Unweaned Babies for Flight Training
There have been advocates recently of training parrots for freeflight by relying on the “baby bond” rather than a solid foundation of positive reinforcement training at an appropriate age. This style encourages novices with little to no parrot care experience to purchase unweaned babies to feed and start flying before the weaning period is finished. The May 2008 World Parrot Trust newsletter features this column by Jim McKendry of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia, where he works with free-flighted birds and parrot behavior (Experts & Answers). In this section he is responding to a question about a newly adopted 17-week old Congo African Grey parrot who was not fully weaned:
I noticed that Dr. Brian Speer has responded to another question you submitted concerning an appropriate diet for an unweaned African Grey. It is important that we continue to reinforce to the parrot owning community just how completely inappropriate it is to purchase a parrot as young as this. This is perhaps the most critical stage of development in a parrot’s life. A time where it needs to be socialised with other parrots, provided opportunities to forage, explore its environment, develop its flight skills, muscle tone and coordination, and given time to properly develop its independence. Breeders need to be challenged to ensure that each of these absolutely essential experiences have been catered for prior to being sold.
The sale of unweaned baby birds by stores and bird marts is also illegal in the state of California, with strict guidelines for ensuring a proper age and weight before adoption. A good breeder can provide the social environment needed with other birds, the space to develop and practice flight, as well as the feeding care required for a healthy transition to independence. If a breeder you select will not allow a bird to fledge naturally, keep looking!
Many well-trained free-flighted parrots have started well past the weaning age, or even as older adults. For some examples, see the Colorado Fly Week gallery. All of the birds at this event started training no younger than 6 months, with the exception of one cockatoo who was weaned by her trainer, an experienced hand feeder, when she could not be kept with the breeder. Training is the key, not the false security of the temporary baby bond.
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