baby catalina

[GIL KARNI]

i have a new 3.5 month baby CATALINA. First week was amazing Ginger was free and i had fed her 3 times. after a few days i start to give her pieces of apple.
then she start to fly around inside the house, and sit on the top of closet kitchen.i have to convince her to go down and give her her formula.
before 2 days i brought her new big cage and put her there. then she flew again to kitchen it is a problem 2 weeks with alot of poo on all house .so now iput her inside the cage for 3 days plays and feed her inside , i thought about freeflight but i think i will clip her wings its much better to be close to her more than training free flight. also she had some not nice meetings withe windows. what do you think ?

 

[Nikomania]

Frankly, I'm a no clip person. Birds love to do what nature intended for them to do. There's certainly health benefits to keeping them flighted, too.

 

[sunnysmom]

I think perhaps training her would be better than clipping. Can you cover the window or put decals on them so she realizes that she can't fly through them? I think it's better for a bird both mentally and physically if they can remain flighted.

@Macawnutz ?

 

[Macawnutz]

Macaws are exhausting when they are toddlers. If you allow her somewhere for even a few minutes it's considered a new perch. You have to be consistent and you have to have a place for her that is more entertaining than where she wants to be.

Do you have a fun playstand for her?

 

[MiniMacaw]

My macaw is a little over a year old now. Even though he was a rescue and quite somber for a macaw in the beginning, since he’s started to feel more playful and confident lately he is literally a toddler with wings that flies down my hallway to land on the couch and roll in my clean laundry pile lol.
He’s happiest right after a flight (you can see it in his eyes) and the health benefits far outweigh any negatives. I have found using nuts or mash as a training incentive gets him responding very quickly. It just takes time to train a bird that is so very intelligent. It’s just my opinion but taking away their flight (at least for my birds) would no doubt depress them.

 

[GIL KARNI]

Because she eats mostly the formula it is a bit early to train her with nuts that she is not used to. it is to keep doors and window shut all time i have a 7 years old boy ,and they play around.
so we are like in prison inside the house. waiting to receive a harness ,may be with that i can train Ginger. i know it`s takes time and a lot of practice to train to free flight. i just afraid she would fly away .and she is a baby. she need to be touched and play and now she is in the cage because i am afraid she runs out

 

[GIL KARNI]

Macaws are exhausting when they are toddlers. If you allow her somewhere for even a few minutes it's considered a new perch. You have to be consistent and you have to have a place for her that is more entertaining than where she wants to be.

Do you have a fun playstand for her?

i have a new playstand, i afraid that she would prefer her "place" on the top of the kitchen.do you think i should try the stand ?

 

[Macawnutz]

While she is so young do you have a way to keep her out of the kitchen? Even tacking a curtain up to deter her?

My young ones would fly everywhere, it was constant moving them. They would land on the TV and I would put them back on their playstand.....Repeat Repeat Repeat sometimes 30 repeats a day. Think of your bird like your human child. How many times did you have to repeat yourself to your son?

Yes you need a stand. It's needs to be entertaining with toys and treats. This is where my babies played.

 

[GIL KARNI]

tnx for the information. there is no option to block areas its small house. i have a nice yard after the basic training inside i can do it outside with harness .

 

[GIL KARNI]

are your parrots trained to free flight ?

 

[Macawnutz]

are your parrots trained to free flight ?

The term "free flight" is used mostly when people are flying outdoors. I would never take my birds outside without a harness on. WhIle most are recall taught, I doubt very much they would come back to me. Wishful thinking that they would.

All my birds are fully flighted and do fly around my home and work. You must invest your time in teaching them proper places to land AND compromise with them when they are adamant about areas.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Congrats on getting your Catalina.

 

[GIL KARNI]

it really took time but she start to realize where are the preferred area to be .(not above the kitchen). the new stage is the outside of the hose,how can i train her to stay in the area ?
should i work with harnesses ? inside the house she start to fly towards me when i call her with whistle. i dont know how to start work outside the house ?

 

[TikiMyn]

If you actually want to train her to fly outside unrestrained I would find a mentor! Someone who had lots of experience but knows the risks. I would start recall training her, and teach her to fly where you point, and start harnass training. She is young so Maybe she Will accept it very easily.

 

[Macawnutz]

If I knew how to guarantee she would stay in your yard I would tell you. My young babies would have stayed by me outside but as they grow up they want to leave you. Your idea that she can just be taught to stay outside loose without flying away is a dream. Please harness train your girl and keep her safe.

 

[Sarah13]

Please don't clip and instead train to station in the house, supervise/make bird safe areas, wear a harness, or ideally, properly free fly. A flighted macaw can be a handful but it is so much healthier for them both physically and psychologically especially if they are trained to free fly on top of being allowed to remain flighted. Flying around inside is a far cry from what they are designed and able to do. Glad you have recall starting but free flight depends on so much more than just reliable recall. If you are wanting her to fly, namely while outdoors, please do not attempt this on your own and instead consult a professional free flight trainer.

Free flight is very doable but it takes knowledge and is a huge time commitment to keep your bird safe. It becomes a lifestyle more or less for you both. A huge thing to consider is that you can't just start free flying your parrot for several months or even a year or two and then get too busy or lax with training and call it quits. That is devastating and detrimental to your bird so think long and hard before you commit. Tragically, the premise of "they cannot miss what they do not know" is sometimes kinder than allowing them that glorious freedom of outdoor flight and then taking it away.

I know a couple very reputable free flight trainers and also free flight groups that meet up weekly to fly their birds and some I know personally versus "I watched them on youtube or like them on FB etc" Additionally, there are multiple styles of free flight that fit certain birds and certain owners better than others. A professional can help you decide which one(s) to develop should you decide to pursue this endeavor...I hope you do/are able!

CONGRATS ON THE BABY!

 

[GIL KARNI]

thank you so much for that support. first problem is to keep the house shot all the time ,afraid she would fly away. today she start to land in my hand from the top of the kitchen . i think i need to train her outside the house. can`t decide at the moment witch way to go. if i "only " ask my Ginger to be able to fly around the area and get back ? in same area . is it call free flight and need to train her everyday for 2 hours ? does she will fly whenever she likes ? just feel the house does not have enough space to 5 people and a big flying bird landing and flying everywhere. she is amazing ,very clever ,still eats her formula twice a day so it still difficult to refund with food.in Israel there is no free flight trainers so i have less information in Hebrew. almost all the macaws in ISRAEL are clipped so i feel doing something not practical mybee to daily life. because to commit to such a lot of time for life is big responsibility.

 

[GIL KARNI]

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[Emmilyy]

Perhaps if you feel that your house is too small for a macaw, you should not have made the commitment of bringing one home.

 

[GIL KARNI]

thanks for your response. i have a 500 m square yard. nobody have enough room for flying macaw.