Flying Hungry or Not?

          The proper term for this ideology is Food Management. But basically this is what it means. Food Management is probably almost perfected by people who fly Raptor birds of prey (Hawks, Eagles and such). I think the real experts are in Europe or Asia where they have been doing so for centuries already. I do not follow this method and I am not expert in it, it requires you to keep your bird at a specific weight and you must weigh your bird daily to ensure he is not losing too much weight. This is one main reason I don't do this, it is more time consuming then I like and honestly our pet birds are usually more pampered then your average Eagle. But I still believe there is lots that could be learned from an experienced Falconer, so if you have the chance to go watch them train or see a trial I think it might be very beneficial for you in case you wish or already fly your parrots.

          I mentioned in all my food related articles how important it is to teach your bird to value their food and especially their treats. With that being said if you teach your bird how awesome treats are then you might not have to remove his pellets at all during the day, but this mostly depends on your bird and you. For example Molly is always crazy for treats and I fly her anytime of the day, no matter if she just ate or not, but Kaja is much more gentle and choosy with his food. They both still eat the same food at the same time and all, that's just how different they both are. Also Kaja we try to fly slightly hungry, lets say we pull his dish out couple hours before training and Molly does better when she is full (not stuffed just after she ate half of banana, but maybe 30 min or an hour after eating, if she is hungry she seems more skittish and cranky. 

          Important thing to point out is that in case you fly your bird hungry and should anything go wrong and your bird gets lost remember he will be hungry, therefor in this sense it is safer to fly them I wold say comfortable? Not hungry, not full but in a point where they would love a yummy snack every time you call them back to you. You just have to experience with your bird and find where that spot is for you guys...