Safe flight time in open floor plan

[ktluvszoe]

Hiya guys! Still fairly new to the forum and parronting, this is my second post and third week with my lovebird (first bird ever, aside from 11 year old neighborhood peacock who has chosen me as his person). Have a question about flight time in my house layout with a pretty open floor plan.

Currently, I’ve been giving my bird flight time for 3-7 hours almost every day + 10-12 hours of sleep but this schedule has been terrible for me so far because I am doing so in my bedroom or bathroom. I would like her to be able to fly around my desk where I do my work, which is currently located in the kitchen. However, the problem is, my house is an open floor plan and the kitchen connects to the family room, which has extremely high vaulted (plastered) ceilings + a ceiling fan, a ventilation gap, and connects to the dining room, which connects to the formal living room and entry way, which connects to the hallway with the bedrooms and offices. I’m wondering if it’s at all possible to let her fly out in the house like this, or if I have to confine her to my room and bathroom.

Is there a way to clip only a few wings to inhibit wandering but not require my chasing her and potentially traumatizing her? Floor to ceiling curtains aren’t an option because the ceilings are too high and curved & this isn’t just my house. In my bedroom she seems to mostly stick to perching on me and the spaces around me but it’s a much smaller space.

I’m also hoping to get her a larger permanent cage and put it in this family room area (we’re latin so she’s asleep by the time we get cooking anyway & would be in her sleep cage in my bedroom, hoping that no cooking fumes would linger in her cage and put her at risk 12 hrs later). Currently she’s in a small cage that I carry from room to room

 

[ktluvszoe]

Also, she's going to the vet this week but due to COVID it's drop off only (which I'm super nervous about) and so I won't be able to have this kind of discussion but can ask for clipping to be done

 

[flyzipper]

In my bedroom she seems to mostly stick to perching on me and the spaces around me but it’s a much smaller space.

My experience is this (mostly) continues even as the space increases.

I'd be comfortable with the open floor plan if...

• it's bird proof (don't run the ceiling fan, put a grate on the ventilation gap, etc).
• you provide specific places to land (and realize they'll still land elsewhere at times).
• have an established relationship so you don't have to chase to retrieve.

I don't clip and believe birds that are allowed to fly become better and safer fliers (we don't get better at things we don't do). If your little one gets into something, I'd suggest dealing with that something, rather than clipping.

 

[Shezbug]

My house is open plan so I just choose out of cage/flying times carefully. I don’t live alone so the biggest issue really is others opening doors to the outside or wanting to cook using anything that’s not the microwave.

I don’t think clipping is ever the right solution and it certainly comes with many of its own serious hazards and issues. Better to learn recall and excellent flying skills to stay happy and safe.

 

[Amaterasu]

I have the same problem at the moment. I'm considering installing pocket doors as a permanent solution, possibly some curtains as a temporary solution.