Can I tie a fishing line to his band?

[Sadieladie1994]

Mare, in my mind I would think it makes a difference of location of where we live. I picture a more remote area for you vs being in the city which might have other distractins or people collecting birds. Could this make a difference in how he returns to you? Just a thought.

 

[Mare]

It was so scary Shanlung, at the time I didn't see the beauty in it! I was getting ready to put on my backpack with water in it, to make a cross country hike! Now, when I see him fly, there is such beauty in it, I love watching him fly. He is such a goofus while trying to get around inside a tree, stumbling, half falling then catching himself, just to hang upside down to catch the branch below him, rather hilarious, really. While in flight, you would never guess it was the same bird!

Yes Peggy we do live remotely and I don't think we would have attempted this with Amigo if living in a city, actually, I know this. I don't know if this makes a difference in how he would return, or not, just don't know. On a different forum, someone had posted something from Craigslist, an owner of a free flying bird living somewhere San Diego area, had her bird not come home and was asking that if anyone had her bird, to please let it go so's it could come home. This person that started the post was like, "yeah right! What kind of idiot would allow their bird to fly free like this, anyways?" This bird had flown this way for more than a year. I had to chime in, (naturally!), with,,,if someone had this bird and would cut it loose, it would find it's way home, especially because he had been doing it for so long.
Living in the city with a bird that flys freely would definitely be more hazardous.

 

[birdlady]

I would definitely not rely on a strong bond and assume even with training that he would come back...too many what ifs outside. I Have a canary wing and would never bring him outside without a Carrier, clipped or unclipped. And with his tiny size I also would not trust a harness....I only take him outside in a carrier.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mare]

I would never do what I do with Amigo with any bird smaller than him, a U2. You are right Leslie to warn people.

 

[Myztik]

Im not sure if it requires a lot of intelligence for a bird to find its way back, that maybe a small bird like mine wouldn't possess?

Umm just because a bird is small does not mean it is less intelligent.

 

[Love My Zons]

Whoever suggested fishing line needs to be re-educated. That is the worst for tanglement. I can only imagine that coming tangled around their neck and strangling them.

Bad, bad, BAD idea!!

 

[Lady Jane]

I am continually amazed at the poor advice that comes from inexperienced sales people that work in pet stores. You would think they would get a little training.

 

[shanlung]

Mare,
In city living with Tinkerbell or even surburb living with Riamfada, I made it a point to do neighbourhood walks with them.
That was done almost as a daily ritual.

That they knew the neighbourhood from all angles. And to fly the flag with neighbours in case of accidents, that the birdie and me go together.
I made it a point to amuse the neighbour kids with recall flights, to delight them, to befriend them. To build up the goodwill with them.
Never needed to call on that, but then who could tell.

Whoever suggested fishing line needs to be re-educated. That is the worst for tanglement. I can only imagine that coming tangled around their neck and strangling them.

Bad, bad, BAD idea!!

You want to reeducate me?
I never realised you knew so much of flying with fishing lines that you know all about that being bad bad BAD idea.
I never knew what I had done over the last ten years had been bad bad BAD, notwithstanding the birdies still very much alive and flying about even now.

Do tell us all about the good good GOOD ideas that you have.
Even more kudos to you if you have done that in real life and with a parrot and not just your thought experiment done that on pencil and paper, hmmmm might not even be on pencil and paper.

I am sure the rest of the audience here will be entranced with your words of wisdom and how much you know.
I am all ears, and all ready to listen to the pearls that you are going to cast.

 

[Love My Zons]

Mare,
In city living with Tinkerbell or even surburb living with Riamfada, I made it a point to do neighbourhood walks with them.
That was done almost as a daily ritual.

That they knew the neighbourhood from all angles. And to fly the flag with neighbours in case of accidents, that the birdie and me go together.
I made it a point to amuse the neighbour kids with recall flights, to delight them, to befriend them. To build up the goodwill with them.
Never needed to call on that, but then who could tell.



You want to reeducate me?
I never realised you knew so much of flying with fishing lines that you know all about that being bad bad BAD idea.
I never knew what I had done over the last ten years had been bad bad BAD, notwithstanding the birdies still very much alive and flying about even now.

Do tell us all about the good good GOOD ideas that you have.
Even more kudos to you if you have done that in real life and with a parrot and not just your thought experiment done that on pencil and paper, hmmmm might not even be on pencil and paper.

I am sure the rest of the audience here will be entranced with your words of wisdom and how much you know.
I am all ears, and all ready to listen to the pearls that you are going to cast.

'
'
Shalung, why don't you sit down and get off the defense bench. I was not talking about you, not sure what you are talking about, but fishing line here in the states is nearly visible, it is very light line. So what you do, is what you do, not sure what you use but it appears to NOT BE WHAT OTHERS ARE DESCRIBING.

