How do you know they wont fly away? I am so scared to let my conures outside since my sun conure got stuck 35 feet in a tree. She got spooked by a dog, and nearly flew away. I got her back, thank goodness, but I got quite a scare! :o
@deepfriedbanjo It is all about training them properly BEFORE you let them fly out doors. If they have the skills they need, then they can handle situations that come up. How to building those skills is what we talk about when we discuss flight training concepts. There is theory, practice and experience involved to get good at it. Chris
@themightymightyone Snicket is doing great. Snicket flies with our flock of 11 sun conures almost every day. They are turned loose in the morning and come back in later in the evening. They are really a lot of fun, Snicket especially. Chris
@callum424 Clipping is not taming. Good training is taming. No we do not clip these birds wings. Yes our birds are the most tame and friendly flighted birds you will ever meet. Guests who come to Moab to fly with us often comment about how social and friendly our birds are. That comes from good handling skills, not from being clipped in the past. Clipping only stops them from being able to fly, or get away from you. That is not the way to improve your relationship with them. Chris
@chrisbiro1 I bought my sun from a pet store with his wings already clipped I don't ever plan on clipping them he is just starting to fly just today he flew in a tree and took us a while to get him down I don't yell at him nor am I mean to him but he's just not worming up to me I've had him about 6 mos and try to give him lot's of att. and treats when I play with him do you have any tips other then the same ol same ol ones you look like you know what your doing
@namasterchoma The underhand toss is not such a big deal to them. It is kind of a playful thing we do sometimes. You can tell they enjoy it when they tuck their wings until the last moment before they start to fall and then circle back around to do it again. When you seem them diving off cliffs or suddenly dropping from high in the sky, they don't mind this kind of "falling". Chris
Yeah, thanks for answer. I know you woudnt never hurt your birds. It just _looks_ bad :D You really love your birds and they you :) I like your videos and its happy to see that at least one bird owner here let his birds do what they do, fly. Wing clipping is worst what ppl can do to their birds imo.
@chrisbiro1 You train your gorgeous birds very good. I just got a Budgie (parakeet) and trained him myself to do exactly the same this outside and I am only 14!
There's no mistaking that conure screech! This is beautiful. I would hope anyone can see from this how cruel it is to clip a parrot and reduce it to walking. I bought mine clipped and got quite a surprise when she went for a test flight on a walk in the park. She only had some of her flight feathers then and I let the rest grow in. Clipping her is now unthinkable. She has the run of the apartment at all times, flies back to her cage door to poop (her idea) and only chews on her toys and blanket.
i love this birds!! im getting 2 sun canure this friday as a gift!! hopefully i can trained them like this so far my 2 half moon canure are able to to do this around my house... my goal is to get a blue & gold macaw and an african grey parrot
Hi Chris, some months ago, I took on flight training my Amazon and had success indoors so I moved onto outdoor flying. It started out very well but several days later, he spooked after seeing a flock of birds flying overhead and took off. I recovered him 3 months later after someone found him but am nervous about starting flight again. What location do you recommend starting outdoor flight training? My front yard so he knows the surrounding, a park, or somewhere with very little trees?
I recommend a wide open space with no trees, no nearby busy roads, no dogs, few people, no power lines, etc. Your goal is to be able to see and follow the bird where ever it goes. No private property boundaries or fences to keep you from following. Most important is to be able to see it and to follow it. Chris
This is a very cool video. I have 3 conures and 2 cockatiels. I give them alot of out of cage time. but I would be so scared to let them outdoors to fly.
We had one not come back. I think she went home with someone from the parking lot. There were several factors that contributed to the situation. I was super tired that day and made several mistakes on that occasion. The lessons learned from mistakes some times come with a heavy price tag. Nikki will not be forgotten. Chris
Hi Chris. I have a male sun conure he is 5 months. I was wondering how to teach him to fly free outdoors. He has his wings clipped right now. I really want to teach him to fly. Can yo please tell me how?
