Pet parrots given the chance to learn to fly free

DUNEDIN, Fla - Lauren Reilly loves Rio, not the City in Brazil. Rio is her Blue and Gold Macaw. He’s not just any parrot; Rio is a free-flying parrot who is one of Reilly’s closest friends.

"My love for parrots actually goes back to when I was 11 years old," she recalled, "I started with parakeets, and I ended up volunteering at an exotic bird emporium."

That began a life-long devotion to learning all about her multicolored Macaw.

What they're saying:

"I always felt so guilty about birds being clipped and living in cages all of the time," said Reilly, "When I heard about free-flight, that (it) was a possibility that you could train your parrot to fly back to you and allow them to enjoy…, actually use their wings and to fly, I felt that is what I want to do with my life."

Reilly cautions that raising a parrot is just that, it’s a life commitment. 

"It is a major, major, commitment. These birds can live decades, and decades... they can outlive their owners." She shared, "I like to tell people that unless you can't live without a macaw, don't get one."

She recommends volunteering at a bird clinic or a similar facility where birds are raised and/or rehabbed. 

Her personal commitment comes from the place where she just could not bear to be without a feathered friend in her life.

That’s where Rio comes into the picture. 

"I learned everything about parrots," she said. And, in that study, she found that when raising a bird like a parrot, allowing them to fly free helps to develop motor skills, muscles and contributes to their overall wellbeing.

"Rio comes from a long line of free flyers," she recalled. "His training started as a fledgling. That's really the best. It's a process, do a lot of research and find a mentor."

She had done her homework, but she sought out someone local who was already successful in training birds in free-flight.

"Not every bird is good for free flight. Every bird is different."

What Reilly learned along the way is that some birds are better candidates for free flight than others. It has to do with their natural ability and whether they’ve been caged already and haven’t developed those necessary muscles. 

 The training takes a commitment from both the owner and the bird.

"You have to identify what rewards are the most high value for your bird," she said.

Her recommendation is to put a selection of treats out for the bird on a plate and watch what they select. Then keep that selection as the favorite treat item for training.

Before considering free-flight, the owner needs to get used to the necessary threat assessments. Are there predators around like hawks, crows and seagulls?  Is the space roomy enough for free flight and could my bird escape from this location?

The escape portion is something she rates from a level 1 to a level 5. A level 1 is an indoor space where the bird escapes to a top shelf and refuses to come down for a time. Level 5 is the Grand Canyon where the bird flies to the bottom and cannot be retrieved. 

Her recommendation is to settle on a comfortable level for training and proceed from there.

In free-flight training, Reilly said, "Really, the most important thing is the bond and the trust. I work on it every day. Trust is like a bank account for my bird, I want to keep adding to that bank account and seeing it grow."

With trust being the number 1 thing in free flight, she said, "Training is the 2nd. It takes a lot of time and dedication and training."

Again, she recommends getting a mentor; a person who has done it before to give instruction and guidance.

"Third, is the bird physically," she said, "Has the bird been clipped its whole life, does it have the muscle strength to fly, can it evade predators?"

In her experience, free-flight has been the best thing for her relationship with her parrot Rio.

"He's only been free-flying for about a year now. He always responds to my calls," she admitted, "I am his person, and he loves me. That's why he comes back to me."

What's next:

You can learn more about Lauren Reilly and her Free Flight Parrot Project on her Facebook page here.