 

[Viva]

That looks like the luckiest "pet" bird ive ever seen Shanglung! Obviously bird owners really hate the idea. For good reason, some. Others are kinda far fetched in my opinion, but it is good to consider the worst case scenarios in a situation that depends on the unexpected occuring.. It Dont worry everyone i wont actually do it. I want to experiment with a harness ( though judging by thethe ones iveto seen forin sale online i know the bird will not enjoy it). Also, just to be clear i dont plan on flying the little guy outdoors, i just want him to sit on my shoulder while hiking and i hope he doesnt get spooked enough to need it. Its a percaution. Im just looking to give him the least amount of restriction possible, for his sake.
Btw Mare, that is an intense story!

 

[dolldid]

Shalung has experenced things most of us never will , his life style is way difrent than ours i cant emagen living his and im sure he couldnt mine and yes id trade places with him he talks a lot on harnesses and writes about it , I for one would love to make the harness he uses but try as I may havent seen a diagram to even begin making it in sure im not alone the naterial looks soft but not sure if it is and i dont think a diagram would help cause you need a starting point and a finishing point

i do agrea training recall is not to say you wont lose your bird also bonding cause once they have been frightened they gust gooooo i do agree on the line to be fasend to something sterdy belt rist napsack cane never held just in your hand

i have lived in thge country and if i lived there now im sorry Mango would only be out if i had a safe built very fine fenced in area i wouldnt even put him out in a cage cause i know it only takes seconds for an anamil or a hock and he could get hurt even where i live now has change in past 13 yrs im sure we have more than 15 pared hocks in our area and at Ricks its worse they come flying inches away from his building so call me chicken but Mango will do all his flying in doors

doll

 

[Holiday]

'
...fishing line here in the states is nearly visible, it is very light line. So what you do, is what you do, not sure what you use but it appears to NOT BE WHAT OTHERS ARE DESCRIBING.

This is a tense subject, and there are bound to be differences. In this case, there appears to be a bit of a language issue as well. It looks like Shanlung is using perhaps "flyfishing" line in the photos. Ordinary fine plastic fishing line is, as Claire suggested, notorious for getting tangled and snarled.

Please keep it civil, everyone.

 

[unicornlady7]

Shanlung, of I'm not mistaken, you tie a heavy duty line to the harnesses you made, not to their foot/leg band. It looks more like fly fishing line? Mostly when I think of "fishing line" I think of the almost invisible plastic kind. I can actually see the line in your pics. Beautiful pics, by the way

I have an aviator for my green cheek conures. My birds love going for a walk with me, but I am so darn worried about the cooper's hawks after seeing an impressive chase between a jouvenile and a finch. I don't know if one would be so bold as to snatch one of my babies from my shoulder, but I worry... There are companies that make harnesses that would even fit a parrotlet. When I had Loki, I was even looking at Shanlung's design. Loki passed away before I had the chance to make one, but it seems like it would work really well with the littles.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

There are people that do hike with their birds. One I know did part of the Apalacian trail with her Hy. Being so large though kept other prey animals away. A small bird would not be quite as lucky. Hiking and camping you might want to consider a harness. Just doing everyday errands might be a different story. Birds really do get excited when they see the harness come out and they go places. Small bird harnesses have some modifications from the big harnesses.

 

[shanlung]

OK.

That difference is resolved. I have been openly talking of using of Dyneema braided fishing line as leash for over ten years now.
If what I do is attacked, I have to stand up for my beliefs.

Dyneema is stronger then Kevlar. Bullet proof vests are now made from Dyneema.

Even if Tinkerbell UltraLite is a very good harness, it will be absolutely wrong to stuff your bird into that harness and take your birdie out in that.
Understanding of use of harness and bonding and recalls with your birdie must take place before all that.

The harness material is made from light double weave and soft shoelaces or lanyard.
I think it is ridiculous to use nylon cords strong enough to hold a charging rhinocerous as harness.
Can you tolerate nylon chord as lanyard on your neck to hold your mobile phone or ID card? If you cannot tolerate that, why do you want to subject your birdie to have those tough strong nylon cord on their skin?

Read this harness1 as to why I chose shoelaces.
This underscore my philosophy. And charted the course that you recognised was actually walked by me and Tinkerbell, before we walked that.
If you cannot accept this, then you should go your way in peace.

Unicornlady,

I even made a harness for Yingshiong, my white rumped shama. He tip the scale at 32 grams.

But his chapter with me ended before I could finalised that harness. And knowing that chapter was ending, I focused the last few weekss in enjoying his company.