Hi Chris, I have a handfed mexican redhead amazon that is 2 years old now. I was able to teach him a number of tricks but I want to know if i can still train him to free fly like your birds. I read your articles on free flight and he's past the fledgling stage but i want to know if its still possible. Have you had any success with an older bird?
Yes older birds can be trained to fly outdoors. But it is much more work and the risks are higher. It will take longer and you will need to rely more heavily on food management than with a baby. The trick is that you will have to train both behavioral issues such as come when called at the same time the bird is learning the basic flight skills. With a baby I can mostly train the two independently which makes it a lot easier and safer. Chris
I'm thinking of buying a indian ringneck/derbyan/alexander parakeet and training it to fly free. Are they at all suitable for this. Maybe I'll buy one first and when it is properly trained I'll buy a companion so that they can fly together. Is it helpful when teaching a younger bird to have an older bird that kind of teaches the younger one to return to you? do you have any tips. At what age should I start. thanks in advance :)
Ringnecks are less social as young birds than are most parrots and thus not one of my first choices for freeflight training. I like to do it the easier way that many other species work very well for. Chris
Cockatiels would not be my first choice, but they probably can learn to fly out doors. Some people have reported trouble with them, others have had success. Chris
What extremely lucky birds for you to allow them and trust them to fly like that. My Sun Conure just turned 1 in March and his flight feathers are full grown and we are tinkering with the idea of free flight but worry we are starting too late. He loves attention and us and really loves to fly. He is an expert flyer in the house but we worry about outside - what do you think about a 1 year old? Too old?
Feather plucking can be caused by many different causes, thus it is really hard to evaluate over email. I would start with a visit to an avian vet to rule out medical causes. Then try behavior analysis and environmental enrichment. Chris
Actually most people of the general public think it is cool when they see us flying our birds but they seem to think it is kind of normal for birds to be able to fly. The bird people of the group though are obvious since their jaws are on the ground with mouth wide open in amazement. It is always fun to show them that this is actually possible. Chris
I totally agree with you, Chris. The general public does think it's normal for parrots to fly about, but the recall is what seems to captivate them. I often get remarks like "doesn't he fly away?" from strangers when I bring my fully-flighted fids outdoors here. I would say only parrot lovers who are against having pet birds fully-flighted are the ones having mixed feelings though, upon seeing our fids fly outdoors. I've yet to know other free-flyers in my country.
Without knowing a lot of information about your home, your lifestyle, your goals with the bird, your experience with birds, your experience with training, your tolerance to noise, your tolerance to feather dust, etc. it would be unwise to suggest a particular bird species to you. I myself am mainly about freeflying parrots so I like macaws, conures, cockatoos, and amazons. I am sure there are other species that would make good fliers but I have no experience with them. Chris
ok, thanks a lot! I really want a parrot, but I don't know which parrot! Macaws and cockatoos and amazons no. I would prefer another parrot and not to expensive. What do you recommend me?
I just got a Sun Conure and he's out of his cage most of the day. He follows me everywhere and loves taking naps under the covers. They're such funny birds.
The trick is not to try to MAKE them stay but to get them to WANT to stay. They first learn how to master all the flight skills they can while flying indoors. They also spend time in a cage outdoors getting comfortable being outdoors. Then when we feel we are ready we start over with short flights outdoors just like we did when we started indoors. So when we go outdoors nothing is new to them. Chris
Love birds could be trained to fly outdoors. They are very small and hard to see in a tree. Some species of hawks are very good at catching tiny birds. You would need to be very careful were you flew a love bird. But they could be flown outdoors if you can accept these risks. Chris
Indian Ringnecks do not have the same social bonding that most other parrots do and thus will be harder to work with for flight than most other species of parrots. The trainer will have to rely on food management almost entirely. I personally would chose a different species of parrot. Chris
I like them also and currently have 2 of them. But they do not bond to the hand feeder the same as most other parrots. This makes training freeflight more challenging. Much heavier use of food management would be needed to train a ringneck. I normally use very light food control, favorite treats are what I use and do not like restricting access to food. Chris
Look at my video list. My ringneck can glide our street, he does other things, and that videos a pretty poor distance, but it gets the idea across. I'd do more but my camera's gone.
