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Need help with flight training!

charlieboy

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I got Charlie at a breeder, and I thought they let him fledge before clipping his wings. Well, I was wrong...

He is going trough his first molt right now and his wing feathers almost completely grew back in already! He flies super well and even fast, but there is one single yet important problem: landing.

In general he will try to land either on me, his cage or the floor... and when looking for a floor to land on, he sometimes sees the backyard through the window and hit it :(

I have been putting ribbons in front of them which is kind of working but not always, obviously i put the blinds where we have some, but my mom won't let me cover our bay window even though it would only be when he is outside his cage (we don't have blinds there and his cage is in the same room as the bay window).

I have been reading on flight training (Flight Training for the Clumsy Parrot) and am trying to show/teach him where to land, but he is often reluctant and flies back to his cage.

I have also considered putting his cage in another room, or perhaps clip his wing feathers very lightly so he is slowed down but can still fly well. But the windows give him sun and entertainment during the day, and he is still molting so I'd be afraid to clip his still growing feathers. I also promised myself I wouldn't clip him... and my mom doesn't want him to get clipped again, either.

So really, I'm at a lost. I'll obviously keep trying with the flight training (in a bigger room with way less windows at first) and negotiating about covering the window with my mom, but I'm still looking for advice since this is all so new to me.

How should I go about flight training him? Should I move his cage to another room if I can't cover the window? Should I give him a tiny clip (No more than an inch or two) and if so, how do I do it?

Thank you in advance for your help!
 

Weelasmaree

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Are you only looking to flight in home?
I don't have any advice to really give for free flight so hopefully someone can assist you there.

Gromit is now full flight and is still getting used to his wings but I found that introducing him room by room to our house made it easier on him when he started to fly because he knew the area.
I will say though, I don't think there's one door or window in our house that isn't covered by a curtain or screen so they never head towards them.
 

Fergus Mom

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Is his cage in the same room as the bay window? Can you use some of the static cling window decals that adhere with water on the bay window just while he's out, then remove them?
 

charlieboy

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Are you only looking to flight in home?
I don't have any advice to really give for free flight so hopefully someone can assist you there.

Gromit is now full flight and is still getting used to his wings but I found that introducing him room by room to our house made it easier on him when he started to fly because he knew the area.
I will say though, I don't think there's one door or window in our house that isn't covered by a curtain or screen so they never head towards them.
Yes, flight in home! I'd be too scared to let him free fly outside without a harness! :eek:

I'll keep introducing him to the rooms of our house, thanks!
 

charlieboy

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Is his cage in the same room as the bay window? Can you use some of the static cling window decals that adhere with water on the bay window just while he's out, then remove them?
I haven't thought about static cling! Good idea, thanks!
 

AutumnRain

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After you've introduced your tiel to the whole place, make sure you cover any mirrors or glass doors with the window clings as well.
 

charlieboy

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After you've introduced your tiel to the whole place, make sure you cover any mirrors or glass doors with the window clings as well.
I'll keep introducing him to our place and I'll try to convince my mom to let me get some window clings :) Thanks! Also he flies super high and seems to want to land on high spots but all the available landing spots are lower & he doesn't seem to want to land there...?
 

AutumnRain

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I'll keep introducing him to our place and I'll try to convince my mom to let me get some window clings :) Thanks! Also he flies super high and seems to want to land on high spots but all the available landing spots are lower & he doesn't seem to want to land there...?
Birds tend to feel safer when they're higher up. :)
 

AutumnRain

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That's good. I would introduce him to them slowly. Try putting them far enough away so he feels safe, but so he can see them for a few days. They also have window clings at the dollar store. They're usually the seasonal ones, like for Easter and such. Those ones are good if you don't want the entire area covered, but want your bird protected. That way, they can still see out and you can too.
 

Fergus Mom

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I've seen these kind... I think they are sort of 'clear' but iridescent. I'm not sure that any certain colors would scare him, so I would probably go with more colorful ones than this. I have snowflakes and hearts on my living room windows, and I'm sure it will look pretty silly in the midst of our Texas summers! ;)
 

charlieboy

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That's good. I would introduce him to them slowly. Try putting them far enough away so he feels safe, but so he can see them for a few days. They also have window clings at the dollar store. They're usually the seasonal ones, like for Easter and such. Those ones are good if you don't want the entire area covered, but want your bird protected. That way, they can still see out and you can too.
I've seen these kind... I think they are sort of 'clear' but iridescent. I'm not sure that any certain colors would scare him, so I would probably go with more colorful ones than this. I have snowflakes and hearts on my living room windows, and I'm sure it will look pretty silly in the midst of our Texas summers! ;)

Thanks for the tips! I'll go take a look at the dollar store... easter is coming ;) I'm afraid that if the window isn't completely covered he will still want to go through it but I will see :)
 

AutumnRain

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You're welcome! I've found that you have to have a lot of them on there so they won't try to go through. I think I used a pack on each window, mirrors, and four packs on my sliding glass doors, so it does take a lot of them.
 
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