That's why I stick to a pair of budgies, they can 'free' fly in my living room all day without a worry and live active flying lives with as much natural behavior as possible in a living room. I only lock them up to go sunbathing and at night time.
I wish I could free fly but I dont have large open spaces for my birds. I would also be a nervous wreck free flying. My Cockatiel Bubbles was recalled trained while in my house but unfortunately he got out of my house on October 22 this year. I saw him flying and he went higher and higher and the wind took him away. I am so distraught that I haven't gotten him back yet. I am still hoping that something will contact me as I have over 100 flyers up on telephone poles and have posted everywhere that I can think of.
Unfortunately, most of the smaller Australian parrots have a reputation for being permanent departures once they get out. It's believed this is due to their evolved nomadic nature and reliance on maintaining contact calls with family, rather than having an identified 'home range'. When we lived in the city, it was not uncommon to hear individual cockatiel calls, then see someone's pet bird flying along the creek line looking for other birds. Just occasionally, you'd see a little yellow cockatiel hanging out with a flock of wild galahs in the park. Parrots like kakarikis, on the other hand almost always hang around and actively try to get back into their house or aviary, rather than fly off in a panic. You won't see that with neophemas, red-rumps, Bourkes or princess parrots!
I'm so sorry! I know, this is crushing. My Cockatiel got out once years ago. We spent HOURS and hours looking and calling. We got super-lucky because we found her. To avoid this, or deter it, we have the lanai screens on the front and back of the house. This way there's a "catch" area so that the birds can't fly straight out. And yet... last year my friend walked out of the house with Blue on her shoulder (Quaker). We got so lucky! Blue is so tame that she hung around- it took a while to find her (she was freaked out!) but we did and got her home safely. Thinking about you, hope you get Bubbles back home!
That's interesting that parrots like Kakarikis will stay close by-- I haven't lost many, but they get scared and fly. You blink and you have no idea how far or in which direction they've gone...
@@ParrotBliss Yes. I've had kakarikis for decades now and I've never lost one, though I've had plenty of escapes: especially when I had walk-in aviary full of them (they'd crawl all over me and try to leave by hiding on my clothes). I've only had two escape at the farm; one when we first arrived (he was out overnight then flew right to my feet in the orchard the next morning) and Maude the other day. I believe King parrots and others with a defined home range will often do the same, provided they know what outside their house looks like..
this video deserves more exposure... i always tell ppl not to free fly their parrots (especially the small and middle ones) after seeing so many tragedies There was one guy in china who keep free flying its cockatiel until it got prey and eaten by a hawk or something else He still does it and post his videos online (i only watched 2 and i reported.. but the website did nothing to shut it)
Yes, I wouldn’t dream of free-flying small or medium birds- and people really have to research and know what they are doing- because the bird pays the price-
@@ParrotBliss Yeah, there are very, very, very few situations where free-flying cockatiels can be done in good conscience, I think. Sooner or later, it always ends in tears. In the wild, they rely on their contrasting colouration, enduring speed & agility and the protection of the flock to confuse and evade predators. Individual pet birds typically have only one or none of these attributes.
In response to free flying everyday, a lot of people that free fly have enclosures like batting cages. And, like you we have hawks, eagles and other predators. To me, a nervous pet owner, it just isn’t worth the risk.
I would love to free fly my IRN, but I think there are just to many dangers associated with it. My Boy flew away about 3 years ago, but I did manage to get him back, early the next day, he spent the night in the tree, across from our house, my boy is very familiar with the area around where I live and think that’s probably the only reason I was able to get Tim back, he flew home, by him, he was freaked out by all the noise and is probably why I couldn’t get him in that night, I was able to get him to fly down from the tree to me at about 6 o’clock the next morning, when it was quiet. Nearly loosing him, scared the life out of me and pray I never have to go through that again, luckily he is now re call trained and we have an amazing bond, plus, I think he cared himself silly, that I don’t think he would do it again, but am.not willing to take any chances and I know for sure, he would never survive in the wild . I love my boy more than I could have ever imagined 🥰❤️🙏
I know what you mean-- yes! That's how I feel. I know the risks and they are far too high for me. Especially because I can let mine fly in the back lanai. So why risk their lives? No thank you! Your boy is lucky to have you!
@ Aww thanks, that’s very kind of you, I just do the best I can to train him and give him the best life I can and make sure he knows where home is, incase it happens again. I decided right from day one, that I was going to make sure my boy is re call trained and can decent fly from places that are really high (the best I can do any way) and thankfully he is an incredible flyer and d had know problems. I very much know that I was lucky/blessed to get him back and boy am I glad that I have taken the time to do the training, I wash more people would, it’s so very sad hearing about all the birds that go missing 😕
That is AWESOME - and it's not the same as the great outdoors, but I'm not convinced that they care. They have good lives :) and can fly. Does it get better? :)
I would love to be alble to free-fly a larger bird. I have oodles of space and line of sight for miles in every direction; but where I live, the predator ratio is just too high. Last month, we had 'The Great Aussie Bird Count'; the largest annual citizen science project in the country, which involves counting all the birds you see in 20 minutes each day. Every day of the count, I saw wedge-tailed eagles, little eagles, brown falcons, brown goshawks, collared sparrowhawks and Australian ravens; all capable of taking down parrots and all hungry for a slow, tame parrot with underdeveloped predator-evasion skills. Free flying here is just not something I can justify.
