Methods of taking your birds outside:

[Kathy N]

Elwood only goes outside while in his cage. I tried putting a harness on him ... once. I still have the scar.

 

[meaggiedear]

the handmade one is like a sweater/vest sort of harness, it works well for him, but its got to be made to size and checked on frequently as they do stretch. so its frequently tested and adjusted and remade from time to time. kind of a hassle...


i like the flight suit, its cute, it works great to keep poop off and my guys dont mind it. i think they'd freak if i put an aviator on them. the aviator is more of a leash like material, the flight suit is fabric and come in many colours and styles. my friend gave me hers as it was too big for her tiel and he didnt like it. my guys are bigger than her bird so it fit them.

.

I think I could manage to get Grey in the one you've got Tsuka in! He is such a good flyer, clipped or not that I still don't think I'd take him out in just a harness. He would definitely be caged too.

 

[Love My Zons]

Mine only go out on our back deck in a cage. They are already in it as I roll it out the door. Best to be safe than sorry it's too risky and mine are avid flyer's, fast and well skilled to easily take off in flight.

 

[BirdsFTW]

My boys come out all the time (love Hawaii weather) in their travel cages. I would LOVE to put the boys in harnesses, especially since the only bird of prey we have here are owls and I don't take the boys out at night, but Raptor would bite my fingers off and Mika seems to lose all function of his body below his neck (his legs give way and he starts rolling around) if he's wearing something.

The last time I took pics of the boys out was during the Transit Of Venus. I brought them with me to my parents house, since they had those eclipse-viewing sunglasses.

 

[Onur34]

Hi to everyone

I can understand all of the risks and fears.. But I want that my IRN flies completely free.. I want to do anything I can do and train her to reach this goal..

 

[lalagimp]

Bf was taking the new bird outside without anything, since she was so heavily clipped that she had her clip go into her lift feathers. This only lasted a week or so and she's molting so today I saw her get 5 feet from the birdcage and asked if he was still taking her out. He said no he just stopped because she's fluttering down now... feathers grew in somewhere. He was aware of the risks but was also very aware of the dangers.
Jak can wear a flightsuit. Koi hates it so I have a new aviator to try on her. I haven't tried either on the new gcc.

 

[lupe]

I just bought Elvis a harness...still trying to figure out how to put it on him ...lol..but I have learned (from this
site even if he wings are clipped, which they are...I am not going to take him out again without the harness..

 

[Yoshi]

When I had Herbie I used to take him outside without a harness but he had a fused wing and could not go anywhere. I used to take Yoshi outside in a harness but she has gotten so that she hates it so instead I just roll her cage outside on a nice day while I'm out there with her.

 

[~birdybea~]

Steve enclosed half the yard for birdie outside time. Before I moved up mine mainly went outside in their cages, which I would roll outside. I attempted to use harnesses a couple of times but found them hard to use, and the birds hated them anyway which kind of took away from the experience.

I was most impressed when we saw a lady with two IRNs in aviators at the local markets on the weekend, let's just say being that responsible is HIGHLY unusual here.

 

[alnoble89]

Alexis and Kiwi go out on a harness. Cookie does not however, Cookie can not fly at all and the reason I don't want to harness her is because I don't want her wing injury (which caused her to not be able to fly) to get irritated and hurt (this causes her to pluck). I would never take the other two out without a harness as of now Kiwi is clipped but I plan on letting his flight feathers grown out so that he will be fully flighted.

 

[Hankmacaw]

I am always amazed that so many of the bird owners who rave and rant about how bad it is to take your parrot outside without a harness are the same people who;

1. Co-mingle their predator pets (cats and dogs, etc.) with their parrots, despite the obvious danger of a predator killing the bird and the risk of bacteria or fungus carried by mammals that birds have no way to fight.

2. Have both macaws and cockatoos/greys/cockateils living together despite the risk of pulmonary disease in the macaw

3. Feed peanuts despite the extensive evidence that peanuts are detrimental to the long term health of caged birds as well as one of the major causes of Aspergillosis

I know many of the members of this forum who have lost birds to all of the above. Kristy one year kept track of all of the deaths of birds on the Perch and 1/3 of the deaths were caused by other pets in the house. DEAD IS DEAD FOLKS.

If a bird flies away it has a chance to live. If your dog chomps it there is no chance.

