Helping an adult bird fly

[Brittany0208]

I'm a nervous wreck at the moment. Java has been practicing flying a lot lately, and I'm terrified he's going to slam into something and hurt himself. He's chipped the tip of his beak about two months ago that ended up in a trip to the vet. I've done everything I can to make my room as safe as possible for him: put a baby gate over the window, sheets of foam along the wall, foam floor tiles, covered the mirror with decals, and put up a mosquito net in my room to keep him from flying out of the room. Well, a few minutes ago, he decided to take off and found a small patch of uncovered wall that he smacked into. He was stopped by the mosquito net and landed on the floor. I don't know what to do to keep him from hurting himself. He's fully flighted but I'm assuming he's never learned to fly properly because he can't steer or break, and with the nerve damage in his foot, he has trouble landing without crashing. He seems alright now, and I'm in the process of buying more foam to pad my walls, but what else can I do? I don't know if he was spooked or just decided to practice because he gave no warning and just flew off his cage. I'm so scared he's going to hurt himself.

 

[Brittany0208]

 

[faislaq]

That's scary. I had a thread on here about helping an adult bird learn to fly & I got a lot of good ideas, but Buzzard isn't wanting to fly. I'd be worried sick if he was taking off suddenly and hurting himself. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[faislaq]

Here it is, but it's mostly tips to get him airborne more, less about safety tips & how to proof the room. Hope some of it is helpful for you.
Can an adult bird be taught to fly? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Brittany0208]

Here it is, but it's mostly tips to get him airborne more, less about safety tips & how to proof the room.
Can an adult bird be taught to fly? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

I'll check it out. Thank you. Any ideas on how to keep him from hurting himself?

 

[faislaq]

Not really. Maybe if he seems just determined to fly, you could encourage him to try to fly towards you so you can try to catch him & even if he falls short, at least he's not heading towards a wall. I bet once he gets stronger & better at flying, his landings will improve as well because he'll be more able to control his speed & direction. Then you can set up cushy landing spots in all of his favorite places!

How exciting (though terrifying right now) that he wants to fly. Buzz still isn't very interested. If Java could fly where he wants to go, it might be easier on his poor foot, too. That would be great.

 

[Brittany0208]

I'll work on that. So far, he'll lean forward when he wants something that I have, and I've held it a few inches in front of him, yet he was determined to stretch to get it.

 

[Dartman]

IF his wings have all their proper feathers and like that he should be able to fly and turn and all that. He probably never learned how so now that he's happy and feeling stronger he's testing things out and will eventually learn how to do all that, hopefully without major incidents. Nerd had several bad flights on one wing so he also mostly went straight ahead till he crashed into something. He knew he didn't fly well and mostly made short hops or walked everywhere. When I got Lurch luckily he was clipped considering how mad at the world he was at that time and after about 6 months his flights grew back and he started making clumsy emergency hops then as he got stronger he started making more controlled flights and eventually was quite good at maneuvering around. Dobby was raised by Momazon and her daughter from the time he was able to come home and never clipped, he flies like a acrobatic jet and loves it. He never gets tired and when he wants to go somewhere off he goes and he knows the layout of the house so he never hits anything. When I first got him I took him around in his little shower cage and showed him the whole house and let him sit and observe for a day then let him out as he seemed ready. He flew right to my room and hung out on the door and eventually came in my computer room and hung out on my chair and wanted scritches.
Nerd made it 31 years occasionally bouncing off walls as birds are built to take a hit once and a while though I tried to keep him from bonking his head and so did he. They can get a concussion or break their neck if they hit hard enough but I like letting them fly unless it's obvious they will just hurt them selves badly because they truly can't do it well and never will like Nerd.

