Advice on newly-flighted bird

[faysalitani]

Hey guys,

I have a 2 y.o. male Ekkie who's been clipped since he was a baby. I am considering letting his wings grow out and giving him that added bird-ness in his life However I worry about him as he doesn't know how to land yet. Also I want to make sure he has a place to fly freely on a regular basis.

I could do this several ways:

1. I have a basement that's mostly empty. Would it be a good place for him to learn how to fly properly? There arent that many obstacles and I can set up a couple of perches. It's about 15 x 25 ft. I live in a place with a three month winter that's pretty real so this would allow year-round play.

2. I can harness train him and then take him for outdoor flights. Let's just say this is a work in progress. Aviator was a major fail, Im trying the feather tether soon but my expectations are under control. This would be great but not without the risk of escape, raptors, etc.

3. I can build an outdoor aviary. I have about 20 x 30 ft to play with and I dont mind spending a bit of money. My main concern here is actually that he's a super-social bird, doesnt like being alone, and I dont know how well he'd take to long periods of time in an enclosure unattended (I cant be with him all the time!).

Soooo, just throwing these out there. Thoughts on pros and cons, based on your knowledge and experiences?

Thank you!


F

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Ok, so if he's been clipped before he even got a fledgling chance, then he'll needs to learn the basics. Like flapping wings and not falling. Some people start with just dropping their arm down with the bird on them to build up wing muscles (this is important and something clipped birds need to do). Then some people hold their birds over a bed and drop them there to get them to practice how to fall and catch themselves. Another way is to start target training and make the bird target from perch to perch, increasing the distance slowly each time (first they'll just walk over, then they'll hop, then they'll do flighted hops).

You have to figure out first how much flying abilities and muscle memory he has first before anything.


Next!



1. Your basement sounds awesome for a makeshift aviary to practice recall and target training in. I would definitely use this place once he learns how to fly again. It's safer than him falling onto sharp things that we as humans sometimes don't realise are a danger if falling from above. I don't have that kind of space, but we just practice going from room to room. And you'll probably find that your little guy will make his own circuits around the house if he wants. Sometimes Cairo just flies around, doing loops and darting around as if dodging an imaginary enemy.



2. I do this, but!! Huge disclaimer: I do not recommend this for newbies and especially not for birds who have not been trained well by experienced flyers. We use the Aviator harness. I would not recommend a feather tether for an ekkie - they're too smart and their beak is too strong, which means they can easily undo it. The Aviator is built in such a way also for flight in that the waist band slides around accordingly, unlike a feather tether, which would angle awkwardly when flying in a large circle and then doing a figure of 8.

Outdoors flying, even on a harness (you can check my profile or our instagram), comes with risks. Cairo was free-flight trained. He is solid on recall - even when he is hormonal and angry, he recalls to me.

The biggest thing for outdoor flight IS to be completely solid on recall. Not just in a home setting, but also in a variety of environments. Your bird also needs to learn safely how to navigate. It's easy to fly indoors, but it's another thing to handle gusts of wind.

Once you get the recall solid and basic flight down, your next concern should be about not just raptors but also crows, dogs, and humans. In addition, other things can spook birds - loud sounds, flashes of light, etc. A lot of birds whom their owners think are trained enough end up in trees, then get spooked off from there by local wild birds.

If you talk to free flight communities, they will tell you that you must be prepared to lose your bird. I've seen even well-trained birds who free-fly for years get lost. And when you lose your bird for a while, they run the risk of picking up wild diseases. My vet doesn't accept free-flying birds because it's happened to our local free-flying community. If your ekkie does manage to escape whatever harness, be prepared. Plus ekkies are infamous in the free-flying community for their non-monogamous ways, which means even if flying in a group, they're more inclined to fly off for a few days.

So hold off on this until your little guy is comfortable with flying in general, with a harness, and with practicing basic training outdoors.



3. This is entirely up to you. It also is up to you how long he spends in there - just during the daytime then come inside at night, just there for a few hours under supervision so you can train recall and so on, etc.

 

[faysalitani]

charmedbyekkie, thank you!

Alright to be more clear: he knows how to fly (I usually let his feathers grow out a bit before clipping) he just doesn't know how to land. Lol. What I mean is that 7 times out of 10 he doesn't stop in time before colliding with something. He usually recovers in an instant but I get scared for him anyway.

1. I think I will start here! So you're saying the perch hops would mitigate his chance of 'crashing', and then slowly increase the distance from there?

2. Interesting info. You mean there's a possibility of losing him outdoors if he's flighted even if I have him on a harness? No I don't think my heart would survive that

3. Definitely not leaving him outside all day, I'd miss him too much! Just for a few hours to get some sun and exercise...

 

[chris-md]

Co-signing to charmed here.

I was in your position, started recall training precisely because of Parker’s lack of ability to land. We had several terrifying crashes before I took action.

When done properly, the act of recall training teaches him how to land. It’s because you start with short, STEPPABLE distances and expand that distance over time. He will, by virtue of practicing small hops, then short 2 foot flights, learn the mechanics of landing automatically.