And generally yeah the ringnecks aren't as sociable. But mines like obsessed with me. So thats why it works i think.
I think having a bird flying to you of it's own will is one of the most beautiful things in life i've ever experienced. Just throwing it out there.
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can cockatiels be taught free flight????
MrStewie238 1 month ago
how do u train them to fly back to you like on ur video????
vy951 1 month ago
How do you know they wont fly away? I am so scared to let my conures outside since my sun conure got stuck 35 feet in a tree. She got spooked by a dog, and nearly flew away. I got her back, thank goodness, but I got quite a scare! :o
deepfriedbanjo 6 months ago
@deepfriedbanjo It is all about training them properly BEFORE you let them fly out doors. If they have the skills they need, then they can handle situations that come up. How to building those skills is what we talk about when we discuss flight training concepts. There is theory, practice and experience involved to get good at it. Chris
chrisbiro1 6 months ago
woow your birds are really friendly to other birds my Green Cheek Conure is only good with some birds...
xViPeR21x 8 months ago
poop in your pants
owenmonkeyrule 9 months ago
2:00 Camera Pwn
MrsPsyfic 10 months ago
How is Snicket doing?
themightymightyone 11 months ago
@themightymightyone Snicket is doing great. Snicket flies with our flock of 11 sun conures almost every day. They are turned loose in the morning and come back in later in the evening. They are really a lot of fun, Snicket especially. Chris
chrisbiro1 11 months ago
Parang balewala naman
treblig808 1 year ago
have you clipt there wings before to tame them because they are flying very good
callum424 1 year ago
@callum424 Clipping is not taming. Good training is taming. No we do not clip these birds wings. Yes our birds are the most tame and friendly flighted birds you will ever meet. Guests who come to Moab to fly with us often comment about how social and friendly our birds are. That comes from good handling skills, not from being clipped in the past. Clipping only stops them from being able to fly, or get away from you. That is not the way to improve your relationship with them. Chris
chrisbiro1 1 year ago 2
@chrisbiro1 I bought my sun from a pet store with his wings already clipped I don't ever plan on clipping them he is just starting to fly just today he flew in a tree and took us a while to get him down I don't yell at him nor am I mean to him but he's just not worming up to me I've had him about 6 mos and try to give him lot's of att. and treats when I play with him do you have any tips other then the same ol same ol ones you look like you know what your doing
gi99le 6 months ago
0:33 didnt look nice :( but it was wonderful to see how much these guys enjoyed fly free :) and more important, you give them change to do so :)
namasterchoma 1 year ago
@namasterchoma The underhand toss is not such a big deal to them. It is kind of a playful thing we do sometimes. You can tell they enjoy it when they tuck their wings until the last moment before they start to fall and then circle back around to do it again. When you seem them diving off cliffs or suddenly dropping from high in the sky, they don't mind this kind of "falling". Chris
chrisbiro1 1 year ago
@chrisbiro1
Yeah, thanks for answer. I know you woudnt never hurt your birds. It just _looks_ bad :D You really love your birds and they you :) I like your videos and its happy to see that at least one bird owner here let his birds do what they do, fly. Wing clipping is worst what ppl can do to their birds imo.
namasterchoma 1 year ago
@chrisbiro1 Man! even thought the macaws have a more powerful stroke in flight, Appollo is flying FAST!!!!!!!
warofthewalruses 1 year ago
woooooow amazing !
MrKrakap 1 year ago
You know what shocks me... those three birds... and a very loud conure... fly over those kids...
Do the kids seem to notice...