Wow! I didn't realize you had some many predator birds! And they can spot a tame parrot -- probably more than-- a mile away! Even walking my parrots around the block on my shoulder is sometimes scary. Every now and then we see a hawk who makes me feel like they are stalking the bird on my shoulder...
@@ParrotBliss They can absolutely spot a tame bird.... even if it's local to the area. A few years back, I left Rax in his cage under an elm tree for just a few minutes when I went to get a drink. Inside 2 minutes he was screaming his head off at a brown goshawk that was trying to grab him with its talons through the bars of his cage. It's easy to see his wing isn't quite right and that goshawk was going to have corella for lunch if it got the chance..... and Rax isn't some little defenceless bird!
I think the question should be" why would I free-fly my parrots" vs "why don't i free-fly them", there are a lot of dangers to free-flying and it requires tons of training, practice, and must be consistent, someone has to be very experienced in order to free-fly, and know what they're doing. I'm not against free-flying I just think it's something that shouldn't be so normalized and requires a lot of careful training, work, and experience.
Mosquitos suck, but they don’t bother parrots. In neighborhoods, the bugs aren’t terrible. When I first moved here and asked about the ants, my friend said, “It’s Florida, you get used to them.” But they went away. Hot, humid, mosquitos and hurricanes 🌀- but I wouldn’t live anywhere else!
@@ParrotBliss With as many birds as you have, I wouldn’t bother. You give them plenty of room to explore and fly anyway. Free flying is super risky. I would feel bad free flying one bird and not the others. Your birds are happy and do not know any better. I have 4 birds but the biggest one is an Indian Ringneck so no free flying. I also have cats that I keep indoors because we have a 24 hour cat curfew. They are happy and dont know any better. Can’t say the same for cats that are used to being outdoors though.
Thank you for doing a video on my request. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
No problem 😊 Absolutely!
That's why I stick to a pair of budgies, they can 'free' fly in my living room all day without a worry and live active flying lives with as much natural behavior as possible in a living room. I only lock them up to go sunbathing and at night time.
You are smart- that's very true. Easier to keep small birds flying at home. So much more fun, safer and on and on! You have lucky budgies!
I wish I could free fly but I dont have large open spaces for my birds. I would also be a nervous wreck free flying.
My Cockatiel Bubbles was recalled trained while in my house but unfortunately he got out of my house on October 22 this year. I saw him flying and he went higher and higher and the wind took him away. I am so distraught that I haven't gotten him back yet.
I am still hoping that something will contact me as I have over 100 flyers up on telephone poles and have posted everywhere that I can think of.
So sorry about Bubbles!
Unfortunately, most of the smaller Australian parrots have a reputation for being permanent departures once they get out. It's believed this is due to their evolved nomadic nature and reliance on maintaining contact calls with family, rather than having an identified 'home range'. When we lived in the city, it was not uncommon to hear individual cockatiel calls, then see someone's pet bird flying along the creek line looking for other birds. Just occasionally, you'd see a little yellow cockatiel hanging out with a flock of wild galahs in the park. Parrots like kakarikis, on the other hand almost always hang around and actively try to get back into their house or aviary, rather than fly off in a panic. You won't see that with neophemas, red-rumps, Bourkes or princess parrots!
I'm so sorry! I know, this is crushing. My Cockatiel got out once years ago. We spent HOURS and hours looking and calling. We got super-lucky because we found her. To avoid this, or deter it, we have the lanai screens on the front and back of the house. This way there's a "catch" area so that the birds can't fly straight out. And yet... last year my friend walked out of the house with Blue on her shoulder (Quaker). We got so lucky! Blue is so tame that she hung around- it took a while to find her (she was freaked out!) but we did and got her home safely.
Thinking about you, hope you get Bubbles back home!
That's interesting that parrots like Kakarikis will stay close by-- I haven't lost many, but they get scared and fly. You blink and you have no idea how far or in which direction they've gone...
@@ParrotBliss Yes. I've had kakarikis for decades now and I've never lost one, though I've had plenty of escapes: especially when I had walk-in aviary full of them (they'd crawl all over me and try to leave by hiding on my clothes).
I've only had two escape at the farm; one when we first arrived (he was out overnight then flew right to my feet in the orchard the next morning) and Maude the other day. I believe King parrots and others with a defined home range will often do the same, provided they know what outside their house looks like..
this video deserves more exposure... i always tell ppl not to free fly their parrots (especially the small and middle ones) after seeing so many tragedies
There was one guy in china who keep free flying its cockatiel until it got prey and eaten by a hawk or something else
He still does it and post his videos online (i only watched 2 and i reported.. but the website did nothing to shut it)
Yes, I wouldn’t dream of free-flying small or medium birds- and people really have to research and know what they are doing- because the bird pays the price-
@@ParrotBliss Yeah, there are very, very, very few situations where free-flying cockatiels can be done in good conscience, I think. Sooner or later, it always ends in tears. In the wild, they rely on their contrasting colouration, enduring speed & agility and the protection of the flock to confuse and evade predators. Individual pet birds typically have only one or none of these attributes.
