What is free flight?
Free-flight involves training your parrot to safely fly outdoors, come when called, follow basic commands and recognise natural dangers. Parrots are highly intelligent animals and require enrichment such as flight, exposure to fresh air and natural sunlight. Flight is the most natural form of exercise for them, unfortunately exercise is something that most pet birds lack. Pet birds cannot get effective exercise merely by walking and climbing around. Flight requires a fairly significant amount of physical activity, as well as mental activity. There are tons of benefits that comes with flight, after all this is what they are born to do and who are we to take that away from them?
Are there risks?
Yes there are risks involved with free flight and it’s important to learn what possible risks are so you can avoid or minimise the risks associated with outdoor flight. To name just a few, your bird could be blown away by a strong gust of wind, your bird could be chased or killed by a bird of prey, your bird could be electrocuted on a power line or hit by a car. Although there are risks, some of these risks can be curved by selecting the ideal weather to fly in (no strong winds) and the ideal locations to fly at (no power lines or busy roads). As for birds of prey, naturally all bird species in the wild have to deal with territorial or predator birds, they are capable in dealing with these situations if they are strong flyers, you have selected your flight locations carefully, you have a fair understanding of the native birds and you have chosen the right candidate for free flight. Risks are always a concern however, when enrolling into the free flight lifestyle, you are there to set your bird up for success and minimise the risks as much as possible.