 

[faysalitani]

Thanks! May I ask, did you have him hop onto your hand/finger, or did you hold out a perch for him?

F

 

[charmedbyekkie]

You mean there's a possibility of losing him outdoors if he's flighted even if I have him on a harness?

There is always a risk when taking any bird (flighted or clipped) outside. I have seen harness lines snap, leg chains break (I live in Asia currently), etc. And the birds fly off. It can happen mid-flight, and it can happen when perching. I personally witnessed a chained bird who was in the middle of growing out a wing clip nonchalantly bite to break his chain and fly off, getting lost for 2 days before he landed in someone's home. The bird in question wasn't recall trained well enough (like I mentioned, it's one thing to recall at home, it's another thing entirely to recall in another location - you basically have to act as if it's a new trick/training), and too often people keep flying their birds without reiterating the recall aspect.

Naturally, we decrease the possibility of losing birds by having them wear harnesses, constantly checking the harnesses for wear'n'tear, and training them to recall, but Murphy's Law can prevail sometimes.

 

[faysalitani]

That makes perfect sense.

I need to think a bit more about this then. Perhaps either I flight him and keep him indoors and an outdoor aviary, or I get my harness training right and take him out but keep him clipped (I know there's still a chance he gets away anyway). I can't bear the thought of losing him. Either way I want to give him some new enrichment.

I take your point about the feather tether but honestly I tried the aviator, took it slow, etc. My bird also doesn't mind my handling him either. He wore it but was visibly unhappy and would hate my guts for days afterward. He also despised putting it on and off. The collar in particular was difficult for him and I like that the feather tether wraps around his head rather than goes over.

If he's clipped does that make the feather tether a bit more acceptable you think by mitigating the risk?

EDIT: I ordered the aviator one size up and it arrives in a few days along with the feather tether. Ill try it and see if it's any better but I doubt it.

 

[munami]

Like charmedbyekkie said, no matter what, things can happen. No matter what, even if your bird is clipped, say a strong gust of wind comes by, the bird could get swept away and the line could snap. It's just a what if scenario but it's good to fully understand the risks before deciding.

If you're insistent on taking him outside for him to see the sights but you're too afraid of losing him, you could get a Pak O Bird or some sort of bird carrier with a window. It's not the same of course but some birds love it.


Weigh the pros and cons of every option.

 

[faysalitani]

Thank you! You're right, of course. I need to keep that in mind. I appreciate it.

I have a Pak O Bird He does like it yes but only as long as I'm moving and he has stuff to look at and process. Otherwise he quickly gets very antsy and starts grumbling so it's not really good for hanging around or a leisurely time. Lol.

I think it's a great piece of kit to have but not quite the same as letting him bask in the sun and wind and sights of the world. My philosophy is take allow him to live as 'bird-ishly' as possible without endangering him if that makes sense (I think fully flying him outdoors even with a harness probably passes that limit for me). Of course that doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about. Hence my questions

 

[ParrotGenie]

Before you train your bird to fly as they have to learn this, as well as had to at first take jump and also to land, as he was clipped likely before fully fledged. You have to get him to a vet and have blood work whole nine yards done, so you can see where he vitamin deficiency as well and any other potential issues and correct it. As you don't want him to have heart problems and etc. Then you have to exercise him for a while like having him on your arm and going up and down, so he flaps and and do this for a while building up wing and chest muscles, then use to training T stands and have him go back and forth target training him using a favorite treat, also is a good exercise and slowly move them farther and farther apart to increase distance for a while. Then you can slowly work on recall training and putting him on higher surfaces and coming down and teaching him to land while getting him use to a whistle, as a whistle can be heard far away, if you choice to free flight him down the road.

It is important you do the steps above first indoors and then outdoor get him use to environment first use a carrier at first and sit outside with him and get him adapted to noises as door slamming, other animals outside and cars and other strange noises.

I never forget one story where I at times let next door Neighbors baby sit birds as she had birds for a while herself. I came to pickup birds forgetting to close door behind me, that was by accident, Baby my U2 was out of cage and decide to fly to tree and she thought she was gone how are we going to get her down. Then after a while I let her know she recalled trained and she was amazed to see a bird would come back on command, as she always had her birds clipped.

 

[faysalitani]

Thanks very much! I will keep those directions in mind if he is going to be flying. I appreciate the advice on T-Stands too.

 

[faysalitani]

It is important you do the steps above first indoors and then outdoor get him use to environment first use a carrier at first and sit outside with him and get him adapted to noises as door slamming, other animals outside and cars and other strange noises.

Thanks! He is well adapted to the outside. Spends lots of time in the Pak O Bird and in a small cage too

 

[faysalitani]

I never forget one story where I at times let next door Neighbors baby sit birds as she had birds for a while herself. I came to pickup birds forgetting to close door behind me, that was by accident, Baby my U2 was out of cage and decide to fly to tree and she thought she was gone how are we going to get her down. Then after a while I let her know she recalled trained and she was amazed to see a bird would come back on command, as she always had her birds clipped.

That's amazing. I don't know if I could become confident enough to do this. But Im impressed.