{"id":138413,"date":"2023-06-01T20:22:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T01:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windycityparrot.com\/?p=138413"},"modified":"2023-06-01T20:22:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T01:22:18","slug":"the-importance-of-keeping-pet-birds-flighted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/?p=138413","title":{"rendered":"Why Its Important to Keep Pet Birds Flighted"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Keeping pet birds flighted is a topic of debate among bird owners and enthusiasts. Some argue that it is important to keep birds flighted for their physical and mental health, while others believe that wing clipping is necessary for safety reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Keeping pet birds flighted can help keep them healthy and free of disease. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Flight provides birds with exercise, which can help prevent obesity and other health problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Additionally, flight can be an important part of a bird&#8217;s natural behavior and can help reduce stress and boredom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe title=\"Cockatiel slow motion landings\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mXF9e0wJnuA\" width=\"854\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Allowing birds to fly freely can also strengthen the bond between a bird and its owner. Flighted birds are able to move around their environment more easily and can interact with their surroundings in a more natural way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/product-category\/behavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Find Flight Harnesses at Windy City Parrot Here<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">However, it&#8217;s important to ensure that flighted birds are safe in their environment and that they are trained to come back to their owners when called.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">A segment of pet bird keepers believes wing clipping can help prevent birds from flying into windows, mirrors, hot pots, or escaping.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/birds-molt-affect-flight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Does a Bird&#8217;s Molt Affect It&#8217;s Flight?<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">I say nonsense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">With that thinking no teenager would ever take or get driving lessons on the fear \u201cThey would crash into a wall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">The majority of flight mishaps are due to \u201cpanic flight.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">A panicked bird isn&#8217;t thinking and just wants to escape its current situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">A white wall looks like a \u201cclear path\u201d and bam!<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/flight-can-detect-illness-bird\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">How Flight Can Detect Illness in your Bird<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">We fix this by teaching our birds where and how to land.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Be it on top of the birdcage, a bird play stand, or a favored place like a headboard where Barney spends the day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"138125\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/?attachment_id=138125\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Barney-cockatiel-headboard-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Why Are Bird Species Different Colors?  &amp;#8211; Here Are 4 Examples\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Why Are Bird Species Different Colors?  &amp;#8211; Here Are 4 Examples&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Why Are Bird Species Different Colors?  &amp;#8211; Here Are 4 Examples&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Barney-cockatiel-headboard-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-138125 aligncenter\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Barney-cockatiel-headboard-600x600.jpg?resize=600%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Cockatiel perched on headboard in front of windo\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">The area is covered with a towel and paper so no harm no fowl.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Mirrors should be covered and windows should have \u201cdistractions\u201d that send a message to the bird &#8211; \u201cthis is not a portal to the sky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Birds are naturally flighted creatures and for good reason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/product-category\/nutrition\/food-by-type\/vitamins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find Bird Vitamins for Optimal Avian Health @ Windy City Parrot Here<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Flight allows them to escape predators, find food, and explore their surroundings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">When birds are kept in captivity, their ability to fly is often taken away. This can have a number of negative consequences for the bird&#8217;s health and well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Benefits of Flight for Pet Birds<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">There are many benefits to allowing pet birds to fly. Some of these benefits include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Increased physical activity: Flight is a great form of exercise for birds. It helps to keep them healthy and fit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Improved mental health: Flight can help to reduce stress and anxiety in birds. It also helps to improve their cognitive function.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Enhanced social skills: Birds that are allowed to fly are more likely to interact with their owners and other birds. This can help to improve their social skills and reduce loneliness.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Increased lifespan: Studies have shown that birds that are allowed to fly live longer than those that are not.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Risks of Wing Clipping<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Wing clipping is the practice of trimming a bird&#8217;s flight feathers so that it cannot fly. This is often done for safety reasons, but it can have a number of negative consequences for the bird. Some of the risks of wing clipping include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Obesity: Birds that are unable to fly are more likely to become obese. This is because they are not getting enough exercise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Heart disease: Obesity can lead to heart disease in birds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Liver disease: Obesity can also lead to liver disease in birds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Psychological problems: Birds that are unable to fly may experience psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and aggression.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Escape: Birds that are wing clipped are more likely to escape from their owners. This can be dangerous for the bird, as it may not be able to find its way back home.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe title=\"How to train your bird to Fly Free?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LJk_I3SVuUA\" width=\"854\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><b>How to Keep Pet Birds Safe<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">There are a number of things that can be done to keep pet birds safe while they are flying. Some of these things include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Provide a safe environment: The environment in which the bird flies should be safe. This means that there should be no sharp objects or other hazards that the bird could injure itself on.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Supervise the bird: When the bird is flying, it is important to supervise it closely. This will help to prevent accidents from happening.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Use a harness: A harness can be used to keep the bird safe while it is flying. This will prevent the bird from flying away if it gets scared.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Train the bird: It is important to train the bird to come back to you when it is called. This will help to prevent the bird from getting lost.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Allowing pet birds to fly is important for their health and well-being. There are a number of things that can be done to keep pet birds safe while they are flying. By taking these precautions, you can help to ensure that your bird has a long and happy life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Written by Mitch Rezman<br \/>\nApproved by Catherine Tobsing<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keeping pet birds flighted is a topic of debate among bird owners and enthusiasts. Some argue that it is important to keep birds flighted for their physical and mental health, while others believe that wing clipping is necessary for safety reasons.\u00a0 Keeping pet birds flighted can help keep them healthy and free of disease. Flight [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_mo_disable_npp":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flight"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/eclectus-parrot-wing-flap-hand-1.jpg?resize=1140%2C445&ssl=1",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/eclectus-parrot-wing-flap-hand-1.jpg?resize=463%2C348&ssl=1",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/eclectus-parrot-wing-flap-hand-1.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/eclectus-parrot-wing-flap-hand-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1",1200,1200,false]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/eclectus-parrot-wing-flap-hand-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phcfkq-A0t","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}