Anyone with a parrot who has never flown?

[Saemma]

I can *officially* say that I have 3 parrots who CAN fly!I feel thrilled, amazed and grateful.

I honestly thought Mabel would never be able to fly. I had accepted this notion and had decided not to battle or resist.

To my pleasant surprise, Mabel has figured out how to fly on her own. No help from anyone here.
At the moment she's the weakest/inexperienced flyer of all 3. She can't fly fast and she flaps and flaps ALOT to get from point A to B.
The great thing to add is that she never crashes. She can land where she wants to land but I must admit that when she flys she sure looks like a heavy bird. When she lands she is very much out of breath as well.
I understand that she still needs time to strengthen and develop her chest muscles. She will turn 3 in July and she only started flying about a month ago.

Here's my opinion.
I think she figured out how to fly because she likes me so much and has a constant desire to always be in the same room as I am. I often leave her to play on her hanging gyms while I walk away to do other things. She is *usually *the one left behind while Sachi and Emma would fly after me unless I decided to *take her with me*. I think Mabel has had enough of that!

 

[Renae]

That is fantastic! Even if she is inexperienced now, it is a start at least.

 

[Saemma]

That is fantastic! Even if she is inexperienced now, it is a start at least.

Thank you! I'm happy and nervous!!
I'm kind of happy I was able to have a bit of a *grace* period before she figured out flying.

Today I am no longer afraid of Mabel.

 

[lzver]

Lucy and Kylie are good fliers. Lucy flies the most. From her cage, to the jungle gym, to Kylie's cage to terrorize her, etc.

Jessie only flies when he gets spooked ... and because of that he's not a good flier. He used to crash into windows and walls all the time ... at least he's gotten better control and usually winds up handing off the blinds or he is able to fly back to his cage now. He had a bad clip when we got him at 3 months old and I wasn't as educated 4 1/2 years ago and continued clipping their wings for about 1 1/2 years. It has been at least 3 years since they've been clipped and I'll never have a clipped parrot again. I get so much joy out of watching them fly.

 

[Kayaker]

None of my big guys fly. I hear the sound of nails on the hardwood floors to know where they are. My little guys all fly, and I want them to so they can get away from the sometimes grumpy big ones.

 

[jasminlana]

My sunday conure doesn't fly. I got her at 11 months and she's never flown partly because she is a shredder and she never lets her flight feathers come in all the way. She also doesn't like her tail feather, so she doesn't let it stay in long -- still working on that. Not sure if she will ever fly. My parakeet is a great flyer. The canary can fly but because he chooses to not come out of the cage much, he is not too good at flying. he will fly a short ways and stop anywhere, on the floor, and I have to come pick him up. He doesn't even try to run away. He just steps up and lets me take him to the cage.

The white dove doesn't fly -- just a hop fly -- wing injury -- found her that way.

My too -- maybe when shes gets some feathers may fly at a later time

 

[JLcribber]

None of my big guys fly. I hear the sound of nails on the hardwood floors to know where they are. My little guys all fly, and I want them to so they can get away from the sometimes grumpy big ones.

Same here.

 

[patagonian]

Well Calypso is an excellent flyer....Lavada is getting better and better...I dont know if Judge will fly her wings were severel cut short when I got her...time will tell with judge...I hope judge does fly though

 

[Flit]

Both Boo and Alita have the ability to fly. Neither of them fly particularly well. I have aviator harnesses coming in. If I can get them to wear the harnesses, they'll be zipping around outdoors if I have my way. Barring any hawks in the vicinity, of course. Boo I would be most worried about...he'd be a tiny snack for them. That or a passing breeze will turn him into a feathery "kite," he's so light. So maybe I'll keep him within the screened in porch...

 

[The Cozy Nestbox]

I raised 3 BFAs that hatched at around the same time. 2 were hatched here and 1 came to us when she was just 6 months or so old (her name is Cha-Cha and the two that hatched here are Lola - aka Lolita - and Tango). Tango & Lola never had their wings clipped and were fledged in our home. Given the layout of our house and the open floor plan, they were able to take long flights from one end to the next and I began to play peekaboo with them, where I would hide in room and call to them to come find me. They were ready flyers and much enjoyed this game.

