How Chico surprised me and embarrassed me the same time...

It's Saturday. After Bird Fair, dinner and walk in the park(without harness), we realized, we're short of some pet supplies for dog and budgies seeds. One, two, tree we decided, we take dog, Chico and drove to the pet store near us, when we was able to get everything.
Situation: we walk in, my bf keeping his dog on the leas, I keep Chico on my shoulder without harness. Everybody goes, O, hi, what a cute dog, Oh, Ah, what a cute bird, jada, jada, jada.
I took seeds per lb, my bf took bones for dog and we're going back to the cashier and there was lady with cute Labrador across me. Chico suddenly make a very laud: Wee and make a u-turn from my arm and fly to the end of aisle. I was , but run and grab her. I didn't keep her on my shoulder no more, just hug her, kiss her and kept her in my hands.
Okay, we're standing to cashier, there was cute hot-dog behind us... and Chico did escaped from me again. This time she was so afraid, that I have to chaise her in the store... While my bf was paying, I came to him with Chico and everybody was looking at me as an completely idiot. I can imagine, that all those people thought, that I'm so stupid, that knowing that my bird can fly, I just bring Chico without harness.
And that was the last time I did it. Good it happened in the store, not during my walk in the neighborhood, where is plenty of cars...
What surprised me the most, that she is not afraid of my bf's dogs or deers and another dogs in the park.
She was clipped, her wings grows a bit, bot still not full. But in the situation she was stressed out, she managed the long fly twice...Now she has 2 choices: harness or clipped wings. So far we're with harness.

And that was the lesson for me: If you have a small bird, do not trust, that the clipped wings won't stop her one day from flying!

I'm glad you and Chico made it home together!

So, is Chico fully clipped? I keep all of mine fully clipped and go out without a harness.

Glad you didn't lose little Chico. Yeah, the tiels - you can breathe on them too hard and they take off.

Julsiebean wrote:

I'm glad you and Chico made it home together!

So, is Chico fully clipped? I keep all of mine fully clipped and go out without a harness.

Julsie, she came to me clipped March 16th. Now is what June... Her wings grow back a bit, but not fully grow. At home she kinda fly down without a huge booom, I mean smoothly But what she did in the store (chicken!) was completely unexpected from me. Now I'm aware...

I have read that 'tiels are very hard to fully ground, they are very good fliers. So a harness or a little carrier is probably the better part of valor when outside. I need to get Scooter habituated to his harness so I can take him out. Even when we have him clipped the way we want him (we like to leave the outer two pretty blue flight feathers intact) if he gets very startled, he can go far enough to get into trouble.

Believe me, I learned my lesson. I won't take her out without harness no more.

I took Chico for a walk on leash/harness today and... she loves to fly. Since she did that in the pet store Saturday, she is trying to fly out from my shoulder on every tree she'll see on her way. Thank goodness for harness! And during the tree searching, she make a different kind of Wee! (from soft one to angry one). I believe that what happened Saturday, gave her more confidence to try fly outside.
It's good, nothing better to see your pet happy
And more people from neighborhood start starring at us, but do we care?

Margaret wrote:

And more people from neighborhood start starring at us, but do we care?

Margaret wrote:

And more people from neighborhood start starring at us, but do we care?

$10 says it's more out of curiosity than any sort of annoyance.

Like Jake says, "I can fly,I can FLLYYYYY"

HEART ATTACK!

I get nervous just taking them out in a carrier, I don't know what I would of done.

patdbunny wrote:

$10 says it's more out of curiosity than any sort of annoyance.

Yes, but it's contagious. The girl working in the nearest 7/11 store has a son. She felt in love with Chico. I was going there and finally she ask me about 'tiels and how are they/etc./etc. She told me also, that years ago one guy was coming to this store with exactly the same bird on the leash. witch means I'm not the first one in my neighborhood. But that's not the end. She finally made out her mind to made a search via Internet and she wants a 'tiel "for her son". I know her for a long time and I know, that will be her cockatiel, but son is a good excuse

zazanomore wrote:

I get nervous just taking them out in a carrier, I don't know what I would of done.

I bet patdbunny's $10 you would do the same what I did