Will my girl ever be able to fly?

[Gokha]

Hello everyone! You might have seen me posting mostly about my IRN Zazu, cause we’ve been struggling with his health ever since I got him. Now I’d like to share the main struggle with my female yellow cockatiel -Walad.
My father-in-law keeps many small parrots and hand-raised Walad (she’s now around 3.5-4 years old). The more I would come to visit my husband’s house, the more I would get attracted to these intelligent creatures (never been an animal person before thanks to my allergies). I was surprised when I didn’t have an allergic reaction towards birds, so I was willing to interact with them. The favorite ones in their house are two male IRNs who love to talk anyway, after some time I kept telling my husband that I’d like to get a bird for myself as well, so he talked to his father and they decided Walad would be a good first bird for me, since she’s hand-tamed and is not flighted. So I took my baby home in December, 2019. It’s been a joy having her around, she’s a very sweet bird, but her inability to fly always concerned me. I truly believed for her to feel complete (she’s shy and a not so confident) and be happy, she was supposed to fly.
Sorry for the long story,finally coming to my point: for some reason, Walad’s flight feathers(or muscles) never developed properly and she doesn’t fly, she got used to walking. She could descend if for example she got spooked by something, but never ascend and never just because she likes doing so.
But some things have changed ever since we got Zazu (2.5 months ago). Zazu likes to occasionally chase her off the sofa edge or from my shoulder, so she would fly down on the floor/any other close place. It kept going like that up until 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago I’ve put Walad on my vanity table, she didn’t like it there, so she flew to the bed. It was surprising as she never flew out of her own will. I was so amazed that now I “train” her and ask her to fly from the table to the bed, but she’s still descending.
Couple of days ago, she flew from the sofa edge and landed on my head(i was 1.5-2 meters away), I believe that was the first time her flying up. I was so happy, I used the moment and asked her to fly to me couple more times, which she successfully did. However, because of her weak wings she still flies “weirdly”. I don’t really know how to explain, but it’s not a normal flight, you can tell that her wings are not developed properly.
so my question is, if i continue encouraging her to exercise, will she be able to fly normally, eventually?
i’ve been told by vets that most probably not because she’s not a baby anymore. But I still truly believe that she could, especially after seeing the progress she’s made.
I would appreciate your opinions and maybe some advice on this matter
If you read until the end, let me bribe you with her pictures

 

[Tiel Feathers]

She’s so cute! Is she really that yellow in person? I do t know if she will ever fly like other birds or not, but it seems like you will continue to see at least some improvement. Great job getting her to fly more!

 

[Gokha]

She’s so cute! Is she really that yellow in person? I do t know if she will ever fly like other birds or not, but it seems like you will continue to see at least some improvement. Great job getting her to fly more!

Thank you! She is fully bright yellow, I’ll add her most recent picture with improved plumage and brighter cheeks. It makes me so happy seeing that good nutrition is even improving her plumage! I’ve only seen 2 more fully yellow cockatiels another type of yellow cockatiels I believe are called Lutino cockatiels? But their body is subtle yellow.

 

[Mantis64]

Thank you! She is fully bright yellow, I’ll add her most recent picture with improved plumage and brighter cheeks. It makes me so happy seeing that good nutrition is even improving her plumage! I’ve only seen 2 more fully yellow cockatiels another type of yellow cockatiels I believe are called Lutino cockatiels? But their body is subtle yellow.
View attachment 340998

Its pikachu.

 

[Mantis64]

Thank you! She is fully bright yellow, I’ll add her most recent picture with improved plumage and brighter cheeks. It makes me so happy seeing that good nutrition is even improving her plumage! I’ve only seen 2 more fully yellow cockatiels another type of yellow cockatiels I believe are called Lutino cockatiels? But their body is subtle yellow.
View attachment 340998

Have you trained her to use her electricity yet. Thunder storm.

 

[Gokha]

Its pikachu.

Look what I found when googling pikachu cockatiel

 

[Gokha]

Have you trained her to use her electricity yet.

We’re getting there

 

[Mantis64]

We’re getting there

What pokiball did you catch her with.

 

[tka]

I honestly don't have an answer for you.

A bird's flight muscles are mostly in its chest rather than in its wings. This explanation of anatomy might help - there are some nice diagrams which will help you see where the muscles are: The amazing muscles and bones that make birds fly - BirdWatching

If a bird doesn't fly - for example, because of an injury or because they have been clipped - these muscles do not get used and will weaken. They will eventually atrophy, which means that they waste away and get smaller. Walad can clearly fly a little which shows that she has some muscle. However, this muscle hasn't been used for a long time (if ever) and therefore won't be very strong or developed. You can try building up this muscle by encouraging her to fly very short distances and gradually increasing the distance. Think of it like an athlete's training programme

The other issue is that flying requires a lot of co-ordination which she won't have yet. She is almost guaranteed to have some crash landings and to end up somewhere she didn't expect she'd end up! Try to make the room as safe as you can for her - cover mirrors with a blanket while she's out and draw the curtains or blinds so she won't try to fly into the windows. I notice you have tiled floors - these can hurt her if she crash-lands on them, so cover them with soft rugs and blankets. It's also a good idea to have places where she knows she can land, for example a play stand, a table, a chair or so on.

