Outside Time for some natural sunlight

[Wolf]

Whether you decide to teach her to fly outside or even inside with the harness on or not is in many way sort of a moot point as it is in my opinion a safety measure more than anything else. You just never know if or when something unexpected might occur that causes her to fly. And as a safety measure it is also recommended that you clip the leash to your body instead of relying on holding it in your hand, so that if something does cause her to fly unexpectantly that you don't inadvertently jerk the leash.

Sounds like you had a great first outing with her and her harness.

[seagoatdeb]

She flys a lot inside, and has taken to flying on to the curtain rod, even though I made her a nice high rope connecting her hanging dining room toys that was just as high as the curtain rod, but she is using it to sneak onto the top of my dining room cabinet and going to the back to try to chew it up.....

it is pretty funny watching the two of them fly. If one flys the other does too. So it is always two parrots on the wing...lol.. Sometimes she flys, right to where Sunny was sitting, if she thinks he is being to mushy with me for too long. If he perches on the top of my chair she will land on my chest with a big thump, claiming me as her territory. She sure is heavy for such a small parrot....lol

I thought to give the harness a rest today, and they went out in cages so Sunny could get some nice time outside too. It was overcast so no sun, but nice and warm and lots of sparrows and magpies in the yard today for them to call back and forth to, and some nice pieces of apple, to chew on.

[Pajarita]

I probably wont work on her flying outside with it on, because she gets lots of flight in the house, so its for her to have outside time without having to be in a cage.

I think that is the best way of using a harness - as a safety feature for their enjoyment of sunshine.

[galeriagila]

I'd like some feedback on a related lighting issue.

How do you all regulate the number of hours your birds receive daily?
I have always just gone by the number of hours of natural daylight. I don't think much about it... when the sun comes up, the Rickeybird's TV comes on and his cage cover is pulled back and he gets his morning water change and greens and the day begins. At sundown, his day is over. He has his own room with a big wall of windows, so this works out. His moults seem healthy and regular to me... full moult (including flight feathers, tail) in late summer, just body/head feathers around December.

[seagoatdeb]

Because mine are in the living room and sometimes i cant go to sleep early, I am a night person. and i only sleep 5-6 hours..lol..i do probably different than most people. i have made a few hanging toys that have dark places for them to sleep when we are still up and can also keep the light off in that corner of the room so they get darkness. I then move them to their cages when I go to bed. I have blinds that can let in a lot of light in one position so i leave those open, so they get the morning light and early sun. Gaugan has always been afraid of being in a cage with a cover on it, so I cant cover her, so I came up with a way to give her darkness. Of course Sunny wants the same as Gagan, so he gets the same.

[galeriagila]

Thanks for all that!
And they moult just fine, I figure. At same time? Just curious!
Curious when everybody's birds moult, in fact!

[seagoatdeb]

Parrots that are very healthy often moult only once a year, just before the breeding time. But depending on what kind of light you have they may moult more times than that. They usually lose half their feathers, so all feathers are replaced on a two year cycle. if you move with a parrot or have a new parrot and lighting changes and diet changes, they may have more than one moult a year. I am wondering if the climate changes will have an effect on parrots moulting.

[galeriagila]

Welllll, the Rickeybird and I spent our first 15 years together in New Mexico... the second 15 in Ohio... I just always went with the natural outdoor light schedule. And he has always done the body/head (no flights/tail) around Christmas, and the big total moult around June!

[seagoatdeb]

yeah it doesnt matter what the info says on parrots they dont read books and they have their own schedules.....lol... Gaugan moults once a year, except for when i moved here she moulted for longer, but it was a big change in elevation, from sea level to mountains, and a lot more sun and heat here. Sunny is only a year old, and he did a complete moult instead of just his juvenille one. That may be because he was moved from the coast too, and given a different diet.

[Wolf]

My birds usually molt after breeding season and not before it. I use the natural lighting from outside all year long, they are exposed to any light from outside from when the sky begins to lighten until it gets full dark and even then any moonlight that comes in. They evolved to respond to the natural light and that is what I try to provide them with. Except for the full spectrum light that I use on overcast days they don't use any artificial lighting.