Can an old bird learn to fly?

[CStone]

One of my cockatiels can't fly. Well, that's not exactly true. He can take off and fly straight, but he cannot steer or land unless he lands on his birdcage, which is a large target. I believe that birds should be allowed to fly because that's what they were meant to do and I'd like to let him have flight feathers, but I'm always afraid that one of the times he takes off he's going to hit the wall too hard and cripple himself or die. Of course, he wants to take off every time his mate does. She's an excellent flyer. The only time I worry about her flying is when she purposefully buzzes my husbands head(she's obsessed with his hair -I think it's funny, he does not LOL). I've been keeping him clipped, though, so that he just glides to the floor. He gets about five or six feet away at the most.

I was thinking about putting up angled nets in places where he's most likely to head towards in order to "catch him" like the cage does by giving him a big target to try and grab and land on. I'm wondering if this would allow him to get better at flying if I let his flights grow in. Does anyone have any experience with bad flyers? Do you thinks it's possible to improve? Or should I not bother wasting money on making nets?

 

[CeciliaZ]

All my tiels are fully flighted and have been for a long time. They all fly well. In the past they have been given a light clip - my thought was - to prevent collisions into the wall. Even with a light clip 2 could still fly very well and the other 2 could not. For the 2 that could not fly well - there seemed to be more collisions and clumsiness. There were some scary moments letting them be fully flighted. But as they flew more...they became more skilled and have learned their maneuvers well. It seemed to be an acquired skill.

Give them high places to land...I have a climbing net on one end of the room and an atom at the other end. Not a waste of money - get those nets - it will give them a target to fly to and a place they will enjoy playing.

 

[CStone]

Thanks for the response. Every time I let him grow his flights in we have a scary moment, generally involving a wall, that makes me rethink having him fully flighted. My husband has been resisting the idea of the birds being allowed a spot in the kitchen, which is, of course, the direction Coco flies, but I think as long as they're staying on a spot designated for them he may be more accepting....well, I hope so.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

We got Paco when he was around 6, and he was never flighted and probably never fledged. He will occasionally fly when startled, or just from the bed to his net, but nothing else. He has been fully flighted for 4 years now, but he still doesn't like to fly. We make him fly sometimes, by not picking him up and putting him where he wants to go, but it doesn't seem to make him any more likely to fly on his own.

 

[Aequa]

I did a process with Smokie. I've been trying to do it with another bird but her flights aren't growing. Anyway.
Smokie was clipped from birth and was about 1 when I got him. Not old but he is a rather nervous bird when it comes to flying. Especially after he escaped through a door, he refused to fly for quite a while after that. But anyway, everytime I clipped him, I left his wings a little longer. He slowly began to control himself because it was only a little bit more force under his wings at a time. Clipping them back after they got a little longer also gave him confidence too because he could fly like a pro (his wings didn't push him too far so it was easier to control). Now his flights are pretty much grown out bar two or three feathers and he is a great flyer! I find he prefers to walk but he loves a good fly once a day. And he no longer has to convince himself to fly (funniest sight in the world but sad too).
I don't think this is the only method - you have to judge the right method for your bird - but this has helped my boy sooooo much. And I'm attempting it with a friend's Quaker as she has a tendency to just fly! Only one slight clip and she's already better at it though don't think I'll do another clip on her.

Also, I did some research on it, make sure both wings are clipped evenly. If only one is clipped, it unbalances the bird and actually causes crashes and can cause unbalanced muscle development. When I think back, all the clipped birds I've met who crash a lot did have only 1 wing clipped.

 

[CStone]

I did a process with Smokie. I've been trying to do it with another bird but her flights aren't growing. Anyway.
Smokie was clipped from birth and was about 1 when I got him. Not old but he is a rather nervous bird when it comes to flying. Especially after he escaped through a door, he refused to fly for quite a while after that. But anyway, everytime I clipped him, I left his wings a little longer. He slowly began to control himself because it was only a little bit more force under his wings at a time. Clipping them back after they got a little longer also gave him confidence too because he could fly like a pro (his wings didn't push him too far so it was easier to control). Now his flights are pretty much grown out bar two or three feathers and he is a great flyer! I find he prefers to walk but he loves a good fly once a day. And he no longer has to convince himself to fly (funniest sight in the world but sad too).
I don't think this is the only method - you have to judge the right method for your bird - but this has helped my boy sooooo much. And I'm attempting it with a friend's Quaker as she has a tendency to just fly! Only one slight clip and she's already better at it though don't think I'll do another clip on her.

Also, I did some research on it, make sure both wings are clipped evenly. If only one is clipped, it unbalances the bird and actually causes crashes and can cause unbalanced muscle development. When I think back, all the clipped birds I've met who crash a lot did have only 1 wing clipped.

