erineliot
Strolling the yard
So I'm loosely aware of the reputation on here concerning whether to clip or not clip your bird's wings. I am posting as a welcome invitation to opposing views.
First, I'd like to state a few things. Where I stand on the issue--in my personal home only--is "safety first." If my parrot flies away or into a ceiling fan, that's worse in my mind than the potential long-term health effects of being a flightless bird. However, health and safety go hand in hand, so I deeply want my parrot to benefit from the joys and health of flying. OF COURSE! Nevertheless, I've had her escape once, a bad escape. It was a freak accident and a genuine miracle I got her back. Plus the simple things, such as flying into a ceiling fan, a window, the cat, the burning stove, out the door as I'm walking outside... onto a cactus! I have many plants. Also, practical questions, what about the poops everywhere? Chewing up the house, walking on the floor?! I just can't wrap my mind around the safety or mechanics. Even growing up younger with my MANY pet birds, I can think of so many situations where flight (in a home, where flight wasn't designed) almost resulted in loss or death. I cannot afford to make a mistake with my baby. So in the meantime, I'm trying to encourage more free movement around the house with ladders, perches, and ropes which are restricted to supervised areas.
Are there any exercises that can be done with her to help her exercise? This is one of my main questions for today.
Also, in the past, before she escaped, I had just inherited her after twenty-something years. Her wings were clipped. It took almost two years for them to grow out. I then started leash training her outside. (Which, do any of you have a good, safe recommendation for a foot leash for outdoor safety?) Long story short, poor baby was a miserable flier... until the day she got away, of course. I had been working with her for about a year. She was always very frightened and hesitant to fly. When I first inherited her, she could barely balance whatsoever. I think she was probably so deprived in her first life of any physical exercise or variety that she's a bit physically inept still. She's shown GREAT progress though, just slowly.
So say you guys help me see the light of possibility here and I decide to grow her wings out again, I need to know she can be 100% safe. And if not, how can I keep her physically fit as a clipped parrot?
I'm so sadly torn here. I want everything for her.
First, I'd like to state a few things. Where I stand on the issue--in my personal home only--is "safety first." If my parrot flies away or into a ceiling fan, that's worse in my mind than the potential long-term health effects of being a flightless bird. However, health and safety go hand in hand, so I deeply want my parrot to benefit from the joys and health of flying. OF COURSE! Nevertheless, I've had her escape once, a bad escape. It was a freak accident and a genuine miracle I got her back. Plus the simple things, such as flying into a ceiling fan, a window, the cat, the burning stove, out the door as I'm walking outside... onto a cactus! I have many plants. Also, practical questions, what about the poops everywhere? Chewing up the house, walking on the floor?! I just can't wrap my mind around the safety or mechanics. Even growing up younger with my MANY pet birds, I can think of so many situations where flight (in a home, where flight wasn't designed) almost resulted in loss or death. I cannot afford to make a mistake with my baby. So in the meantime, I'm trying to encourage more free movement around the house with ladders, perches, and ropes which are restricted to supervised areas.
Are there any exercises that can be done with her to help her exercise? This is one of my main questions for today.
Also, in the past, before she escaped, I had just inherited her after twenty-something years. Her wings were clipped. It took almost two years for them to grow out. I then started leash training her outside. (Which, do any of you have a good, safe recommendation for a foot leash for outdoor safety?) Long story short, poor baby was a miserable flier... until the day she got away, of course. I had been working with her for about a year. She was always very frightened and hesitant to fly. When I first inherited her, she could barely balance whatsoever. I think she was probably so deprived in her first life of any physical exercise or variety that she's a bit physically inept still. She's shown GREAT progress though, just slowly.
So say you guys help me see the light of possibility here and I decide to grow her wings out again, I need to know she can be 100% safe. And if not, how can I keep her physically fit as a clipped parrot?
I'm so sadly torn here. I want everything for her.