entrancedbymyGCC wrote:But I think if a pet parrots ideal happy and healthy existence were a pyramid, flight would a small sliver at the top. Maybe 5%.
I disagree with you completely! Birds were made to fly! Their entire makeup is designed for flight: air sacs for breathing, light bones, fast heartbeat, and not to mention feathers!
And in the near two years we have had Jack (my parrotlet) he has been flighted for a year of that.... and with flight he has become a much different bird... for the better. He has become more vocal, more active, more playful and more affectionate. The difference is like night and day.
The highlight of his day is when he gets to dart around our apartment like a bullet. He goes nuts, singing, chirping and squealing with glee.
For an ideal and happy healthy existance, flight makes up way more then 5%!
Everything about them points to flight!
But that said, I do want to state my position here.
I am pro-flight, but also understanding that not all environments are flight safe. You really need to have your bird's safety in mind at all times. it's tricky living with flighted parrots. Everything can be dangerous and you really need to be on top of things.
And i also understand that some birds are difficult to deal with when flighted. Sometimes a clip is the only thing that works to get a bird under control.
Now, i do think that target and clicker training can go a long way, as evident by Michael's Kili.
but i do understand that not everyone can handle a flighted bird. And as much as I feel that bird's can have the best life with flight, I don't think someone should be denied a pet bird because they would choose to clip it. There is more to a bird's happiness then flight.
if someone is able to provide the bird with a large cage, plenty of toys and foraging and enrichment, as well as one on one out of cage time..... and undestands the fact that birds are noisy, messy and needy flock animals.... and is willing to commit to meeting those needs, then I think they should be able to get a bird.
perhaps I sound contradictory, as I started off my post saying birds are made for flight... and am now appearing to say it's ok to deny birds flight. I'm not, I'm saying that I believe birds are at their peak of happiness when allowed to fly.... but there is more to a bird's happiness than flight. Healthy varied diet, flockmates and foraging and enrichment for example are high up there on the list. If these and others are met, your bird can be wonderfully happy
I don't think we can deny people a pet bird just because they want to deny their birds flight. If we really want to talk about birds being truly happy.... perhaps they shouldn't be our pets. True happiness would be living wild and free, flying with their flockmates, and producing babies. They aren't meant to live in cages and be denied mates.