 

[mimisaur]

I wish so badly I could take Mimi out on a harness. She would look so cute!~ I'd LOVE to take her everywhere with me, but she won't stand for the harness at all! I've tried so many times to train her with it, but no luck. I decided not to push her anymore because she seems just so unhappy and uncomfortable in it, anyways. Now days, if I want Lola or Mimi to have some sunshine or fresh air I take them to their outside cage. They also like to look out the window.

I know a few people who take their lorikeets, ekkies and cockatoos outside. Some are clipped, some aren't... I just would never trust 1) my bird not to get spooked or fly off. 2) Other animals and 3) Other PEOPLE. A friend of mine lost her ekkie for a few hours when someone came up to pet him and spooked him, even after she told them multiple times to not go near him or he'll get scared and bite.

 

[marian]

Hiram goes out in a carrier only.

 

[sasha]

Our cockatiel was clipped and NEVER flew away from us in the house. My husband took her outside a lot on his shoulder. We never really thought anything of it since she never flew in the house. The day before I was taking her for her wing clip something spooked her outside while she was on my shoulder and she flew away. She was high in a tree behind our house. It got dark and she appeared to be roosting for the night. The next morning at 6am she was gone never to be seen again (to my knowledge anyway). I still get sad when I think about her. She was our first bird and sadly taught us a very valuable lesson.

We now have a 4 month old Timneh and have just recently started using the Aviator harness on him. He does great with it and I am excited to be able to take him outside with us. He will never go outside unless harnessed or in his travel cage. I never want to go through the helpless feeling of seeing my bird fly from my reach never to return again! Not to mention the guilt afterwards.

 

[jmfleish]

I'll never forget the time I was with a friend who took her GWM and B&G out all the time without a harness...both were clipped. The B&G spooked in the parking lot outside a pet store we were at and took flight...he went about 150 yards and ended up in the middle of a very busy intersection. He's very lucky he didn't get hit by a car. It just makes you think.

 

[Toadstinytails]

A few perspectives if I may:

My birds will ALWAYS be contained (by flightsuit, harness or carrier) when outside. That is my personal opinion, and quite frankly, my responsibility to them. They are not exposed to the outside very often, so it is an unfamiliar and scary place, though, from the safety of a familiar travelcage, mom's hand, or mom's hood in her sweatshirt (safely tucked under my hair of course), it becomes an enrichment exercise. Loki regularly goes with me to the local yarn stores in his flight suit, and is always happy doing so. Additionally, I would like to mention that I have a mixed species household (predator/prey animals), and I take many percautions to protect my pets, as I am sure the majority of us here do....I don't think either situation shows irresponsibility.

That being said, a different perspective on this discussion is the practice of free-flying parrots for enrichment. I was ignorant to this practice until I saw it at a bird show in Chicago. Most people are familiar with zoo shows that include birds free-flying and doing tricks, but in my mind, that was not suitable for pet parrots (mostly due to environment and training requirements). However, there was a very well known speaker at this show that was a huge fan of the practice, if done safely and your bird was properly trained. I am not comfortable with this idea, but was shocked to see how many people in the room raised their hands to say that they free-flighted their birds outside. Granted a majority of them were large bird owners (like macaws), but still, it was an eye-opening experience. Later, I got to see this practice in action as a lady took her hy outside and free-flighted it around the center, OVER the expressway, and whatnot of downtown Chicago. The bird did eventually return to its owner, but not when she called it to her (it took him about 20 - 30 minutes to decide to come back to her). I don't know, I have very mixed feelings on this practice. I know there are far too many hawks in my area to do this with (evidenced by the pigeons I lost when I used to turn them out everyday); but I have also heard great benefits to this - the training is the most important aspect. I have recently found out that in one of Woody's less-than-stellar-homes, his owner would often get mad about the screaming and literally throw him outside. He would spend his day climbing in the trees and whatnot, and then at night, he would perch on the porch railing and sleep. After a couple days, the guy would bring him back inside only to repeat the process when the screaming would start a week or so later....it's funny, we control the screaming by actually giving him toys, good food, and interaction . I should note that Woody actually acts quite fearful when he is outside, so it's highly unlikely he screamed to be put outside.

Just some food for thought....

