Flight Lessons?

[pacoparrot]

Paco has his full feathers but never really flies. I have recently been trying to get him to fly back to his cage, with some success. It would be healthy for him to learn how to make a few rounds around the room considering he is a little overweight and needs the exercise. I also have him used to wearing a harness and it would be nice to let him fly with it on. He CAN fly but he doesn't know how to land and lacks the confidence to take off on his own, even when he wants to. I really would like to see him learn to fly.

 

[Clueless]

Beautiful Amazon.

MC flew once by accident and landed on a counter (about two feet).....was very astonished and has never tried again.

Secret has flown off cage and play stand numerous times....never knows where she will land though.

Both birds are slightly clipped.

 

[Mizzely]

I'd start with target training and slowly increase the distance that he has to go for the target

Some birds just never fly for "fun" and need a lot of incentive to do so. To me it's like running... Some people think it's fun to do a lap or two around the block, while others would say that the only way they are doing that is if a bear is chasing them

 

[InTheAir]

Shawna,

Does the couch potato tendency apply to birds who have always been flighted too? Mine are only young but they seem to fly just for the fun of it a lot, especially after being caged for a couple hours.

 

[Mizzely]

Flying is expensive at an energy level. In the wild they would only fly for a few reasons: to get to food, to get to safety, to get to a mate, etc. It's not really in their program (IMO) to fly "just because". Every calorie they'd spend needlessly would be a calorie they can't use towards survival. And with most of our birds just a few generations from their wild counterparts, our birds are very much still wild animals with those instincts very much intact.

Jingo has been flighted for all but 9 months of his life (clipped by breeder). He only flies if he is scared or is food motivated. If I leave the room, he contact calls instead of flying after me. He'll do a few laps around the room sometimes after being caged for a longer amount of time than usual but only because Koopa does it first. At that point it is a flock activity I imagine it is much harder to convince an only bird to fly for fun, especially since their flock (us!) never does

 

[InTheAir]

That's interesting.

 

[Solayan]

Frodo has never been clipped and seems to like to fly just for the fun of it. Sometimes he'll do laps of the apartment with no apparent goal in mind.

It's also his preferred method of locomotion generally. If he and I are both in one room and I leave for another he'll almost never step up to let me carry him. He prefers to let me turn my back on him and get part way out the door so he can fly to me and land on my shoulder. Sometimes he'll just ride along, but if he can tell where I'm heading he'll often take off again to get there ahead of me.

 

[lupe]

Elvis, my U2 is fully flighted. He chooses to fly to any destination in my apt....from cage to kitchen, from kitchen to couch..etc. since being flighted he rarely walks on the floor. He is also an expert at flying from the floor to my arm. I can tell you what worked for me.
I ALWAYS new he wanted to fly..and I was right. When I brought him home he had a horrific clip on both wings. Since then his wings have fully grown out and are amazing>>OK, I started with a T-stand. This way there was NO way he could climb down. His incentive was a walnut or an almond.....I started with a distance of about 3 feet...he would jump on my arm...He would get a treat...little by little I extended my distance until he flew!....any effort he made, he would get a treat..it took him about 3 weeks...and the rest is history...He REALLY enjoys flying...and I love that he does....

 

[lupe]

Oh! the controled landings take a tad more time..practice makes perfect..like in most things in life...good luck with your Paco..he is gorgeous!

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[Hankmacaw]

It's great that you are trying to get your Amazon to fly. Especially for perch potato - big eater Amazons the exercise is so important.

Keep it up - flying is worth every bit of your effort.

 

[pacoparrot]

Paco doesn't really enjoy attention that much and is not motivated to do anything for food. In fact to this day he will not accept a treat from me. I doubt he will ever fly without being pretty much forced to.

 

[adinafloyd]

I dare to dream that Jax or Scarlet would stay on their cage or playstands while I do my housework. Soon as those doors open they are flying. Scarlet is heading straight to me or hubby and Jax is making a wild loop around the room then to me or on top of the fridge where he will then call me to "com'ere" I don't think Toot has ever learned to fly, she is around 30yo and I know that for the most part she was never let out of the tiny cage she was kept in. she comes out and stays on her cage. So we have designated bird out times where they can be with us the whole time they are out.

 

[SueA555]

Joey only flies to me. He is getting much better at it, and is flying further to find me. He has now flown from his play stand to the kitchen a few times. At first, his landings were awkward, but they are getting much better. He is 16, and was clipped for the first 15 years.