Takeing birds outside?

[mrgoogls]

hey everyone. I just bought an aviator harness for cooper(YAYAYAYAYAY) and it is arriving soon. my lawn isn't sprayed at all so I am going to let him walk in the grass. but I have a few questions. for one, are the "helicopter" seeds okay for them to eat? I have a TON of these near my house so I kinda need to know. second, is eating the grass itself okay? next, what about bugs, like ants, and "potatoe bugs" (sorry don't know their real name haha). and last, can I let cooper sit in a tree? he would still be on the harness, but is a pine tree safe? or a crabapple tree? I know both of those woods are safe, but the pine tree has the sap and my crabapple tree has the blue/white flaky stuff all over the bark. and overall are there any other things I should watch out for?

[mrgoogls]

also, this doesn't have to do with taking him outside in my backyard, but there is a park near my house and it has trains in the woods and stuff, would it be okay to take Cooper there? he wouldn't leave my hand there but is the environment itself safe?

[Turquoise]

Hmmm, you bring up a lot of very good questions. I have my theories about it, but I don't have first hand experience with any of it. I could only get my Aviator harness on Roscoe twice before he was 1 yr old. Since then he is full of himself and tries to rip it to pieces when I get near his head with it. The DVD that comes with it is very good, but none of my macaws are as quiet and calm about such things as the one the guy demonstrates how to put it on with. And certainly not 'The Diva' Miss Leyla Belle! He does say it take work to achieve that point in the training. My summers are just not that long to wait.

There are folks here who do have experience with taking their birds outside on a regular basis. I'm sure they will have the answers to your questions. Oh and when you do take Cooper out, get photos, if you can! We want to see how he likes it outside. :th_biggrin:

[mrgoogls]

thanks! ill try to get some pictures of the little guy in the grass:) hehee

[ShellyBorg]

I have found that most hand raised parrot will no more eat a bug then most kids. ( I did say most!)

[aliray]

I would not think it would be a problem but I would keep him away from the pine just because of the pitch. I have no idea how you would get that off feathers. However Quakers have started their own colonies in NY, Mass, Fla, Texas, RI to name a few and seem to be doing quite well. So my guess is that they are pretty smart as well as hardy. I say go for it with the harness and let him have a good time. My guess is he will love it. Mare Too Amigo flies free and seems to be doing just fine. Sometimes I think we are getting a little too paranoid. I look up bird safe wood only to find that my Sweetie Pie chewed the corner off My Mothers Mahogany buffet that she bought in 1942 and had been waxed ,polished with heaven only know what, with no harm to him, the little green troll. My mother was probably rolling over in her grave at that one considering she would have skinned me alive if I ever put a scratch on it when I was a kid. I know she is now waiting for him and will get him when he crosses over and probably me

[Pinkbirdy]

Ha Ha Aliray well said !! I would look up all plants and anything that concerns you[ or hope Weco sees this]

[mrgoogls]

I would not think it would be a problem but I would keep him away from the pine just because of the pitch. I have no idea how you would get that off feathers. However Quakers have started their own colonies in NY, Mass, Fla, Texas, RI to name a few and seem to be doing quite well. So my guess is that they are pretty smart as well as hardy. I say go for it with the harness and let him have a good time. My guess is he will love it. Mare Too Amigo flies free and seems to be doing just fine. Sometimes I think we are getting a little too paranoid. I look up bird safe wood only to find that my Sweetie Pie chewed the corner off My Mothers Mahogany buffet that she bought in 1942 and had been waxed ,polished with heaven only know what, with no harm to him, the little green troll. My mother was probably rolling over in her grave at that one considering she would have skinned me alive if I ever put a scratch on it when I was a kid. I know she is now waiting for him and will get him when he crosses over and probably me

haha thanks! I agree, sometime I think we get a it paranoid and over protective. I agree with the pine trees, it would be really hard to get out of feathers haha. my biggest concern was the "helicopter" seeds because there are just SO MANY near my house. ill just be extra careful not to let him eat anything unless I find some info about it. my harness is supposed to arrive the 18th, so HOPEFULLY, cooper lets me put it right on and we can get outside. so possibly pictures shorty after that! (by the way, how do I post pics?)

[gemini_84]

good luck kenny, i have taken oxy out a few times but he prefers to just sit on my shoulder rather tgen play in the grass.

i dont know what helicopter seeds are so i cant advise on that, but eating the grass is fine. My vet suggested i give it to my flock regularly as its a great source of vitamin A for them.

Have fun with him, i need to get more harnesses and try train prince and bruno so i can take them outsidewithout the cage.

[mrgoogls]

I think the "helicopter" seeds are seeds from maple trees. not sure though. I have just always heard them called that :) haha

[aliray]

They are Maple seeds and called that because when they come down the seeds spin like a heliocopter

[mrgoogls]

do you happen to know if they are safe for parrots?

[aliray]

Kenney I looked it up on google and most maple is ok with the exception of the bark of red maple because of possible fungus on the bark that if you take the bark off then it is safe. the seeds are eaten by birds and squirrels and deer but are not good for horses. the new young leaves are rich in sugar as are the seeds

[mrgoogls]

alright thanks! ill take it their not toxic then! I wont be feeding them to him but now I don't have o owrry if he grabs one. thanks again! :D

[aliray]

You're welcome

[Mare]

Oh Alison! I do believe mother would be rolling in her grave! Amigo has been in, around and chewed on every natural fauna in our area and has never had a reaction. I do believe that most birds will not ingest something that is poisonous to them, this is only my thoughts and my experience with Amigo outside. I've seen him take bites out of different plants and instantly drop them. Oak and pine have always been his friend even though he will hack off large limbs and pitch has never been an issue for Amigo.
Kenny, be extra careful when allowing your bird to be in a tree with a harness on. They can be very quick and get tangled up. If you set your bird in a tree, with harness, make sure you can reach the top of the tree in case help is needed to get out.
I wish you all kinds of luck getting your bird to accept the harness, I didn't have any with Sassy.:(

[aliray]

The pine trees I am most familiar with is the white pine that grows in the north east and you can't get near it without getting covered in pine pitch. If Amigo landed in one of those he would look like a very dirty large fluffball with all kinds weard things stuck to him like leaves, dirt and pine needles

[Mare]

Alison, I've been around pines like that and you're right, Amigo would be a sticky mess and would probably have to molt the nasty, sticky feathers to get it off. We have, what I call, bull pine where we live. He doesn't spend as much time in them as he does the oak but I've never seen pitch on him.