Above harness for 32 grams Yingshiong from
shanlung: First attempts at harnessing Yingshiong

 

[shanlung]

i just want him to sit on my shoulder while hiking and i hope he doesnt get spooked enough to need it. Its a percaution. Im just looking to give him the least amount of restriction possible, for his sake.

Your mindset is almost like mine when I first started with Tinkerbell in Taiwan over a decade ago.
If you have not done so, you might want to read that road map.
Where Tinkerbell was with me on shoulder on hikes that started before the crack of dawn and ended at night to the sight of fireflies strobbing away.

Which might well end up as your road map as well.

shanlung: Harness for flighted parrots - To Nick and folks

 

[Viva]

Veeeery interesting. Seriously you should film the bird dropping blocks on the other house animals hahaha send it to funniest home videos! I will see if the silk ribbon can not be chewed thru by his beak. It is lighter than the leather i was considering using. I totally agree about how uncomfortable so many of the harnesses are. Especially the one that catches poop! What a mess it was for everyone involved! Not to mention chewed thru in the first five minutes. By the way, do you use the braided line over the clear line just because it is stronger? My little guy is so light and not flying much yet. Also my guy fishes a lot, he has some of what you are using and without my telling your story he advised against it. He said it is stronger so it can cut thru kelp easy and to put it on a reel guys must wear tape on their fingers to not get cut. Obviously you havent had any problems with the bird getting tangled while flying right? I just dont know if the heavy duty is necessary for a smaller bird. I in like the idea of threading the line yhru a smaller cloth line so he cannot cut it as well as it could keep the line from tangling/ curling...

 

[shanlung]

Viva,
Though my wife shot over a thousand photos and videos, the best moments were never captured.
But here is one video that might amuse you where Tinkerbell screamed her displeasure at Zorro the ferret and Halftail the Bimbo fighting below her.
Tink says "Bad girl!" w/ferret and cat - YouTube

The thin pink ribbons you seen above were for Yingshiong, a white rumped shama songbird. Shama will not chew like a parrot.
So dont you dare to use thin pink ribbons (or any other color) for your parrot.

I gave up smoking for a year now
I was smoking about 4 packs a day.
I could never risk using clear monofilament fishing line where a spark from my ciggie could burn that through.
The line could drag on ground with loads of sharp stones and cut.
I STRONGLY ADVISE THAT DYNEEMA BRAIDED FISHING LINE BE USED.
They are far more resistent to abrasion.

At the beginning with Tinkerbell, I used 1mm diameter Dyneema, breaking strength 220 lbs.
Cost me a lot. $$ nothing to me as Tinkerbell was priceless.
You might want to use thicker Dyneema for handling.
I got a very simple and yet very sophisticated reel handle arrangement that I designed to handle the line.
Look at my work of art rod&reel here
shanlung: photos of mash making / work of art rod&reel / Dommie at beach / holiday


Even so, remember to check on integrity of line and harness AT ALL TIMES.
I forgot, a couple of times.
I was lucky , that couple of times.
You might not be so lucky.

I never had entanglement of line within line , or on the neck of birdie , or on any part body of birdie.

But then, I was closely bonded to birdie even prior to harnessing.

Dont you dare to fly your birdie on leash near trees like what you see me did.
Far far too complicated for me to explain how I trained them not to entangle in trees. Scattered in different parts of blog
Here is one such part.
shanlung: Do not pass go, do not collect $200// cutting entangling line //Katie threw tantrum


Dont you dare to fly your birdie for distances like what you seen me do.
At least not at the beginning for the first year.

AND NEVER EVER LOOP THE LEASH ON YOUR HAND.
ALWAYS FASTEN ONE END TO YOUR BELT OR YOUR BACKPACK

AND NEVER EVER LOOP THE LEASH ON YOUR HAND.
ALWAYS FASTEN ONE END TO YOUR BELT OR YOUR BACKPACK

 

[Mare]

Umm just because a bird is small does not mean it is less intelligent.

A smaller bird than an umbrella cockatoo, in my mind, would have a tougher time in the wild, just because of predators. Amigo has taken on hawks and won. Yep, now you know.

He was taken to the ground by a red-tail hawk, totally freaked us out!!, my husband and myself, my throat hurt for a week, due to the screams coming from my throat. Yes, it can happen. It happened. Amigo survived and, I believe, came out on top. There was a flurry of feathers, a huge tussle, then the hawk flew off. The only blood I could find on Amigo, was on his beak.

 

[Ditty]

I too would use a harness. I use an aviator and love it! Wind can take em away without them trying. Once when out with Hollywood suddenly the weather started getting gusty and before I got to the car to go home a gust came in and was lifting him off of my arm, he was holding on for dear life to my arm (ouch). I had to cradle my arm around him to keep him grounded. And this was with the aviator on.