I love the idea of it, but I could never do it. It's just too risky and scary.
Ditto
In response to free flying everyday, a lot of people that free fly have enclosures like batting cages. And, like you we have hawks, eagles and other predators. To me, a nervous pet owner, it just isn’t worth the risk.
And it is a risk- I think most people get that, especially when they are deeply bonded ❤️
I would love to free fly my IRN, but I think there are just to many dangers associated with it. My Boy flew away about 3 years ago, but I did manage to get him back, early the next day, he spent the night in the tree, across from our house, my boy is very familiar with the area around where I live and think that’s probably the only reason I was able to get Tim back, he flew home, by him, he was freaked out by all the noise and is probably why I couldn’t get him in that night, I was able to get him to fly down from the tree to me at about 6 o’clock the next morning, when it was quiet. Nearly loosing him, scared the life out of me and pray I never have to go through that again, luckily he is now re call trained and we have an amazing bond, plus, I think he cared himself silly, that I don’t think he would do it again, but am.not willing to take any chances and I know for sure, he would never survive in the wild . I love my boy more than I could have ever imagined 🥰❤️🙏
I know what you mean-- yes! That's how I feel. I know the risks and they are far too high for me. Especially because I can let mine fly in the back lanai. So why risk their lives? No thank you! Your boy is lucky to have you!
@ Aww thanks, that’s very kind of you, I just do the best I can to train him and give him the best life I can and make sure he knows where home is, incase it happens again. I decided right from day one, that I was going to make sure my boy is re call trained and can decent fly from places that are really high (the best I can do any way) and thankfully he is an incredible flyer and d had know problems. I very much know that I was lucky/blessed to get him back and boy am I glad that I have taken the time to do the training, I wash more people would, it’s so very sad hearing about all the birds that go missing 😕
Our birds are fully flighted i dont free fly them but they do have full freedom to fly around the house
That is AWESOME - and it's not the same as the great outdoors, but I'm not convinced that they care. They have good lives :) and can fly. Does it get better? :)
I would love to be alble to free-fly a larger bird. I have oodles of space and line of sight for miles in every direction; but where I live, the predator ratio is just too high. Last month, we had 'The Great Aussie Bird Count'; the largest annual citizen science project in the country, which involves counting all the birds you see in 20 minutes each day. Every day of the count, I saw wedge-tailed eagles, little eagles, brown falcons, brown goshawks, collared sparrowhawks and Australian ravens; all capable of taking down parrots and all hungry for a slow, tame parrot with underdeveloped predator-evasion skills. Free flying here is just not something I can justify.
Wow! I didn't realize you had some many predator birds! And they can spot a tame parrot -- probably more than-- a mile away!
Even walking my parrots around the block on my shoulder is sometimes scary. Every now and then we see a hawk who makes me feel like they are stalking the bird on my shoulder...
@@ParrotBliss They can absolutely spot a tame bird.... even if it's local to the area. A few years back, I left Rax in his cage under an elm tree for just a few minutes when I went to get a drink. Inside 2 minutes he was screaming his head off at a brown goshawk that was trying to grab him with its talons through the bars of his cage. It's easy to see his wing isn't quite right and that goshawk was going to have corella for lunch if it got the chance..... and Rax isn't some little defenceless bird!
I could never free flight my birds. Too many escape stories
Here, here!
I think the question should be" why would I free-fly my parrots" vs "why don't i free-fly them", there are a lot of dangers to free-flying and it requires tons of training, practice, and must be consistent, someone has to be very experienced in order to free-fly, and know what they're doing. I'm not against free-flying I just think it's something that shouldn't be so normalized and requires a lot of careful training, work, and experience.
I agree
Living in Florida how do you deal with bugs. How to keep all the bugs out without toxic insecticide
Mosquitos suck, but they don’t bother parrots. In neighborhoods, the bugs aren’t terrible. When I first moved here and asked about the ants, my friend said, “It’s Florida, you get used to them.” But they went away. Hot, humid, mosquitos and hurricanes 🌀- but I wouldn’t live anywhere else!
Parrots won’t fly down? What? That’s ridiculous. I do free fly my bird and she will fly straight down out of some very tall trees.
That's because you trained her to right? It takes a lot of time and effort to train one bird let alone 20+ birds.
I've only lost 2 or 3 small birds outside - they stay by the house but I've never had them fly down. I think it's wonderful that yours does.
Yes - but even one bird, they have to learn to fly down, learn to not fly far away... not easy
@@ParrotBliss With as many birds as you have, I wouldn’t bother. You give them plenty of room to explore and fly anyway. Free flying is super risky. I would feel bad free flying one bird and not the others. Your birds are happy and do not know any better. I have 4 birds but the biggest one is an Indian Ringneck so no free flying. I also have cats that I keep indoors because we have a 24 hour cat curfew. They are happy and dont know any better. Can’t say the same for cats that are used to being outdoors though.