The Importance of Parrot Recall

Parrot recall is incredibly important for us to teach our birds. Having the mindset of “not my bird” can be incredibly damaging in emergency situations. My bird wouldn’t fly out the door; I open the door all the time with them out and they have never attempted to fly off. My bird would never ignore me if it flew out and would come right when called. My bird wouldn’t go far when out of the house, it’s wings are clipped.

We should always plan for an emergency. Practicing indoor recall to your bird and specific contact calls can be so important if your bird is to get out of your reach. Clipping your bird is always a personal choice, but it also makes it so much more difficult to get them back if they do fly off. You really have to do a butcher wing clip that’s highly unethical to make your bird unable to fly, which then will lead to a lot more issues, especially with breaking bones. Clipped birds can and still will fly if they feel the need to or want to. Don’t rely on a wing clip.

But getting your bird back goes beyond the training and trying to set your bird up for success. It also is us getting educated on what to do if our bird is to fly out so we can work immediately to aid the bird in their journey back to us. If a bird is 60ft up in a tree, no matter your indoor recall, there is going to be some trouble getting down from that height; they’ve never practiced that and built up the skill and abilities to pull it off confidently. So, having more education in setting the environment and path up for success can help immensely with retrieval.

Creating a secure house with safety measures, setting your bird up for success by teaching it skills, having the correct mindset by letting go the “not my bird,” and getting educated on retrieval situations can help you keep your bird safe, and have a better chance of getting them back if they do slip out.