Help with teaching a cockatiel to fly

[Leuna]

Hi everybirdy, I've had my baby Squeak for quite a while now. We're quite close and are very close friends. He's definitely getting a bit older as is he is no longer wanting to spend every single second of the day with me (only most of them), but I am quite worried about him. Squeak is about 9 months old, and he is fully flighted (some new flights are growing in on his right wing but otherwise it's normal) but still barely flies at all. I have a suspicion that it's because of the size of where he lives right now (as of right now he lives in my room with me, however, I'll be moving into my own place soon and he will be able to explore the house at his leisure), but I'm still worried about him. He flew for the first time two months ago, and since then has shown he can consistently fly back to his cage (even turning around to get there) and very very rarely he can fly to me. However, he only does this if he gets spooked, or if he loses balance.

I've never once seen him fly more than an arm's length for something intentionally. The closest I've gotten with target training is him reaching out far to grab onto my finger, but he'll never progress past that stage. There are times when he misses his target (usually his cage) and will land on the desk next to it, and while he fully has the space to fly, he will wait and call for me until I come to pick him up (even though I am fully within his view). Even if I am standing only a few inches away, he'll wait to be picked up. The most he flies regularly is from my finger to my shoulder if he wants to be there but otherwise won't make an attempt to fly. Occasionally, he'll start to beat his wings really really hard, and almost take off but stay on the ground. He'll continue doing this for about 10 seconds before giving up. He's mostly done it in his cage (each time hasn't really had a reason, he just decided to do it) and has done it a few times outside of his cage.]

I'm not really sure what this behaviour means, I"m just hoping he'll be ok. By his age from what I understand he should be a confident flier, I'm just worried about him missing out on exercising his wings and getting to fly around. He's an absolute doll otherwise, a bit nippy sometimes but he's the perfect little boy. Is there any advice you could potentially give? Sorry for the wall of text and if things read a bit weird, English isn't my first language. Thank you all so much in advance, I really appreciate any advice you could give me.

 

[Ripshod]

I'm not really sure what this behaviour means

Put your mind at rest. Most parrots, if not all, will feel the need to exercise their wings and lungs. Even frequent flyers will do this. It's a great way to strengthen the wings for flight without actually flying. I have a hardwood floor and many a time I've had a bird 'skating' across the floor and even practicing turns. It's great to watch.
Yes, they will do it in the cage while holding tight to a perch.

 

[Leuna]

Put your mind at rest. Most parrots, if not all, will feel the need to exercise their wings and lungs. Even frequent flyers will do this. It's a great way to strengthen the wings for flight without actually flying. I have a hardwood floor and many a time I've had a bird 'skating' across the floor and even practicing turns. It's great to watch.
Yes, they will do it in the cage while holding tight to a perch.

That's good to know, thank you. He just seems to go really all out with it, flaps really hard. But if it's normal behaviour then I'm glad he's exercising his wings still.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Some cockatiels like to fly more than others. My tiel Sunset doesn’t really like to fly at all, where as Cappuccino loves it and Niko is somewhere in between. I can see that your little guy has you wrapped around his little talons because he knows you will come get him when asked! I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I do the same thing, but even little short flights will help him build confidence over time. Keep up the target training too, and don’t progress too far too soon.

 

[Leuna]

Some cockatiels like to fly more than others. My tiel Sunset doesn’t really like to fly at all, where as Cappuccino loves it and Niko is somewhere in between. I can see that your little guy has you wrapped around his little talons because he knows you will come get him when asked! I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I do the same thing, but even little short flights will help him build confidence over time. Keep up the target training too, and don’t progress too far too soon.

Oh he definitely owns me and not the other way around hahaha. That's greaat info, thanks a lot! It's good to know some birds are more predisposed to it than others

 

[Tara81]

The best time to train your bird is after they ate a healthy meal. Like vegetables or sprouts. Then start training (They will want seed more at this time!). If you feed seed all day they won't be interested in much training. And it's not the healthiest either.

Some birds are more motivated to come to you for a favorite toy over a favorite treat as well. Find out what they like most.

Also, failure in training sometimes just means you are going too fast and not at the birds pace. They need to be confident to take the next step (or flight). Instead of using target training to get him to fly, try something more simple like "Come for food!" . Place him on the top of his cage or a place where he is not too distracted with toys, and show him the millet. Get him to step up for a treat, let him eat 1-3 bites, then put him on the top of the cage again. Sometimes u can lure them back with the millet as well. A clicker can help immensely as well. Eventually, work your way to getting him to hop to your hand for a treat. Show him the treat and your hand 1 inch from the cage. Then 2 inches. Then 3 inches. If some coaxing doesn't work, go back a step. It doesn't all happen in a day. The more confident they are in the first step , the more they may take the leap in the second step. Also, keep training sessions short and fun. 2-5 minutes until they are more older and accustomed to training sessions then you can try 5-8 minutes. I taught my tiel to show her wings for a treat and it took me 1 month. I had to use small steps. First , a finger by her wing. Then a slight touch to the wing. After a week, touching the wing for 3-5 seconds. Then slightly pushing the wings out with my index fingers . eventually she would move her wings when she saw my fingers coming as she knew i would touch them. All in baby steps.

 

[Monica]

He flew for the first time two months ago, and since then has shown he can consistently fly back to his cage (even turning around to get there) and very very rarely he can fly to me. However, he only does this if he gets spooked, or if he loses balance.

A sign of being clipped.... he doesn't have confidence in himself.

I've never once seen him fly more than an arm's length for something intentionally. The closest I've gotten with target training is him reaching out far to grab onto my finger, but he'll never progress past that stage.

You need to keep practicing this behavior until he has the confidence to continue. You might even ask for a little less so he can build up that confidence.

There are times when he misses his target (usually his cage) and will land on the desk next to it, and while he fully has the space to fly, he will wait and call for me until I come to pick him up (even though I am fully within his view).

Again... a sign of being clipped and not having experience.



He's young yet so don't give up hope!