindly ask you to leave, and that is not likely at all.

have you thought how he is going to react when he gets in season?? and the need to find a mate will make him braver and leave your shoulder

Yes he does leave my shoulder now. It's impossible to have a bird stay in a good mood on you're shoulder for more then a few hours - not to mention how demanding it is - so he gets time to wander around and explore while I relax.
I encourage him to explore further away from me, but he doesn't like being far and will scurry towards me if I move away.
It makes it very hard to capture a good video of him because he runs straight at me!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZZi7sOvtiM&hd=1"]Bird E at the park - YouTube[/ame]

As long as I'm close by he's not worried about most things.
I've posted these pictures on the conure sub-forum here before, but I think they are relevant to the OP's questions (although Nayara probably had a Macaw in mind!)

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5647/conureriver.jpg

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/5903/parkconure.jpg

 

[Oedipussrex]

my favourite park has those no cats/dogs/horses (even on a leash) signs... and i got worried, that even though they weren't being specific

Well it sounds like the signs are pretty specific to me! Pickle is nether a cat or dog. And I'm doubting he's a horse.
You should go back there. The worst that anyone would do would be to kindly ask you to leave, and that is not likely at all.

hahahaha yea that is what my mum rekons. and it is really tempting. But i hope to volunteer/maybe get employed at these places so i dont want to have the wrong person ask me and make a bad first impression.

 

[tikobird]

I don't bring Tiko everywhere because I just can't. I clip her flight feathers so she can't fly and take long walks with her on my shoulder or wrist. She looks amazed every time we're outside. We go for long walks and I'll let her sit on a tree branch. She says "The plants are green" every time we're outside.

 

[PortaPerch]

Rex, you have a great excuse to visit HQ in person, and get to know the people. They will have a positive impression of you, just because you made the effort to ask.

 

[TortoiseLady17]

Mac on one of our other trips. Taken in Tombstone AZ

We were up in Williams AZ last month and Mac went to Cruisers for lunch. He enjoyed a couple of french fries and some ice cubes.

I wish we could get him in to a harness, it would be even more fun!

Where did you get Mac's wagon?

 

[KatherineI]

I took Sugar on the bus and to the market the other day. Not a peep out of her, but she wasn't stressed out either. Super alert, looking around at everything.

I did have more people do double takes, and I could faintly hear (good) comments but only 2 people actually came to me and said anything, one being our produce vendor who thought it was awesome. Apparently someone at Pikes Place has a CAG that he brings and does tricks with as a street performer. I've never seen them, though.

 

[PortaPerch]

Many people are surprised when they realize it's a real bird.

 

[KatherineI]

Many people are surprised when they realize it's a real bird.

The second person who seemed really keen on looking at her made me chuckle. I was carrying her on the front (the carrier can go back, front or shoulder strap), and I started doing the "Vanna White" thing. He laughed and was like "That's awesome, she's beautiful" and then left. My produce lady was asking all kinds of questions about her.

The only issue I had was the idiots who insist on bringing strollers in and I kept banging the side of the carrier. That place does NOT have the room for strollers with all the people stopping and standing in the middle of the aisle as everyone else tries to go around them in limited space. I wish they'd ban those things while inside the market!

 

[DerSchniffles]

I took Sugar on the bus and to the market the other day. Not a peep out of her, but she wasn't stressed out either. Super alert, looking around at everything.

I did have more people do double takes, and I could faintly hear (good) comments but only 2 people actually came to me and said anything, one being our produce vendor who thought it was awesome. Apparently someone at Pikes Place has a CAG that he brings and does tricks with as a street performer. I've never seen them, though.

Ive seen the guy with the CAG before. I have a picture with the 4 year old holding him. He loved it! Ive only seen him once but I dont make it down to pikes place all that often (im in bellingham).

 

[KatherineI]

I took Sugar on the bus and to the market the other day. Not a peep out of her, but she wasn't stressed out either. Super alert, looking around at everything.

I did have more people do double takes, and I could faintly hear (good) comments but only 2 people actually came to me and said anything, one being our produce vendor who thought it was awesome. Apparently someone at Pikes Place has a CAG that he brings and does tricks with as a street performer. I've never seen them, though.

Ive seen the guy with the CAG before. I have a picture with the 4 year old holding him. He loved it! Ive only seen him once but I dont make it down to pikes place all that often (im in bellingham).

I've been there loads of times, as I go there regularly, but I tend to go during the week and not on weekends. WAAAY less crowded and I can actually enjoy my trip. I've never seen him to my recollection, and that's something I'm sure I'd remember!

 

[azdesertrhino]

Where did you get Mac's wagon?

The wagon was ordered on line from K-Mart. The cage was custom built to fit the wagon.

We're working on some new ideas for transport for Mac.