No. Personally, I'd notice three birds like that... flying overhead.
JuMunchie 1 year ago
Beautiful but I would be absolutely terrified to do that with any of my birds.
ginnylrunyan 1 year ago
hi i think it is amazing how snikket doesnt fly away how long did it take you to train snikket??
aolmos1 1 year ago
With the right set up it takes only a couple months. You can read about the way we train our birds at wingsatliberty com Chris
chrisbiro1 1 year ago
@chrisbiro1 You train your gorgeous birds very good. I just got a Budgie (parakeet) and trained him myself to do exactly the same this outside and I am only 14!
sammymunir 1 year ago
woah those are a lot of birds!!!
Iranitas 1 year ago
thats really neat that they come back unreal. we just got a parakeet and we're holding it already it's been here for 30 min
kevinandcharlette 2 years ago
thats sooo cool
ninja6kid 2 years ago
lol 1:59
watchit2341 2 years ago
great work! respect!!
AthensHasMe 2 years ago
How do u get them to come back after they fly?
makeup012z 2 years ago
There's no mistaking that conure screech! This is beautiful. I would hope anyone can see from this how cruel it is to clip a parrot and reduce it to walking. I bought mine clipped and got quite a surprise when she went for a test flight on a walk in the park. She only had some of her flight feathers then and I let the rest grow in. Clipping her is now unthinkable. She has the run of the apartment at all times, flies back to her cage door to poop (her idea) and only chews on her toys and blanket.
IdentifyWithResearch 2 years ago
@IdentifyWithResearch wow she sounds like a great bird. i bought my conure with clipped wings but im letting his wrings grow too =)
Equinewhispers 2 years ago
I love Snicket's calls. It is so wonderful that all the birds get along so well. Thank you so much for sharing.
chihuahuabulldog 2 years ago
i love this birds!! im getting 2 sun canure this friday as a gift!! hopefully i can trained them like this so far my 2 half moon canure are able to to do this around my house... my goal is to get a blue & gold macaw and an african grey parrot
zeromapps 2 years ago
i wish i could show my dad that letting a bird outside isnt bad...............to scared it will fly away.
im happy to see that ppl bring bird outside instead of locking them in cages!!! :)
magnetman0102 2 years ago
that is so neat
debkiss10 2 years ago
Hi Chris, some months ago, I took on flight training my Amazon and had success indoors so I moved onto outdoor flying. It started out very well but several days later, he spooked after seeing a flock of birds flying overhead and took off. I recovered him 3 months later after someone found him but am nervous about starting flight again. What location do you recommend starting outdoor flight training? My front yard so he knows the surrounding, a park, or somewhere with very little trees?
shoi2ti3 2 years ago
Congratulations on recovering him after 3 months.
I recommend a wide open space with no trees, no nearby busy roads, no dogs, few people, no power lines, etc. Your goal is to be able to see and follow the bird where ever it goes. No private property boundaries or fences to keep you from following. Most important is to be able to see it and to follow it. Chris
chrisbiro1 2 years ago
Where will anyone find a place like that? Can you teach budgies to do this?
picatsoforfma 2 years ago
wooow. Es asombroso o.O
Me encanta!!
Son hermosas esas aves y además son abedientes...
yamygd 3 years ago
This is a very cool video. I have 3 conures and 2 cockatiels. I give them alot of out of cage time. but I would be so scared to let them outdoors to fly.
wyldewynd 3 years ago
have you ever had a parrot not come back after a free flight??????
GEO3535 3 years ago
We had one not come back. I think she went home with someone from the parking lot. There were several factors that contributed to the situation. I was super tired that day and made several mistakes on that occasion. The lessons learned from mistakes some times come with a heavy price tag. Nikki will not be forgotten. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
Hi Chris. I have a male sun conure he is 5 months. I was wondering how to teach him to fly free outdoors. He has his wings clipped right now. I really want to teach him to fly. Can yo please tell me how?