 

[jmfleish]

A few perspectives if I may:

My birds will ALWAYS be contained (by flightsuit, harness or carrier) when outside. That is my personal opinion, and quite frankly, my responsibility to them. They are not exposed to the outside very often, so it is an unfamiliar and scary place, though, from the safety of a familiar travelcage, mom's hand, or mom's hood in her sweatshirt (safely tucked under my hair of course), it becomes an enrichment exercise. Loki regularly goes with me to the local yarn stores in his flight suit, and is always happy doing so. Additionally, I would like to mention that I have a mixed species household (predator/prey animals), and I take many percautions to protect my pets, as I am sure the majority of us here do....I don't think either situation shows irresponsibility.

That being said, a different perspective on this discussion is the practice of free-flying parrots for enrichment. I was ignorant to this practice until I saw it at a bird show in Chicago. Most people are familiar with zoo shows that include birds free-flying and doing tricks, but in my mind, that was not suitable for pet parrots (mostly due to environment and training requirements). However, there was a very well known speaker at this show that was a huge fan of the practice, if done safely and your bird was properly trained. I am not comfortable with this idea, but was shocked to see how many people in the room raised their hands to say that they free-flighted their birds outside. Granted a majority of them were large bird owners (like macaws), but still, it was an eye-opening experience. Later, I got to see this practice in action as a lady took her hy outside and free-flighted it around the center, OVER the expressway, and whatnot of downtown Chicago. The bird did eventually return to its owner, but not when she called it to her (it took him about 20 - 30 minutes to decide to come back to her). I don't know, I have very mixed feelings on this practice. I know there are far too many hawks in my area to do this with (evidenced by the pigeons I lost when I used to turn them out everyday); but I have also heard great benefits to this - the training is the most important aspect. I have recently found out that in one of Woody's less-than-stellar-homes, his owner would often get mad about the screaming and literally throw him outside. He would spend his day climbing in the trees and whatnot, and then at night, he would perch on the porch railing and sleep. After a couple days, the guy would bring him back inside only to repeat the process when the screaming would start a week or so later....it's funny, we control the screaming by actually giving him toys, good food, and interaction . I should note that Woody actually acts quite fearful when he is outside, so it's highly unlikely he screamed to be put outside.

Just some food for thought....

I'm pretty sure that this post was not including free flight which is technically what they call the practice of flying a parrot outside free of restraints. They were talking about most of us who do not have the training ability to free flight and would never think of free flying.

Free flying is a wonderful thing if done correctly, although there will always be some risk to it. You should also be well aware of what you are doing. The woman who took her Hy out in the middle of Chicago...well, I have all sorts of things I'd love to call her but will restrain and just say that she has not done enough studying on the subject to have any real idea of safe places to free fly. If I were to free fly any of my birds, and I'm not because I'm one of the worst trainers there are, I would not choose a busy city to do it in because even the best trained parrot can be a bad judge of wind patterns and end up hitting a car or a truck.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, while there are people out there who free fly and I do find it a wonderful thing, it isn't for most of us and it should be done with the utmost of caution and with a heck of a lot of training. Done properly and in the right place, I don't have a problem with it.

 

[Brooke]

3. Feed peanuts despite the extensive evidence that peanuts are detrimental to the long term health of caged birds as well as one of the major causes of Aspergillosis

I had no idea that peanuts did that, thank you very much for the heads up. I was aware that they were not the healthiest, as compared to pelleted food, but I didn't know it caused serious health problems.

 

[jmfleish]

I had no idea that peanuts did that, thank you very much for the heads up. I was aware that they were not the healthiest, as compared to pelleted food, but I didn't know it caused serious health problems.

Please don't get too crazy about peanuts and aflatoxins...all nuts carry them as well as grains. I would rather not feed peanuts because they are high in unwanted calories than because they may contain aflatoxins.

 

[Toadstinytails]

I think a mention of free-flying is valid in this discussion, as it is a different kind of way to "take your bird outside". Perhaps there are other people on this board, that while they may have been into birds for a long time, are not familiar with this concept (much like myself). Therefore, even though they may not use this method, they may now recognize it should they see it in practice. Also, the OP made a mention of some birds more suited to outdoor exposure unconfined, and I was relating that a majority of the people in the seminar agreed that macaws and other large birds are better suited for a free-flying experience.

That being said, I can't stress enough how important proper training is before attempting free-flight. In my opinion, it is not for the faint of heart...I don't know, there was something very discerning about seeing a beloved pet just flying through the city (which I also agree was NOT a good place to use this).