YOung galah - can I let it fly free?

[joiner]

Hi guys,
I recently became the owner of a very tame (I'm guessing captivity bred) galah. It looks to be a young male with a fair bit of growing yet to go. He is terrific!
My query is do I let him free-fly? He seems to love home, but I fret about him coming to grief while he is out.

Any tips would be appreciated.
Joiner

[avinet]

Hi and welcome to the Forum

I assume you mean fly in the house and not outdoors. Flying outdoors needs a lot of prior training and a large degree of faith before attempting. Personally I have never, and never will, allowed any of my birds to fly outside.

From the sounds of your comments the bird is still a baby not yet weaned, and yet to take it's first flight. Weaning normally take 2 to 3 weeks after that first flight.

I have always considered it essential for baby birds to learn to fly in the house as part of their weaning and development. Flying is an aquired skill - it doesn't all come naturally. Taking off and flying does come naturally but turning and landing where they want to land has to be learned. So that means those first few attempts can be pretty stressful - make sure all the windows have curtains drawn and mirrors are covered, and any delicate ornaments are taken away. Make sure the kitchen is off limits if cooking is being done, and off course doors are closed.

Once the bird has learned to fly proficiently then it is up to you whether you allow the bird to continue to fly in the house or whether it is clipped. There are arguments for and against - the birds enjoy flying but not all houses are safe for a bird to fly, and with a larger bird such as a Galah chewing might become a problem - I have spent quite a large amount of money over the years repairing chewed cornices for instance, and have has quite a lot of books and shelves chewed up.

cheers

Mike

[joiner]

Hi Mike,
thanks for the reply. he is certainly weaned and can fly (he took off yesterday thanks to a cat scaring him) and ended up in a tree a block away. I coaxed him down after about an hour and it was obvious he was a bit scared of taking the plunge from 10 metres up. His wings are clipped, but perhaps not too well as he can take to the air.

Given your message I think I'll play it cautiously.
Cheers
Joiner

[avinet]

A good article on correct wing clipping is at scas.org.au/html/wing_clipping.html

cheers,

Mike

[sfan]

I have had my Galah get away twice in the last six months. The second time it took 8 days for him to be handed into the RSPCA. He has now been microchipped.

[Greybeard]

A point to remember with clipping the wings is that it prevents the bird gaining altitude - it doesn't stop the bird from flying. Also even if the wings are clipped properly, a gust of wind could easily give him enough lift to get over the fence and fly anywhere.
In my area, there are flocks of short beaked corella's, sulfur crested cockies, galahs and lorrikeets. Some of them speak quite well so I'm sure that there are a few escapees amongst these birds. Personally I would allow him to fly inside (my eclectus loved flying around the house) but would think twice (maybe three times) before allowing him outside to fly.