To be pissed off at this parrot owner

[Lailla719]

We found a parrot in our garden a few months ago, managed to find its owner. Couple of months later, the same thing happened.

Owners have now created a facebook group for the purpose of finding the parrot the next time it’s lost. Turns out this parrot flies off most weeks.

Members of the group are enjoying following the parrots ‘adventures’, commenting that it’s a local celebrity.

I personally think the parrot needs rehoming, it’s all fun and games until a bird of prey or a cat kills it. It’s only little.

It’s really pissing me off.

If I was the parrot I'd rather have a short life with a bit of freedom than a long life in a cage. But then I'm the sort of person who thinks caged birds should be banned

Better thsn being in a cage.

What type of parrot is it

They sound like careless idiots with no consideration for the welfare of their pet. It's all cute and fun until the next post where the poor thing's been ripped apart by a cat or a hawk in someone's back garden.

It's not a cat (and I don't even think cats should be free-roaming unless you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere) and it has no survival instinct or even the sort of colouration that would give it a chance of blending in and avoiding predators.

I should probably add that I think parrots are better off not as pets. They need much more stimulation and freedom than the average person is capable or willing to provide. They belong in the wild, ultimately. But letting a pet parrot loose where it probably isn't even endemic is terrible.

I'm not sure many cats could catch a parrot. My moggie managed a magpie recently (bleurgh) and I was surprised he managed that! Especially as he only has one eye...

We have an African Grey and let him out on the condition he has to wear his North Face Puffer so that cats and other birds think he’s well ‘ard and leave him alone.

I think it’s an acceptable risk for the parrot. We have a blue macaw round here. It likes to sit on the basketball hoop in the park. Its dad is almost always nearby and it’s pretty well trained but it could come a cropper one day. It’s better than a caged life though on balance.

There used to be a pair of macaws living in Kirby Stephen in Cumbria who flew free. Nearly shat myself the first time I saw them. Lived for a long time.

When you say it flies off most weeks, do you mean they let if fly free and sometimes it get lost or that most weeks it is escaping?

What is the group called so we can join?

For well ‘ard I think you should have gone with a little collar with pointed studs on!

I came here to say the same thing 😂

You may like near me! if it’s KT4 We have a parrot in the local area that is a free roaming parrot, it’s registered(in the same way pigeons can be I believe) and has a Facebook page more because people would think it had escaped and obviously it hadn’t. It doesn’t cause issues and is funny to see flying about.

@Lailla719 well if you find it in your garden, just keep it! they know how it gets out. windows and doors must be closed when bird is out of cage.

I’m wondering if we all either live near each other, or there’s a wandering parrot in every village. Ours has a fb page too!

Better to die of misadventure than to be stuck in a cage all it's life. Live your best life, parrot !

We have a local dog like this, has its own Facebook page now. It’s constantly referenced on the local pages being complained about by people who nearly run it over. These people are promptly shouted down by those who say the dog is merely having a little wander and will return, the original people retort with safety concerns, dog poo questions and warden threats, the back and forth continues on a weekly basis.

We have a ferret like this. Several times a week he’s spotted out and about. I’m now wondering whether it’s actually perfectly reasonable, and the ferret just likes to take himself off for a walk.

If I were a parrot I'd rather have my freedom rather than a long life in a cage

YANBU. I understand why it might seem like they're living their best life, but free flying needs to be done safely. It's highly specialised. It should never be done in a residential area. Their human should always be present and they should be wearing GPS.

This lady is absolutely phenomenal. She rehabilitates and re-homes rescues. She drives miles to free fly her birds safely.

The 1st vid shows what free flight should look like, and the 2nd talks why it shouldn't just be done 'willy nilly'

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AwvswNWyB/

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1MEmQ7Y5p2/

Obviously there's no Utah desert in UK! but there are alternative safe locations. A residential neighbourhood isn't one of them.

But it doesn't have to be one or the other. They don't have to be stuck in a cage all their life, and they don't need to die of misadventure. It's possible to create large aviaries, and to free fly birds safely. I've put some vids in a previous post.

Also - an escaped parrot, who can't find their way home, and doesn't know where to sleep, or why it gets cold at night, or how to find food, or where to shelter if it rains - they are not living their best life - they will be highly distressed. It might look cute and funny to see them landing on random buildings and getting into scrapes, and people not accustomed to parrots may not pick up on their body language but they're not having fun. They're are vulnerable and scared.

I do too. It’s like with cats, if they die then at least they’ve been free. People who have adventurous lives who die doing what they love, at least they were living.

And the sheer number of cats roaming free outside is a very good reason why it's a very bad idea to release parrots into residential areas!

Wild parrots fly miles every day. They have strong wing muscles and are capable of evading predators. Parrots kept in houses do not have the same opportunity to build wing strength or stamina. Outside, without flight training, they tire surprisingly quickly. They are not equipped to escape predators.

Cats, on the other hand, do not have many suburban predators...

They have cars though.
I see what you’re saying with the pet parrots but it seems to want its freedom.

The bird does want freedom. But they do not understand the dangers of flying out of the house. African Greys, for example, have the intelligence of a 5 year old child. Many 5 year old children would like the freedom to run out of the house whenever they choose to. Doesn't mean we let them. We keep them safe.

Whether we should keep birds captive in the first place is a different question. But regardless of a person's views on this, where someone does keep birds, they have total responsibility for that bird's safety.

(and cars don't actively hunt cats. A cat can avoid cars by choosing not to cross busy roads. Most cats recognise this. Accidents happen, but cars are not active predators)