Safe Flying for Companion Parrots

Many people would prefer to keep their birds without wing-clipping, but are afraid they might lose 'control' of their bird.

Following are some tips on how to train your bird to accept some basic flight requests from you so there is no need for your bird to be wing-clipped.

The importance of flight

Captive parrots lead very different lives from their wild counterparts but unlike other pets they are not domesticated creatures. They retain a strong urge to carry out as many of their natural or 'wild' behaviours as possible and common behavioural problems often occur where these behaviours are denied a bird.

One of a parrot's most fundamental behaviours is, of course flying, and this too is often denied them. This article explains how to teach your bird some simple requests regarding its flying. By the use of these requests, you can have all the control you need of your flying bird so there is no need to resort to wing-clipping.

In addition to the benefits of ensuring better mental health, flying is the only way a parrot can get proper exercise, since just walking and climbing never put any real demands on a bird's heart, respiration rate or muscles.

The new requests

Most parrot carers already teach their bird the usual 'step up' and 'step down' requests. The flight requests just add to those requests. The training suggested here is based on ensuring you first provide your bird with a suitable reward for these further behaviours.

The rewards can be anything which your particular bird already really likes. This may be a food treat, or having his head scratched, or access to a favourite toy. During training, make sure your bird actually earns these rewards; do not give them for free, otherwise you will defeat the object of associating the rewards with the desired behaviours.

In addition to the new flight requests, I also recommend birds be taught another request to stop or 'stay'. Your bird should already be familiar with stepping up and down from your hand, and be reasonably good at flying before teaching these further requests. Training sessions should only last for 3 or 4 minutes at a time, though you can have several sessions each day if your bird appears happy to learn these things. Most birds can be taught these requests within 5 to 10 days.

Teaching the 'stay' request.

This request is not used to make a bird stay in one place, as that is not appropriate for creatures as active as parrots. Its purpose is just to ask a bird to refrain from approaching you for the moment, perhaps when you need to leave the room without the bird following you. So, when you wish to stop your bird approaching you, just hold your hand up with the palm towards the bird and say 'Stay'.

If the bird does stop advancing towards you, praise him and give a suitable reward. After a few times of doing this, the bird will learn that 'stay' means he cannot come to you for the moment; you can then fade out the food reward. You can also use this request to stop a flying bird from landing on you. Again, just hold one or both hands up to stop the bird landing on you as you say 'Stay'. When he lands elsewhere, reward and praise him.

Flight requests - teaching 'go, go'

This means 'please fly off me'. Initially, teach this command by standing with the bird on your hand, about four feet from its cage or any other place the bird is already used to using. Place a food or toy reward for your bird on the place you would like him to fly to so that it is plainly there for him to see. Point to this place with your free hand. Then turn your hand with the bird on so he is facing this and say 'Go, go'.

You may also swing your hand with the bird on in the direction of the cage or perch. The bird should leave you by flying and landing as intended. The target perch/place should always be level with, or higher than your hand with the bird on. Make sure you praise the bird as soon as he lands and takes up his reward. When the bird is happy to do this from a few feet away, gradually increase the distance.

Then, practise this request in other locations, encouraging the bird to land on other familiar perches and places until you can ask the bird to leave you wherever you happen to be. Once the bird is familiar with your verbal request, you can fade out a physical reward, and just offer verbal praise.

Teaching ‘on here’; please fly to me

This is a recall request, asking your bird to fly to you. Through using the training methods suggested above, your bird is very likely to bond to you and want to be with you anyway. The bird will also probably start to fly to you as well. When this happens, you can encourage the bird to do so on cue, by using a request for this behaviour.

Place the bird on a familiar perch a few feet from you. It helps if this place is just a little lower than your outstretched arm which you'll ask the bird to fly to. Have a suitable reward held in your outstretched hand that your bird can see and say 'On here'. As soon as the bird comes, give the reward and lots of praise. If the bird does not come after a few brief attempts at this, cease the session and do not give any reward. Just try again later, when you think your bird is more keen to agree to your request.

After a few sessions the bird should associate the phrase 'On here' and your outstretched arm with the reward and will come to you on most occasions when asked. After the bird becomes accustomed to this, you need only reward intermittently, or you can change the reward to a head scratch instead if your bird already likes this.

Teaching 'off there', please leave

This is a safety request used if the bird lands on any potentially dangerous or unsuitable place such as the TV, a light fitting, the top of a door etc. This request is best taught simply when the opportunity arises, and your bird lands on such a 'banned perch'. When this happens, just approach him and wave one hand near him while saying 'off there'. Use a wafting motion of one or both hands near the bird.

You can also try waving an unfamiliar but harmless object such as a handkerchief near the bird. The bird should leave the perch and fly to another place, but not to you or any other person. If the bird attempts to land on you after having been asked to leave a banned perch, use the 'Stay' command (which you have already taught the bird) to prevent this.

When the bird does alight on some other 'acceptable' place after leaving the banned perch, praise him immediately. Make sure everyone in your family is 100% consistent with regard to banned perches. Once the bird has been taught that a certain place is inappropriate it must always be so. For safety reasons birds should be taught that the top of any door is also a banned perch.

Safety

Keep in mind the obvious safety precautions with parrots: make sure all windows and external doors are closed before your bird is out of the cage. Also, have net curtains over large-pane windows and remove, reverse or cover up any large mirrors. Turn off any ceiling fans.

The key to all good training is making sure you first find something that is of great value to your bird that you can use as a reward for the behaviours you are teaching him. This might be having his head scratched, or having a favourite nut to eat, or a toy that your bird is really keen on. The reward is the vital motivation you need to give your bird. Once parrots have been taught these flight requests reliably, there is no need for wing-clipping companion parrots.

By Greg Glendell - Last updated 16 November 2012