MY THOUGHTS ON OUTDOOR FREEFLIGHT

For the safety of your parrots, please DO NOT freefly your parrots without proper training. Even a fully clipped parrot unrestrained outdoors is at risk. To learn more, subscribe to the freeflight list: email: Freeflight-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Why do I allow my parrots to fly outside?

I allow my parrots to fly outside because they’re birds. It's as simple as that and as complicated as that. Birds were created to fly. They are totally designed for flight. They fly for transportation. They fly for defense. They fly to find food. They fly for fun. They fly to see new things, to taste new thing, to destroy new things. Depriving them of this ability has come to feel tantamount to removing my legs or arms. I can no longer bring myself to do this to them.

I sincerely believe that my parrots would much rather live a short, joyful life flying free than a long, boring earthbound existence. Again, it’s as simple as that and as complicated as that. I would be happy if we had never taken parrots from their natural habitats. Or, that we had never taken their natural habitats from parrots. And while it’s not feasible to return mine to that habitat, this is the closest I can come to giving them back something of themselves.

From a perspective of health and mental/emotional well-being, the issue of exercise for our companion parrots has long been overlooked. The energy expenditure and aerobic exercise required to fly day in and day out is phenomenal. Everything about their physiology is uniquely attuned to this activity. And yet, many companion parrots get very little opportunity for strenuous exercise. They may get some exercise playing, but you’d be hard pressed to provide an environment where they get the kind of exercise that flying provides.

Think about it. The benefits of aerobic exercise in humans have long been studied. The proven affects include:

CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH - Aerobic exercise conditions the heart and lungs by increasing the oxygen available to the body and by enabling the heart to use oxygen more efficiently.

CONTROL OF BODY FAT - Aerobic exercise in conjunction with strength training and a proper diet will reduce body fat.

TONED MUSCLES AND INCREASED LEAN BODY MASS

DECREASED TENSION AND AID IN SLEEPING

LOWERED CHOLESTEROL - Exercise has a positive effect on cholesterol levels and composition.

SKELETAL STIMULATION AND RANGE OF MOTION - Research shows that human bones become weaker if they are not stressed and that exercise helps prevent bone calcium loss.

IMPROVED LYMPHATIC FLOW - The body's second circulation system, the lymphatic system, is an important part of its defense against disease and toxins. Movement of the lymphatic fluid toward the heart is partially dependent on muscular compression of the lymphatic vessels.

INCREASED IMMUNE-SYSTEM RESISTANCE - Exercise results in a general improvement in bodily function, combined with improved lymphatic low and increased immune hormonal balance.

REDUCING STRESS AND IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH - Exercise is an excellent stress reducer. Stress manifests itself in the form of muscular tension and hormonal imbalances. Exercise releases the tension in muscles and stimulates the hormonal system.

Physical activity can help to bring about both short and long term reductions in stress, enhancement of coping mechanisms, reduction in anxiety, depression and hostility, and increased general well-being and self-concept.

Admittedly research extending these benefits to psittacines has not been carried out. However, it is reasonable to conclude that flight, at the very least -- conditions heart and lungs and maintains aerobic capacity -- limits accumulation of body fat in adipose tissue and muscle (Fat in both depots is mobilized during avian flight. This is of particular interest in companion parrots with a predilection toward fatty tumors called lipomas, such as the Galah.) -- maintains mass in the relevant muscles -- provides psychological and visual stimulation and enrichment"

How it began

Years ago, I went to Cockatoo Downs to visit Chris Shank. I had read in The Companion Parrot Quarterly that she had ”freeflighted” Cockatoos, but assumed that she had some sort of trick-trained show like you see in zoos and animal parks. Much to my surprise immediately upon arrival I learned that this was not the case at all. All over the place, I saw beautiful Cockatoos flying around just being, well….. birds. It was so incredibly natural and right. I can’t tell you the emotions that passed through me. It was inconceivable that I would ever allow my own Cockatoos to fly free but I reveled in the experience of Cockatoo Downs and vowed to visit as often as I was welcome. Meanwhile, I kept my Cockatoos’ wing feathers responsibly clipped.

Several years passed and I adopted both a baby Citron-crested Cockatoo (Daisy) and a baby Galah (Gucci). Both came to me with their wing feathers clipped but, much to my surprise, both could still fly! So, I let them continue to fly around inside the house still never planning on outdoor flight. I really enjoyed watching their flight skills develop over time. As a game, I started teaching “recall” (to fly to me when I called) to Gucci Galah since it was a natural behavior for him. I used Clicker Training or Operant Conditioning to do this. Daisy, on the other hand, had no interest in flying to me at all but both quickly became highly skilled indoor flyers. I don’t know exactly when I started to consider Gucci as a candidate for outdoor freeflight. It was a thought that just evolved in my mind. I was definitely not comfortable with letting him fly outside in my neighborhood since I lived in the city. With Chris Shank’s agreement, I decided to let him first fly outside at Cockatoo Downs. I felt much more confident in a rural location already proven for freeflight and with Chris to give moral support.

Over the next year or so, I brought him with me in a carrier to Cockatoo Downs frequently so that he could become familiar with the territory. I also continued to work on his recall training and other flight skills development. Then one day, it just felt right so I opened the carrier and let him out. I was terrified but my instincts and all the preparation we had done told me it would be okay. And it was more than okay; it was wonderful! He did very, very well and we both had a great time. I took him up to Cockatoo Downs to fly whenever I could.

Eventually, I moved to some more rural property. For a year, Gucci Galah was the only parrot freeflying outdoors there. Meanwhile, I had stopped clipping all of my parrots’ wing feathers and dreamed about some day allowing them all the joys of freeflight. Since then, five more of my Cockatoos have joined Gucci in flying outdoors.

Training

These are the basic skills I worked on with my flyers prior to letting them fly outside. This process took about two years for each bird. I will elaborate on each of them in future articles.

Flight skills development

Stamina development

Recall training

Confidence in the great outdoors