This is such a good idea! Thank you! I have no idea exactly how old Coco is. He was left on a shelter doorstep four years ago and then my cousin had him for a year and acquired Athena during that year. I think she was still young when they got her but she has no legband or anything to go on. Now I've got them both. What I can read off Coco's legband says 06FL. I'd have to towel him to see if there's more because he doesn't want me to touch his feet(ticklish?lol). I thought maybe those numbers were year and state in which he was hatched. Anyways, he always looks so out of control when he does fly and I never thought about the fact that he may just feel like he's moving too fast and then panics and hits whatever is in front of him. The way Athena zips around here at top speed makes it appear that he's going slow but from his perspective it must be terrifying since he is so used to moving at climbing and walking speeds. I feel like a lightbulb just went on in my head! Thanks!


So, the to do list:

1. Convince the husband that letting the birds have a spot in the kitchen is a good thing using the excuse that it will at least keep them off the table which is one of the places Athena likes to hang out that irks him. I have a feeling I will get an eye roll response. But if I bat my eyelashes and try to be cute I might get away with it. This will give Coco a target to fly to.

2. Start letting his flights grow out gradually, hoping he will be in more control when he does take off and get used to it slowly.

Sounds like a plan!

 

[SueA555]

Joey is 16, and he learned to fly about a year ago. Before that I kept him clipped. He only flies to me, or to places where he can observe me from. He keeps getting better at it.

 

[Aequa]

CStone, just be sure to stay in tune with him - the key is to try and understand your bird and watch how they adapt to it. Some birds get to a point and are fine to just grow out the rest of their wings ^_^ the Quaker seems to be that way, Smokie I had to guide the whole way. I had to talk him into flying during the first period, I'd stand a meter away encouraging him crazily haha, I sounded mad and he looked crazed but it worked! Just last night however, he was whizzing around the house and it's definitely worth it now think he only has one clipped flight left now and seems to be approaching a moult so he should have allllllll his flights in full soon, we are so excited!

 

[Dartman]

Lurch was clipped when he got here 5 years ago, mad at the world, and was out shape and didn't even flap much. His flights slowly grew back, he became calm and happy and slowly realized he could fly.
Now we are in a much bigger house and he even flies around the lamp and the pass through wall to find me in the hallway. He keeps getting better and stronger and he's been here 5 years now.
He's about 10 now and was 4 to 5 when I got him, no clue if he was flying before I got him but he sure likes buzzing around now and always lands on my shoulder when I try to leave his area.
I think as long as it isn't causing issues they should be able to fly, if the bird goes into homicidal dive bombing rages maybe a clip till they bond and play nice.

 

[CStone]

2 of Coco's flights grew in on each side which left 3 clipped on each side. He ended up taking off and flew straight across the room and directly into the wall, then slid behind the fish tank, breaking the new flights on one wing that were finally fully in. This is exactly what happens every time he's even slightly flighted. He doesn't even attempt to land on anything. *SIGH* I think I should probably even it out and clip the other side to match the ones he broke which will leave him where we started, which is, again, starting to look like the safest option for him. I'm not feeling so optimistic anymore.

 

[Dartman]

Nerd bird my first Maxie had missing and bad flights on one wing. He too would mostly fly in straight lines and crash into the wall. He knew he couldn't fly well so he tended to make short hops and mostly walk where he wanted to go. His flights usually were FLAP, FLAP, FLAP...THUD! He would scuff his nose and get red spots around his white eye skin. He made it 31 years with me and never seemed to be bothered by the crashes, however he didn't do it daily so if you think he'd be better off clipped for now I'd do it just to avoid injuries, hope some day he can grow them in and learn to fly but safety first, good luck.
Nerd had really BIG thighs by the way

 

[Monica]

I think a better alternative is to teach Coco to target. Stand next to an item he enjoys being on, then have him step up on said item. Reward. Repeat 10-100 times. Then, move your hand slowly back maybe an inch, so he has to do a long step up. Repeat 10-100 times. Then make him step up with a beak grab. Repeat 10-100 times. Then have him hop to his spot. Repeat 10-100 times. Then a hop with a flap. Repeat. Hop with a few flaps. Repeat. Hop with several flaps. Repeat.


Or........


Teach him to step down from your hand onto a perch or onto the bed. Make it a very short distance. Have him step down. Repeat 10-100 times. Increase the distance to a hop. Repeat 10-100 times. Increase to a hop with a flap. Repeat 10-100 times...... I'm sure you know where I'm going with this!


Be sure to always reward him for doing the behavior. Give him millet or seeds to encourage the behavior. Verbally praise him for doing the behavior. Try to make it fun and exciting! Start out doing training sessions for 30 seconds to 2 minutes several times a day! You can slowly increase how long you train, as well.



From the sounds of it, he knows how to fly (more or less), and he knows how to land on his cage.... however, when he's up in the air and not flying to his cage, he doesn't know how to land! So you need to teach him how to land in locations other than his cage! Having him clipped isn't necessarily beneficial in training this behavior as he needs his wings in order to slow his approach. (I know, not easy to do when he breaks them!)