I think this is a great idea! Perhaps I'll email parrot 911 and inquire about it too. If enough people do, she may start keeping data on it. I would love to know:
I also wanted to mention that it's good practice to teach your bird to call to you when you call to it. A lot of the time, this isn't normal behavior for birds but I've heard stories of people getting their birds back because they've gotten into the routine of doing this with their birds. I personally lost Tuchis in the house one time because my roommate let all the birds out and then left the living room while I was on a phone call in my bedroom. When I came out, Tuchis was no where to be found. I searched and called for him for 20 minutes and he never called back. I finally found him in my roommate's bedroom sitting in a fake plant, happy as a clam. Because he wasn't worried, he wasn't making any noises...he had no regard for me!
It would also be interesting to see the numbers on who got returned, flighted versus not flighted.
Hey! that was unnecessary!No offense was taken. Jodee Pm'd me to make sure I wasn't offended..and we sorted it out
I never said 'all of you who keep flighted birds were not keeping your birds safe', I just said that for me to assure mine's safety, clipping was the best approach!
. So I just dont understand why you think all of us who keep flighted birds, are not keeping our birds safe.
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Yeah I am very intersted in that too.
I think I will now teach my birds to scream to me eek. But not in a bad way On cue!
I didnt have to keep track of her with my eyes, I could hear her
I also would like to know, I do Pit bull rescue. I find a large similarity between the two....they come with status, they are under estimated as to the care and need to be protected from the world. they are misunderstood....And I will tell you, if your pit is not chipped, or you are not extremely lucky, you won't be getting it back. I would probably post if I found a lost bird, but most people would not and even if they did, the likely hood of it being seen is minimal....Are there any stats in general as to the likely hood of getting a lost bird back, whether it is clipped or not?
OK so that WAS sarcasm!
Actually, a lot of people do get their birds back. I tend to see a lot of the flighted birds being returned but I also know more people with flighted birds so that might be the factor there. I also know more people who train for recall, so that might have a lot to do with it as well. Since we do have Parrot 911, it would be wonderful if we could get these stats out of it but I understand if they aren't doing it because it would indeed be a fairly large job. I think if someone were willing to step up and offer to gather the stats, that the woman running the board would probably be more than willing to send them to whomever offered but that's just a guess. It would certainly give us, as bird owners, a much firmer grasp of what happens when birds do get out. I guess another thing that I didn't mention that would be interesting to see is the species of bird...I tend to see a lot of greys getting lose although I don't know why...that could have something to do with the fact that I'm on a lot of grey forums too I suppose! LOL!I also would like to know, I do Pit bull rescue. I find a large similarity between the two....they come with status, they are under estimated as to the care and need to be protected from the world. they are misunderstood....And I will tell you, if your pit is not chipped, or you are not extremely lucky, you won't be getting it back. I would probably post if I found a lost bird, but most people would not and even if they did, the likely hood of it being seen is minimal....Are there any stats in general as to the likely hood of getting a lost bird back, whether it is clipped or not?
Sorry I didnt mean to apply that to you.
You have never said us folk who keep our birds flighted arent keeping them safeA very small number of birds are free flighted. I would say 5-15% out of all the captive birds in the world, have been flight trained. Out of all of my personal birds, 1/2 of them have been recall trained and only 2 out of them all have been flight trained for outdoor flight. And indoor flight trained? Im hoping 50% or more of people who have flighted birds teach indoor recall training, I will make a poll on it soon!
Well then you know he isnt ready if you feel this way. You must work to the goal of being 100% obedient and 100% willing to do what you say and what you want. You have to really work at it.
Unless you live in FL or Cali or somewhere where your certain species has a higher chance of living, no you cannot believe, if he is lost forever in the wild, that he has a chance, as a lone bird. That is not what Im trying to say. I am just saying, that you can have a better likely hood of getting your bird back, if you recall train it.