She's flying weirdly at the moment because she's not learnt that co-ordination and hasn't got a lot of muscle yet. The only way you'll find out if she'll fly normally is to keep practicing. Even if she doesn't ever fly normally, flight is still superb physical and mental exercise for her. Good luck

 

[sunnysmom]

Does anyone else think she's missing some of her primary flight feathers? @Tiel Feathers ? @Birdbabe ?

@Gokha, can you post another pic of her wings? (And she is beautiful.)

My first cockatiel Sunny was missing his primary flight feathers on his one side. I don't really know why. He came to us that way. My vet speculated that he perhaps had injured the follicle and they never grew back in. He could fly, but he didn't fly gracefully. And he too much preferred walking around on the ground than flying.

 

[Mantis64]

Pikachus arent known for being airborne and be careful giving her a bath.

 

[Gokha]

I honestly don't have an answer for you.

A bird's flight muscles are mostly in its chest rather than in its wings. This explanation of anatomy might help - there are some nice diagrams which will help you see where the muscles are: The amazing muscles and bones that make birds fly - BirdWatching

If a bird doesn't fly - for example, because of an injury or because they have been clipped - these muscles do not get used and will weaken. They will eventually atrophy, which means that they waste away and get smaller. Walad can clearly fly a little which shows that she has some muscle. However, this muscle hasn't been used for a long time (if ever) and therefore won't be very strong or developed. You can try building up this muscle by encouraging her to fly very short distances and gradually increasing the distance. Think of it like an athlete's training programme

The other issue is that flying requires a lot of co-ordination which she won't have yet. She is almost guaranteed to have some crash landings and to end up somewhere she didn't expect she'd end up! Try to make the room as safe as you can for her - cover mirrors with a blanket while she's out and draw the curtains or blinds so she won't try to fly into the windows. I notice you have tiled floors - these can hurt her if she crash-lands on them, so cover them with soft rugs and blankets. It's also a good idea to have places where she knows she can land, for example a play stand, a table, a chair or so on.

She's flying weirdly at the moment because she's not learnt that co-ordination and hasn't got a lot of muscle yet. The only way you'll find out if she'll fly normally is to keep practicing. Even if she doesn't ever fly normally, flight is still superb physical and mental exercise for her. Good luck

Thank you very much for your advice! I’ll definitely keep practicing with her, hoping she’ll get more skilled with time
I think she mastered the safe landing, that’s the only thing she used to do in the past. She knows where it’s safe to land and where it isn’t. Also she’s completely not attracted to mirrors and windows, but i’ll still be covering those if we progress that far thanks again

 

[Mantis64]

Thank you very much for your advice! I’ll definitely keep practicing with her, hoping she’ll get more skilled with time
I think she mastered the safe landing, that’s the only thing she used to do in the past. She knows where it’s safe to land and where it isn’t. Also she’s completely not attracted to mirrors and windows, but i’ll still be covering those if we progress that far thanks again

Yep as they say practice makes perfect.

 

[Gokha]

Does anyone else think she's missing some of her primary flight feathers? @Tiel Feathers ? @Birdbabe ?

@Gokha, can you post another pic of her wings? (And she is beautiful.)

My first cockatiel Sunny was missing his primary flight feathers on his one side. I don't really know why. He came to us that way. My vet speculated that he perhaps had injured the follicle and they never grew back in. He could fly, but he didn't fly gracefully. And he too much preferred walking around on the ground than flying.

I don’t have much knowledge about flight feathers, but I would agree with you. So here is what I’ve noticed:her tail and wing feathers somewhat feel weak, rare and very light, especially when I compare them to Zazu’s (his wings and tail feel very strong and sturdy). I will try opening her wings tomorrow to get a better picture of them

 

[sunnysmom]

I don’t have much knowledge about flight feathers, but I would agree with you. So here is what I’ve noticed:her tail and wing feathers somewhat feel weak, rare and very light, especially when I compare them to Zazu’s (his wings and tail feel very strong and sturdy). I will try opening her wings tomorrow to get a better picture of them View attachment 341004 View attachment 341005

I'll try to find a picture of primary feathers- but does it look like she has more feathers on one wing than the other. (And she really is beautiful- I know I said that already, but she is. )

 

[Gokha]

I kept asking my husband if he has knowledge about Walad getting her wings clipped at a young age, but he says that the feathers weren’t clipped. Although i’m still suspicious that it could be the reason?

 

[sunnysmom]

I kept asking my husband if he has knowledge about Walad getting her wings clipped at a young age, but he says that the feathers weren’t clipped. Although i’m still suspicious that it could be the reason?

If they were clipped, they should have grown back. Although if a bird's wings were clipped before they fledged, that can lead to issues with them learning to fly.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

It does look like she is missing some feathers. Cockatiels should have 10 primary flight feathers on each wing and 10 secondary.

 

[Gokha]

It does look like she is missing some feathers. Cockatiels should have 10 primary flight feathers on each wing and 10 secondary.

She doesn’t enjoy having her wings touched, but I’ll try to quickly take a picture of her wings open and count them thanks for the info!

 

[Gokha]

@Tiel Feathers @sunnysmom
So these are her feathers