THanx
KAtie
KatielikesOwen 3 years ago
very nice...pretty birds and nice to see that the small birds flying outside too!!!!!Have a cockatiel and she flying outside like yours!:-)
diatr 3 years ago
Hi Chris, I have a handfed mexican redhead amazon that is 2 years old now. I was able to teach him a number of tricks but I want to know if i can still train him to free fly like your birds. I read your articles on free flight and he's past the fledgling stage but i want to know if its still possible. Have you had any success with an older bird?
shoi2ti3 3 years ago
Yes older birds can be trained to fly outdoors. But it is much more work and the risks are higher. It will take longer and you will need to rely more heavily on food management than with a baby. The trick is that you will have to train both behavioral issues such as come when called at the same time the bird is learning the basic flight skills. With a baby I can mostly train the two independently which makes it a lot easier and safer. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
wow that was great, how old was snicket when he/she started to learn free flight out doors?
morris2286 3 years ago
i have a sun conure too,but i dont want to clip his wings because i fell bad.if he flys out the door, do you think he would come back?
GEO3535 3 years ago
I love snicket!
eternalsunny 3 years ago
So do we. Glad you enjoyed this video of Snicket. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
I'm thinking of buying a indian ringneck/derbyan/alexander parakeet and training it to fly free. Are they at all suitable for this. Maybe I'll buy one first and when it is properly trained I'll buy a companion so that they can fly together. Is it helpful when teaching a younger bird to have an older bird that kind of teaches the younger one to return to you? do you have any tips. At what age should I start. thanks in advance :)
klaverenvrouwke 3 years ago
Ringnecks are less social as young birds than are most parrots and thus not one of my first choices for freeflight training. I like to do it the easier way that many other species work very well for. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
can you make a video for me on how to train a bird to come to you???????!!!!!
devonkid41290 3 years ago
Someday, mabye even someday soon. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
i have a cockatiel can it do that?????
devonkid41290 3 years ago
Cockatiels would not be my first choice, but they probably can learn to fly out doors. Some people have reported trouble with them, others have had success. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
Great Sun Conure and Macaw's they look happy with you guys too:)
PyramidLilly 3 years ago
Thanks. They are a lot of fun. Chris
chrisbiro1 3 years ago
youre amazing how do you make her come to you??
devonkid41290 3 years ago
What extremely lucky birds for you to allow them and trust them to fly like that. My Sun Conure just turned 1 in March and his flight feathers are full grown and we are tinkering with the idea of free flight but worry we are starting too late. He loves attention and us and really loves to fly. He is an expert flyer in the house but we worry about outside - what do you think about a 1 year old? Too old?
ambygirl1008 4 years ago
dang u guys must be good owners how do you get them to do that and love u so much
kevinsongsong 4 years ago
hi guys my sun conure used to be beautiful until oneday it starts to pluck its own feathers?? why is dat so? is he under some kinda stress?
Cimande83 4 years ago
Feather plucking can be caused by many different causes, thus it is really hard to evaluate over email. I would start with a visit to an avian vet to rule out medical causes. Then try behavior analysis and environmental enrichment. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
Wow! Those people there must have been pretty shocked when your Macaws flew over their heads! I get strange looks when I just walk with my parrot!
Shocktreat9 4 years ago
Actually most people of the general public think it is cool when they see us flying our birds but they seem to think it is kind of normal for birds to be able to fly. The bird people of the group though are obvious since their jaws are on the ground with mouth wide open in amazement. It is always fun to show them that this is actually possible. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
I totally agree with you, Chris. The general public does think it's normal for parrots to fly about, but the recall is what seems to captivate them. I often get remarks like "doesn't he fly away?" from strangers when I bring my fully-flighted fids outdoors here. I would say only parrot lovers who are against having pet birds fully-flighted are the ones having mixed feelings though, upon seeing our fids fly outdoors. I've yet to know other free-flyers in my country.
