entrancedbymyGCC wrote:While they are "meant" to fly (as we are "meant" to be naked, barefoot and forage for our own food) nature didn't particularly have houses in mind.
...SOME things we do that aren't natural actually ARE better. Some are not. It's good to raise the question, but I worry that sometimes we don't really consider the answer but jump to a conclusion based on an arbitrary assumption that nature is kind.
While I understand some of the reasons you brought to mind, I definitely disagree with your analogy of comparing to humans. I strongly disagree. You have to understand a bit about bird anatomy to understand this. I'd say that 3/4 of flighted bird anatomy is built around flight. The oxygen exchange systems, the breast muscles, the body temperature, the brain, these are all optimized for flight performance through natural selection. Wearing clothes does not hurt but rather enhances our existence as human beings. Denying a parrot flight I would liken more to denying a person to use their legs until they atrophy or denying the use of arms. Imagine someone having their arms tied behind their back for their entire life. This is a more accurate comparison.
I perfectly well understand why many people would consider it inconvenient to have a flying bird in the house, however, it brings me to question (no offense to you, honestly... just a matter of discussion and philosophy) why people would want a bird at all then? I feel like a dog running around the house is a similar fact of life as a parrot flying about. Yes, we have invented wing clipping and similarly we have invented kennels. Would you advocate keeping a cat/dog in a kennel for 23 hours in a day? Our parrots have much less time to "roam" the house like terrestrial pets tend to have. Then on top of that, people clip their wings. So not only do they spend very little time out of cage, they can't move around very much when they are out. This is a major denial of exercise for an animal that is anatomically built for many hours of physical exertion per day. It's no wonder that they go crazy, develop phobias, feather plucking, aggression, etc.
I will admit that when I bought my parrot I didn't know what I was doing, hadn't really considered the flight options, and didn't plan to have her flighted or not either way. However, as I learned more about parrots and birds in general, I realized that flight is the only way. Keeping them caged for many hours at a time is bad enough but a fact of life for most of us who cannot afford a room or aviary for our parrots. However, not clipping and keeping an eye on them when they are out is the least I think we can do for them as parrot owners. And it's not that big of a sacrifice, believe me. I was worried that when Kili would fly that she would be all over the place and that I would no longer be able to interact with her. This couldn't be further from the truth. She uses her flight to get where she wants to go but then she spends a lot of time just doing her thing and it doesn't hurt our interaction. Heck, she uses her flight to come to me or follow me around most of the time. To get her more exercise I do a lot of recall flight training. Yesterday we did 40 recalls. At an average flight distance of 80 feet (40 feet there and 40 back), that's over half a mile of indoor flight I was able to give her. She's still missing some feathers so that gives her a heck of a work out.
Flight really stimulates their brain. There are so many split second decisions they have to make about steering and navigating around objects. And above all it's fun. Not just for the bird but for us. You can't imagine how much of a thrill it is to "fly your parrot" until you've done it.
While I will agree with you about a lot of natural things being less applicable in an unnatural environment, this is not one I can agree with. Pellets, cages, human interaction, and trick training are all unnatural but I believe they are necessary and provide significant value over trying to keep things natural for parrots in our home. It is my goal to discover everything I can about having a flighted parrot and share with you in order to make it as affordable, realistic, safe, and enjoyable as possible. I've overcome many obstacles for indoor freeflight and I understand that for other folks there could be many more. I hope that by working them out one at a time and having the information freely available that we can change owners minds and give parrots this chance.
The original question was "Regardless of your situation, preference, or capability, ideally do you think it is better for the parrot to not be clipped and be allowed to fly indoors?" This was not meant to be a debate about individual situations but if in theory parrots are better off flying indoors. Are you sure you don't think that (given ideal indoor circumstances) parrots are better off being indoor flighted? For their sake that is, not for ours. Our convenience and ability to handle them really needs to be a different discussion.