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Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

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Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby Arshia » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:24 pm

Many videos I see on youtube show people doing this.

This is one example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... gz_No&NR=1
Here is another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x5TqZs7 ... re=related

Have you ever tried it? Are birds smart enough to realize that the water isn't for swimming intuitively?
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby pennyandrocky » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:32 am

i did outdoor freeflight with my :amazon: not near water though only in my own backyard.i would not do it again.i don't see a problem with water but the first video with the strong wind is crazy if there was a chance of wind i would keep him in his outdoor cage.i didn't want him to be carried off by the wind.i never lost him,but now i know better hearing stories about parrots being attacked by preditors.
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby liz » Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:09 pm

Free flying is beautiful to see and I am sure the birds love it. My fear is a preditor in the air that they don't have they instincts or ability to get away from it. Can you even imagine how awful it would be to see your baby attacked in the air and there was nothing you could do to help.

We have red tailed hawks in our area. Myrtle is probably the same weight but would never survive an attack. Seeing such an awful thing would be like ripping my heart out and running over it with a truck. The sight would stay in my mind for the rest of my life.

Preditors will attack. My Chick Chick was playing in the back yard after the dogs came in for the evening. She did not come in that night even though I went out with a flash light and looked for her. The next morning I saw her through the kitchen window. She came out from under the shed and was trying to climb the steps. The dogs were with her. I though she was sick and ran out to get her. A hawk had grabbed her back but she was too heavy to lift. He ripped her back of from the neck to tail and down to the muscle. Even the tissue was ripped out from between the muscles.
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby Shelby » Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:17 pm

First of all, birds can't really swim. Most birds seem to prefer their bathwater coming down vertically in a shower, or in a shallow dish.

I have been reading up on freeflight and it's pretty intriguing. I haven't taken a course yet, but I plan to in a few years to better understand the parrot psychology -- though I probably wouldn't ever put the flight skills to use outside....

The first video seems as though the macaws are used to flying in wind and they appear confident. However, I saw seabirds out over the water. Seagulls are bullies but it could have been another species of bird. Part of freeflying safely is not taking your birds out when you can see other birds that could be potential predators. A couple of times, the macaws skimmed down pretty low over the water, and sharks have been known to jump up and grab seabirds. :o

The second video with the lovebird had me biting my nails. Lovebirds (and other small parrots like cockatiels/parrotlets/etc.) are hawk bait. Free flight is much safer with something larger like an amazon, one of the large cockatoos, or a large macaw.
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby liz » Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:58 pm

Shelby wrote:First of all, birds can't really swim. Most birds seem to prefer their bathwater coming down vertically in a shower, or in a shallow dish.

I have been reading up on freeflight and it's pretty intriguing. I haven't taken a course yet, but I plan to in a few years to better understand the parrot psychology -- though I probably wouldn't ever put the flight skills to use outside....

The first video seems as though the macaws are used to flying in wind and they appear confident. However, I saw seabirds out over the water. Seagulls are bullies but it could have been another species of bird. Part of freeflying safely is not taking your birds out when you can see other birds that could be potential predators. A couple of times, the macaws skimmed down pretty low over the water, and sharks have been known to jump up and grab seabirds. :o

The second video with the lovebird had me biting my nails. Lovebirds (and other small parrots like cockatiels/parrotlets/etc.) are hawk bait. Free flight is much safer with something larger like an amazon, one of the large cockatoos, or a large macaw.





My Chick Chick was 5 pounds. If a hawk grabbed her they would easily get an Amazon. A Screech Owl kept slamming into my sunroom window trying to get my cockatiels. Our birds are prey.
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby Shelby » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:05 pm

liz wrote:My Chick Chick was 5 pounds. If a hawk grabbed her they would easily get an Amazon. A Screech Owl kept slamming into my sunroom window trying to get my cockatiels. Our birds are prey.

I should have said "it's safer with a large bird such as a brightly colored macaw which has been specifically trained for outdoor freeflight". There is A LOT of training which goes into being able to safely freefly outside, and part of that is teaching them flight skills and building stamina. It's still very risky but with proper training you can minimize some of the risks.

If you're interested, here's an interview with Chris Biro (outdoor freeflier who flies several macaws and a flock of sun conures, to name a few) on the question "Have you ever lost a parrot?" The rest of his freeflying interview is also very interesting and he plainly lays out some of the risks involved.
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Re: Is it okay to free-fly a parrot near water?

Postby Fportilla77 » Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:41 pm

As long as it's fully flighted.. I don't see why.
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