mzbs17 4 years ago
pkwase teach me how to do it, am going to buy a baby sun conure too, not yet weaned cause i know when it is a hand reared bird, its very tame
babyluvz 4 years ago
Must be so fun to interact with birds like that :]
And having them nibble on your hair haha! <3
Sadly I live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow most animals :<
SoaringReality 4 years ago
Without knowing a lot of information about your home, your lifestyle, your goals with the bird, your experience with birds, your experience with training, your tolerance to noise, your tolerance to feather dust, etc. it would be unwise to suggest a particular bird species to you. I myself am mainly about freeflying parrots so I like macaws, conures, cockatoos, and amazons. I am sure there are other species that would make good fliers but I have no experience with them. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
ok, thanks a lot! I really want a parrot, but I don't know which parrot! Macaws and cockatoos and amazons no. I would prefer another parrot and not to expensive. What do you recommend me?
ramii07 4 years ago
well thank you a lot for your tips. I'm having a vlue indian ringneck!
Thanks a lot for backing me up!
ramii07 4 years ago
I just got a Sun Conure and he's out of his cage most of the day. He follows me everywhere and loves taking naps under the covers. They're such funny birds.
deviouzly 4 years ago
how did you do to make your birds stay with you??
ramii07 4 years ago
The trick is not to try to MAKE them stay but to get them to WANT to stay. They first learn how to master all the flight skills they can while flying indoors. They also spend time in a cage outdoors getting comfortable being outdoors. Then when we feel we are ready we start over with short flights outdoors just like we did when we started indoors. So when we go outdoors nothing is new to them. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
wow thank you so much. The video is awesome!
And can a lovebird be trained to do that??
ramii07 4 years ago
Love birds could be trained to fly outdoors. They are very small and hard to see in a tree. Some species of hawks are very good at catching tiny birds. You would need to be very careful were you flew a love bird. But they could be flown outdoors if you can accept these risks. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
well thanks for the answer.
I want a lovebird so I'm searching all the information I can.
What do you know about lovebird??
ramii07 4 years ago
well, if you don't mind I have another little question :P can indiand ringnecks be trained to do that?
ramii07 4 years ago
Indian Ringnecks do not have the same social bonding that most other parrots do and thus will be harder to work with for flight than most other species of parrots. The trainer will have to rely on food management almost entirely. I personally would chose a different species of parrot. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
really? I like Indian Ringnecks, people say they are very intelligent and pick up things very quickly!
Why would you prefer another parrot?
ramii07 4 years ago
I like them also and currently have 2 of them. But they do not bond to the hand feeder the same as most other parrots. This makes training freeflight more challenging. Much heavier use of food management would be needed to train a ringneck. I normally use very light food control, favorite treats are what I use and do not like restricting access to food. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
Ok, thanks.
I'm planning on buying a parrot. that's why. What parrot do you recommend me?
ramii07 4 years ago
can be indian ringnecks trained to do that? are indian ringnecks longer than conures?
ramii07 4 years ago
Look at my video list. My ringneck can glide our street, he does other things, and that videos a pretty poor distance, but it gets the idea across. I'd do more but my camera's gone.
And generally yeah the ringnecks aren't as sociable. But mines like obsessed with me. So thats why it works i think.
I think having a bird flying to you of it's own will is one of the most beautiful things in life i've ever experienced. Just throwing it out there.
JackHanley123 4 years ago
Oh yes I had seen your video befor you told me this. And I download it! eeheh
I hope you can send me a pm with instructions so it will b4e easier for me. so I'll learn from an expert!
ramii07 4 years ago
Yes I agree that a bird turned loose that returns is an amazingly wonderful experience.
I have had Ringnecks that as they got older became very attached to me. I am really pleased to hear you are having good success with yours. Chris
chrisbiro1 4 years ago
Yup, like they say. Individuals do count sometimes, not the generalization of the species.
mzbs17 4 years ago