Recall training isn't as hard as you would think and you can do it whether or not you clip. Find what treat your bird likes the best and keep it out of his main diet. Use it only in training. Get your bird to walk a few inches for a treat and when he gets that down, gradually make the distance further and further. Soon, you'll have him trying to find you as long as he knows there's food involved if he's motivated by food. There are birds who aren't and with them, you have to find other methods that get them excited enough to come to you. I've got a 'too that could care less about food but scritches, kisses, pets, and hugs are a whole different story! LOL!Mercedez, How did you get into the recall techniques? Do you train professionally? What are the time needs in training? As I have stated before, I have 3 kids, all will have a friend in tow, 7 dogs 4 birds and a husband I would like to introduce myself to occasionally? I am fascinated with your time management....ps this is NOT sarcasm! I would like to hear more... And I would like to sign my kids up, maybe you could whip them into shape!
Well Chris Biro has always been my idle. He is my favorite recall flight artist. He can fly over 20 birds at once, and recall them to him all at once. He free flies cockatoos and macaws and conures.
And her first year of being fully flighted, I taught her to perfect her indoor recall skills.
Recall training isn't as hard as you would think and you can do it whether or not you clip. Find what treat your bird likes the best and keep it out of his main diet. Use it only in training. Get your bird to walk a few inches for a treat and when he gets that down, gradually make the distance further and further. Soon, you'll have him trying to find you as long as he knows there's food involved if he's motivated by food. There are birds who aren't and with them, you have to find other methods that get them excited enough to come to you. I've got a 'too that could care less about food but scritches, kisses, pets, and hugs are a whole different story! LOL!
Recall is nothing more than clicker training in it's simplest form and there's a whole section of AA just for clicker training if you want to check it out. It only takes a few minutes a day and is very simple and fun!
. I do use safflower seeds during trick training. They do not take the seed during flight training, so I used cuddles as a reward.I rescue and train pit bulls in the spare time I have, we use clicker training ALL the time, but my dogs can't fly over the fence and disappear into the sunset....Well most can't..Recall training isn't as hard as you would think and you can do it whether or not you clip. Find what treat your bird likes the best and keep it out of his main diet. Use it only in training. Get your bird to walk a few inches for a treat and when he gets that down, gradually make the distance further and further. Soon, you'll have him trying to find you as long as he knows there's food involved if he's motivated by food. There are birds who aren't and with them, you have to find other methods that get them excited enough to come to you. I've got a 'too that could care less about food but scritches, kisses, pets, and hugs are a whole different story! LOL!
Recall is nothing more than clicker training in it's simplest form and there's a whole section of AA just for clicker training if you want to check it out. It only takes a few minutes a day and is very simple and fun!
I don't know how Mercedez finds the time.....Very different than dogs!
.. I wake up early, clean and feed and take care of my birds and myself. Flight training is usually 3-12laps(laps as in going from A-B ). So however long that takes, or until your bird get tired.
I personally think Mercedez is nuts for free flying, not that I don't dream about it!I rescue and train pit bulls in the spare time I have, we use clicker training ALL the time, but my dogs can't fly over the fence and disappear into the sunset....Well most can't..
But, that's all I do is dream...I think that if I ever lost one of my birds outside I would lose my mind, so it's just not an option that I would ever explore. She's right about Chris Biro though, he's probably one of the leading authorities on free flight. I would throw the Womach brothers out with the bath water but that's neither here nor there.
I personally think Mercedez is nuts for free flying, not that I don't dream about it!
The only thing I really like about the Womach brothers, well Dave not the other guy, is that he recall trains. And so far during the videos, they arent too bad, and they seem to be alright as far as recall training goes They were taught by Chris Biro, so that may be why LOL But if you ever come by, I'll show you my birds and let them tell you how happy and well trained they have me and how well trained they are too. I do know when to do it and when not to. My scarlet was perfect for it after just 1 month of outdoor "controlled" training. My Umbies, not so yet. But unlike my scarlet, they were clipped as babies, so that may be the deciding factor, as to why they are taking so long to get it down.. and not being food motivated when they fly... lol
