SilverSage
New member
- Sep 14, 2013
- 5,937
- 94
- Parrots
- Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, got a bit over disturbed there. Let's start with the basics; HAND FEEDING YOUR OWN BIRD IS A PRACTICE PUSHED BY SLEEZY LAZY GREEDY BREEDERS AND STORES WHO WOULD RATHER PUT THE RISK AND EXPENSE ON YOU.
it DOES NOT mean the bird will be more bonded to you, in fact often it means the opposite! Think about it, when a baby bird leaves the nest, he puts emotional and physical distance between himself and his parents. If you feed him yourself, YOU are the one he "outgrows" just like humans who want to move on, find mates, friends, etc. we may still love our parents, but we are independent from them. In parrots this is VERY evident in the Indian Raingnecks in particular. So hand feeding your own bird, in my opinion as a parrot lover and breeder, would damage your flight recall chances if it did anything at all.
HAND FEEDING ITSELF IS NOT EVEN NECESSARY FOR A TAME OR TRAINABLE BIRD! In fact, many birds have their mental capacities DAMAGED by incorrect feeding, weaning, fledging, and socializing (or lack there of) by inexperienced hand feeders, or people who just don't care, so PLEASE RUN AWAY from a breeder who even suggests you should feed your own bird. Even if they will do it for you, that indicates they care more about the money than about the bird which is NOT the way you want a parrot raised, especially one that you want to free fly.
In addition to listening to everything everyone else has said, here is a tip; buy from a breeder who insists on fully fledging their birds; this doesn't mean the bird just knows how to fly, but that is is a very good flier because he was allowed to fully developed the skill AT THE RIGHT STAGE OF MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. Poor flying ability is a death sentence to a free flying bird, and it is best if they learn to fly as chicks during the proper time, just as it is best for humans to learn to walk as toddlers not adults. Adults may indeed learn to walk, but will never quite have the skill of a human who learned at the right time. Fully flighted abundance weaned flock weaned birds, as a rule (there are always exceptions) will have the best chance of being confident, smart, excellent fliers with low startle factor; the kind of bird who tries to taste something new instead of flying away from it. Also choose a species that isn't commonly labled as "shy" or "timid."
I know that wing clipping is standard, and I'm not here to argue with that, but I wish I could show you two clipped birds of the same age, species, and gender living in the same home; one who was fully fledged, and one who was clipped before he had been flying for at least two months with lots of opportunity to fly. You would be astounded. If you are serious about flying your new bird, you owe it to that bird to do everything you can to keep him safe, and that goes far deeper than simply the training you do yourself and goes into picking the actual bird. Choosing the wrong bird for this kind of thing greatly increases the chance of the bird dying.
Best of luck, I am excited for you! Free flying is a dream of mine as well, but like I said there are a lot of factors even beyond training. Keep us updated!
Sorry, got a bit over disturbed there. Let's start with the basics; HAND FEEDING YOUR OWN BIRD IS A PRACTICE PUSHED BY SLEEZY LAZY GREEDY BREEDERS AND STORES WHO WOULD RATHER PUT THE RISK AND EXPENSE ON YOU.
it DOES NOT mean the bird will be more bonded to you, in fact often it means the opposite! Think about it, when a baby bird leaves the nest, he puts emotional and physical distance between himself and his parents. If you feed him yourself, YOU are the one he "outgrows" just like humans who want to move on, find mates, friends, etc. we may still love our parents, but we are independent from them. In parrots this is VERY evident in the Indian Raingnecks in particular. So hand feeding your own bird, in my opinion as a parrot lover and breeder, would damage your flight recall chances if it did anything at all.
HAND FEEDING ITSELF IS NOT EVEN NECESSARY FOR A TAME OR TRAINABLE BIRD! In fact, many birds have their mental capacities DAMAGED by incorrect feeding, weaning, fledging, and socializing (or lack there of) by inexperienced hand feeders, or people who just don't care, so PLEASE RUN AWAY from a breeder who even suggests you should feed your own bird. Even if they will do it for you, that indicates they care more about the money than about the bird which is NOT the way you want a parrot raised, especially one that you want to free fly.
In addition to listening to everything everyone else has said, here is a tip; buy from a breeder who insists on fully fledging their birds; this doesn't mean the bird just knows how to fly, but that is is a very good flier because he was allowed to fully developed the skill AT THE RIGHT STAGE OF MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. Poor flying ability is a death sentence to a free flying bird, and it is best if they learn to fly as chicks during the proper time, just as it is best for humans to learn to walk as toddlers not adults. Adults may indeed learn to walk, but will never quite have the skill of a human who learned at the right time. Fully flighted abundance weaned flock weaned birds, as a rule (there are always exceptions) will have the best chance of being confident, smart, excellent fliers with low startle factor; the kind of bird who tries to taste something new instead of flying away from it. Also choose a species that isn't commonly labled as "shy" or "timid."
I know that wing clipping is standard, and I'm not here to argue with that, but I wish I could show you two clipped birds of the same age, species, and gender living in the same home; one who was fully fledged, and one who was clipped before he had been flying for at least two months with lots of opportunity to fly. You would be astounded. If you are serious about flying your new bird, you owe it to that bird to do everything you can to keep him safe, and that goes far deeper than simply the training you do yourself and goes into picking the actual bird. Choosing the wrong bird for this kind of thing greatly increases the chance of the bird dying.
Best of luck, I am excited for you! Free flying is a dream of mine as well, but like I said there are a lot of factors even beyond training. Keep us updated!
