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flight training a ex-clipped conure!

bayb

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George
hi everyone!! I have a green cheek conure and closely but surely is clipped flight feathers have been falling out and growing back in! he's been trying to fly by himself a few times in the past few days. I have also been flight training him to fly to my finger for a sunflower seed! I was wondering how I could train my bird so that he feels comfortable flying around my home and move around freely! thank you all so much in advance!
 

FeatheredM

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Flock talk has extensive information on this Screenshot_20220505-072021_Samsung Internet.jpg
 

flyzipper

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Chances are your little guy will teach himself and improve his skills with practice, but please also use this time to audit your space for hazards to flying birds (mirrors, windows, ceiling fans, opening and closing doors, most kitchen stuff, open toilet lids, other pets, etc). Also think about having multiple perch locations for him that he fly between -- my experience is this minimizes how much of your non-bird stuff that will become a landing zone (but won't eliminate it).

(apologies if that's already covered in the shared content)
 

Ripshod

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Whenever he tries to fly always bear in mind flight is a natural instinct but control has to be learned.
 

tka

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Bear in mind that his first flights are going to be awful and potentially quite scary to watch.

Think about a child learning to walk. They only have to move their legs on a surface and they still fall all the time. Flight is far, far more complex: in order to fly, a bird must master taking off and landing, steering, turning, and controlling their height and speed among other things. They can move each feather independently as a flight surface: the interaction of flight surfaces with the air to produce thrust and lift is what allows them to control their flight. Your bird wiil get it wrong. He will crash land, he'll sometimes zoom around the room and not figure out where to land, he'll sometimes fly somewhere high and not be able to get down.

However, again, think of a child learning to walk. Yes, those falls can be distressing to experience (for the child) and witness (for the adults). The answer is not to scoop them up and hobble them or place them in a wheelchair. Instead, we let them fall and learn. Over ttime they acquire more control over their limbs, and in no time at all they're running and dancing and playing.

My advice is to have his first flights in a small room so he cannot get up enough speed. As @flyzipper says, make sure the room is bird-safe - cover mirrors, make sure that the windows are closed and curtains or blinds are drawn, and make sure that there are places for him to perch e.g. playstands to fly between.
 

Cosmo305

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I hace a GCC who was clipped when we got him at 2 months. Took a long time for his flight feathers to grow in but they did! Exactly what above poster said is right…he would fly and not know where to land and get a bit freaked out. He flew into the windows twice and and I almost clipped his wings after that because I thought he was going to die TWICE. But as a last resort I bought these little loops that hang on the windows so I can still see out the windows, but he knows its not outside and not they are his favorite place to land and play! He goes back in his cage when the door is open or when I am cooking because he loves to land on the stove top and pans, thankfully I learned this quickly without injury, but sharing the knowledge. I always put him on a perch at table height after he comes out of the cage and he started with short clumsy flights and now he is a pro at just over 1 year old. Instincts are strong to learn to fly - nature is pretty amazing!
9D71086D-6F7A-48DC-9A30-1FFBCC3731CA.jpeg 16C7C01F-3145-490A-9200-A03754FF6192.jpeg
 

FeatheredM

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I hace a GCC who was clipped when we got him at 2 months. Took a long time for his flight feathers to grow in but they did! Exactly what above poster said is right…he would fly and not know where to land and get a bit freaked out. He flew into the windows twice and and I almost clipped his wings after that because I thought he was going to die TWICE. But as a last resort I bought these little loops that hang on the windows so I can still see out the windows, but he knows its not outside and not they are his favorite place to land and play! He goes back in his cage when the door is open or when I am cooking because he loves to land on the stove top and pans, thankfully I learned this quickly without injury, but sharing the knowledge. I always put him on a perch at table height after he comes out of the cage and he started with short clumsy flights and now he is a pro at just over 1 year old. Instincts are strong to learn to fly - nature is pretty amazing!
View attachment 407246 View attachment 407245
I need to get some of those for my conure who loves to climb!
 

bayb

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George
I hace a GCC who was clipped when we got him at 2 months. Took a long time for his flight feathers to grow in but they did! Exactly what above poster said is right…he would fly and not know where to land and get a bit freaked out. He flew into the windows twice and and I almost clipped his wings after that because I thought he was going to die TWICE. But as a last resort I bought these little loops that hang on the windows so I can still see out the windows, but he knows its not outside and not they are his favorite place to land and play! He goes back in his cage when the door is open or when I am cooking because he loves to land on the stove top and pans, thankfully I learned this quickly without injury, but sharing the knowledge. I always put him on a perch at table height after he comes out of the cage and he started with short clumsy flights and now he is a pro at just over 1 year old. Instincts are strong to learn to fly - nature is pretty amazing!
View attachment 407246 View attachment 407245
thank you so much for the advice!! your birb is so precious!!
 

bayb

Meeting neighbors
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Real Name
George
Bear in mind that his first flights are going to be awful and potentially quite scary to watch.

Think about a child learning to walk. They only have to move their legs on a surface and they still fall all the time. Flight is far, far more complex: in order to fly, a bird must master taking off and landing, steering, turning, and controlling their height and speed among other things. They can move each feather independently as a flight surface: the interaction of flight surfaces with the air to produce thrust and lift is what allows them to control their flight. Your bird wiil get it wrong. He will crash land, he'll sometimes zoom around the room and not figure out where to land, he'll sometimes fly somewhere high and not be able to get down.

However, again, think of a child learning to walk. Yes, those falls can be distressing to experience (for the child) and witness (for the adults). The answer is not to scoop them up and hobble them or place them in a wheelchair. Instead, we let them fall and learn. Over ttime they acquire more control over their limbs, and in no time at all they're running and dancing and playing.

My advice is to have his first flights in a small room so he cannot get up enough speed. As @flyzipper says, make sure the room is bird-safe - cover mirrors, make sure that the windows are closed and curtains or blinds are drawn, and make sure that there are places for him to perch e.g. playstands to fly between.
thank you for the detailed description! it helps a lot thank you!
 

bayb

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George
Chances are your little guy will teach himself and improve his skills with practice, but please also use this time to audit your space for hazards to flying birds (mirrors, windows, ceiling fans, opening and closing doors, most kitchen stuff, open toilet lids, other pets, etc). Also think about having multiple perch locations for him that he fly between -- my experience is this minimizes how much of your non-bird stuff that will become a landing zone (but won't eliminate it).

(apologies if that's already covered in the shared content)
thank you so much! I made sure my house is hazard free! thank you!
 

Lady Jane

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GCC have a reputation for being good at flying. You should be ok.
My budgies first flight after flight feathers grew back was to bump into the ceiling but he was okay after that.
 

Birds4evr

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My budgie's first flight was straight into the headboard of a bed. I was really worried, but he was okay (no bleeding, and he didn't seem stunned or dizzy, etc.), and he's getting better.
 
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