When we brought Cha-Cha home, her wings were cut pretty severely....by someone who did not know how to provide a gentle clip. She didn't drop to the floor but she would beat her wings as hard as she could go and it was heartbreaking to watch her work so hard and yet hardly go anywhere. Here I had Lola and Tango zipping here and there at will and poor Cha-Cha would try so hard to join in with them but couldn't.

It seemed like it took forever for her wings to grow out. I was determined to turn her into a skillful flyer or at least one who could keep up to some degree with Lola and Tango. It was not to be. I worked and worked with her...she would willingly launch but she would, for lack of a better word, sort of "pop" up high in the air, all the while beating her wings furiously until she kind of floated downward to me. I had her work with me one-on-one, out in the house with Lola and Tango, and nothing really helped that much. To this day, Cha-Cha is a "pop-up" flyer and while she is now able to navigate better than in the beginning, she is not a natural and clearly does not gain the same enjoyment from her wings as the other two do.

There is no doubt in my mind that Cha-Cha's wings were clipped before she ever fledged....perhaps before she even took her first flight. Her on-going awkwardness in the air is evidence of this.

It saddens me to see her not be able to engage in the aerial games that her flighted friends do. I've seen her try but she simply cannot keep up and lacks the agility in the air that comes so naturally to them.

 

[Allessa]

Tiki is 11...and he is afraid to make the SMALLEST jumps. I believe he was clipped ALL his life. I cant wait til his wings grow out. All my other guys fly

 

[DebysFids]

Opey and Squiggy have their wings clipped but I have been thinking about letting them grow out , for Opey I think it would be ok but not sure on Squiggy, I think she would get herself into trouble like flying and landing right in Codys face , she doesn't seem to realize Cody is alot bigger then her and can hurt her I have to watch her alot around him because she is always in his face so I really have to give that alot of thought
I forgot to add Cody, Rudy and Pepper all fly

 

[allison]

Most of the bigger birds at the rescue do not fly unless startled. Some can't fly at all due to barbering their wing feathers or old wing injuries that were never corrected.
My old budgie Miracle had her wing injured somehow several months before she died and she never flew again. My vet said it wasn't broken and should have healed on it's own, but it didn't ever heal.

 

[Shade]

All of my guys can fly.
It does mean I have to be extra careful with Petey who often tries to get to me, but I can't bring myself to clip him - he definitively seems happier with being able to fly and he doesn't always try to attack.

 

[lotus15]

Wowwww!!! Yay for Mabel!!! What wonderful progress she is making!!!

 

[luvsgreys]

Yea for Mabel! She's not going to be left out of the party!

 

[Chicklette]

All three of mine are flighted and I never had a problem. I had a clipped bird, Polsky and the breeder clipped his wings but I still wanted him (an IRN) and he was at the top of the ledge in his cage fell and snapped his neck. So yes, I had a bird that could not fly.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Prudence cant fly Im hoping someday when her flights grown back in, she will feel brave enought to learn. But for now, poor girl cant.

MY GOD Saemma! I cant imagine such large bird flying indoors!!!

 

[sl8tr]

When I brought Slater home from the Breeder he was clipped. He didn't start flying until he was almost 2! Still to this day he is gaining confidence each and every day.

My RFM was clipped when I brougt him home at 7 months. I will let his wings grow out and allow him his wings too.

 

[melissasparrots]

I have a cockatoo that is missing a wing tip and therefor can't fly. I also have an amazon that can fly but has no control so I keep her clipped. When she first hatched, her parents bit or stepped on her and she had a scab on the back of the head that took forever to heal. Her eyes didn't open for the longest time. She's is a real brain injury case I think. She's not clipped, but I really need to clip her because she doesn't see normally and doesn't have normal equilibrium which means she's a disaster to herself in the air when she does get full of herself and try to take off. Otherwise the rest of the crew is either fully flighted or clipped because they can't behave themselves with others. Most are flighted at the moment.
Melissa