 

[Brittany0208]

IF his wings have all their proper feathers and like that he should be able to fly and turn and all that. He probably never learned how so now that he's happy and feeling stronger he's testing things out and will eventually learn how to do all that, hopefully without major incidents. Nerd had several bad flights on one wing so he also mostly went straight ahead till he crashed into something. He knew he didn't fly well and mostly made short hops or walked everywhere. When I got Lurch luckily he was clipped considering how mad at the world he was at that time and after about 6 months his flights grew back and he started making clumsy emergency hops then as he got stronger he started making more controlled flights and eventually was quite good at maneuvering around. Dobby was raised by Momazon and her daughter from the time he was able to come home and never clipped, he flies like a acrobatic jet and loves it. He never gets tired and when he wants to go somewhere off he goes and he knows the layout of the house so he never hits anything. When I first got him I took him around in his little shower cage and showed him the whole house and let him sit and observe for a day then let him out as he seemed ready. He flew right to my room and hung out on the door and eventually came in my computer room and hung out on my chair and wanted scritches.
Nerd made it 31 years occasionally bouncing off walls as birds are built to take a hit once and a while though I tried to keep him from bonking his head and so did he. They can get a concussion or break their neck if they hit hard enough but I like letting them fly unless it's obvious they will just hurt them selves badly because they truly can't do it well and never will like Nerd.

He has two new flight feathers growing in and three tail feathers. When he lands on the floor, he just sits there until I pick him up, which I do quickly since I have a cat even though she's afraid of him. Other than that, if I sit him on my desk, he just crawls back to me for me to pick him up, and if he can't reach me, he'll just sit there and bob his head around like he's looking for somewhere to go

 

[Dartman]

Well give him time and let him work it out a while and if he's able he'll eventually start flying about so just do like you have and make it as safe as possible for him to crash a bit till he gets the hang of it. Nerd would happily let me or my sister pick him up and he'd lean where he wanted to go when he felt like he needed it.

 

[rocky'smom]

Trying this, sit in front of him, about 10 to 20 feet, with his favorite treat, in your hand. Say 'Come to me' show treat repeat come to me phrase. This will give him a chance to fly, practice his landing abilities on you a softer landing then hitting the wall. It's also useful if he was ever to get away from you. Practice it from different spots, different heights, different angles until he is getting the idea, including sitting on the floor.

 

[Shezbug]

Oh it is so scary when they crash land or sometimes crash bump is more what it is like. Burt sometimes still crashes into the wall or the window and it freaks me out. I imagine it must be extra scary with a bird who has physical impairments.

Once Burt realized he could count on me to help save him (catch or be a perch in the right spot) when he has done a lap too many and gets tired or stressed about where to land, he had less crashes. He would instantly look for me when he was getting tired or a little stressed and start to head my way.....I always met him as close as I could and now he does not wait till he is freaking out as he just notes where I am and will spin mid air to land on me if needed now.

Hopefully you and Java will work something out that works for you both soon so there is no more crashes

 

[faislaq]

Once Burt realized he could count on me to help save him (catch or be a perch in the right spot) when he has done a lap too many and gets tired or stressed about where to land, he had less crashes. He would instantly look for me when he was getting tired or a little stressed and start to head my way.....I always met him as close as I could and now he does not wait till he is freaking out as he just notes where I am and will spin mid air to land on me if needed now.

Now that would be ideal!

 

[Hjarta5]

Do you have landing areas for him? Luna is still in the process of learning to fly, and I try to provide more options for him to land like my now towel-covered office chair, the tops of his carrier cage where I have foot toys and treats (also covered by a towel), a washable blanket on couches... When we hang out in the living room, I usually try to have these different types of things close together so Luna can have a short flight or hop over first to build his confidence.

 

[Brittany0208]

Do you have landing areas for him? Luna is still in the process of learning to fly, and I try to provide more options for him to land like my now towel-covered office chair, the tops of his carrier cage where I have foot toys and treats (also covered by a towel), a washable blanket on couches... When we hang out in the living room, I usually try to have these different types of things close together so Luna can have a short flight or hop over first to build his confidence.

He's started aiming for my bed, my recliner or my desk, but other than that, he goes straight into the wall

 

[Hjarta5]

He's started aiming for my bed, my recliner or my desk, but other than that, he goes straight into the wall

Thats what happened to Luna, too, when we brought him home. His flight feathers had been cut short, so he would launch himself like a flying meatball. However, he mostly did this out of fright or excitement so I just took it slow and easy with him. I think thats a good sign he is aiming for these landing areas. Luna is still not a great flyer, but he definitely has perfected certain flight paths from repeated practice.

 

[Brittany0208]

Hopefully Java learns to fly better soon. It's scary seeing him pinball all over the room until he hits the floor.