Today I went to my first get together for a parrot club I have really wanted to join called the Bird Heard and it was AWESOME! I met soo many super nice people crazy about birds and we took a field trip to the Wilson Parrot Foundation and I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!! It is a parrot rescue and there were
30-something birds there (and not just a few big parrots and a couple cages full of budgies or cockatiels, 95% of the birds there were african grey size or larger, all the way up to a moluccan too, GW macaws, a scarlett macaw, and quite a few BG's) and I fell in love with soooo many of them. The one I fell in love with most was one of the volunteers birds, a red lored amazon(Caeser) who she said only liked her but he stepped right up for me and was super cuddly with me, let me pet him a ton, and just carry him around with him against my chest, Caeser's owner was amazed. And I fell in love with a little senegal who was SOOO trusting of EVERYONE. I held the goofiest moluccan cockatoo you will EVER meet too, super duper duper loud but SOOO entertaining, he was a deep color pink and had perfect feather.
Then we went to one of the bird heard memebers house who is a volunteer for another rescue who has 10 of her own birds but also 10+ birds she fosters until they can find a home. I absolutely LOVED one of her foster female ekkies who was sooo cuddly, I thought ekkies weren't cuddly or liked being pet a ton?
I then met one of the most amazing birds I have ever seen in my entire life......a little teeny tiny parrotlet! I never realized how small they actually are! He was quite a bit smaller than a budgie! He was full of sooo much personality too!

One thing that I found strange was that a lot of the bird heard members bring their clipped birds outside during the summer without a harness on (the one guy who gave me a ride said if you cut them right, they can't fly very far at all, even with wind, he said he has experimented with all his birds, except his new BG rescue, and they can only go a little bit then land). And, since the weather was soo nice today, 10 or 15 of the parrot rescues birds were outside on huge cages,playstands, branches and people's arms. They were all clipped but isn't that still bad?
If clipped correctly and safely(not so they go crashing if they fall), is it safe to take a clipped bird outside?


Also, the members who gave me a ride have a red fronted macaw, a military macaw, a blue and gold macaw, and a umbreally cockatoo. I know about how it is bad to have the two combined, but when I went in their house, there was little, if any too dust in the room and she said she doesn't clean that much other than normal bird stuff cleaning like poop on cage removal. She had a big air purifier in the room, is that why they don't have a too dust problem?


OMG TODAY WAS SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That sounds like FUN! Yes, I look at Chipper and think, GOSH, she is little! SO much fun to have her.

Sounds fantastic - what a great experience !

I met a lot of people from that Club last year (June, 2006) at the PDD fund raiser I held at the store. Becky, Ingrid and Pam. Did you meet any of them?

Regarding taking birds outside with clipped wings without a harness: IMHO I would not take the chance. All they need is one good gust of wind....

I think I met Becky, I am sure I met the other two, but I can't remember. I only have 5 or 6 of there names imbedded in my brain.

I agree with Kathie. I think that clipping gives a very false sense of security when taking birds outside without a restraint. Anything could spook the bird and it takes very little for them to get far away. And not to mention predators, like hawks, can come out of nowhere.

Sounds like a wonderful time - wish i lived near-by too.

I don't know about the clipping!!??
Maybe these birds are used to being outside & are 'relaxed'. I joined the Recall training group on yahoo - & there are clicker training groups. I think training your bird would be preferable to clipping & a lot safer over all. They you get to see them fly a bit.

The most successful trainers seem to be the Macaw owners. But then I'm pretty lazy with my Budgie - & doubt I'll try him outside! Once you get them used to coming & staying on command you can try out flying in large indoor spaces like a horse arena or gym, as the next step.

Keep us posted on the club - sounds like a good thing for all of us to be doing - just lazy here to drive to meetings.

I totally agree. Across the street, there is a hawk STALKING my neighbors birds in his indoor aviary. The sucker sits outside the room teasing the birds everyday. So, he no longer takes his birds outside, even with a harness on.

That sounds like so much fun Shane! I sure wish there was something like that around here.

That day sounds like my idea of heaven.