Shhh dont tell Baby...

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Mon May 29, 2006 7:09 am

But his wings are fully grown out. Fully-flighted but he doesnt know he can fly because he never has.

Is this common or do I have a do-do bird? :lol:

That would be so great if he never realized he could fly so I didnt have to have him trimmed. Ofcourse, when we go anywhere now I dont allow him outside. He could get a wild hair up his butt, realize he has flight and poof... lord have mercy! Perish the thought!

Ever heard of a flighted bird that didnt fly because they didnt realize they could? :oops:

All he remains doing is fluttering to the floor/object as he always has... just way smoother and lands exactly where he wishes now, rather than sometimes falling short and having to walk the rest of the way.

He does, however, grab things with his talons and flaps his wings alot for exercise so Im not *to* worried. Just seems odd, a bird that doesnt realize he can fly.

jaie · Post by **jaie** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:21 am

Had a budgie, same situation as yours. One day, I put him on a perch stand in the patio, which got knocked over by the dog. The bird fell off. Instinct kicked in, bird flapped its wings, got some instant lift and flew away. That was the last time I saw it.

Moral of the story: Mother Nature designed these birds for flight. Most of the time, an escaped domesticated bird is soon to be a dead bird.

Mazziemom · Post by **Mazziemom** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:25 am

Kato was nine years old when she came to us, fully flighted, and had never been clipped. She had also never flown.

We've spent the past couple years teaching her to fly, and have never clipped her.

She can fly now, she knows she can, but she rarely decides to do so.

She only goes outside in a carrier or on a harness.

Athena

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:36 am

At this rate, because she is being very safe... I think I am going to keep him full-flighted and use a good harness.

He is so beautiful with all those feathers. I just hope he doesnt realize he can fly because the back of our house is glass and he would be toast pretty fast.

The first 'take off' though and its clip time for Mr Baby.

Caruso · Post by **Caruso** » Mon May 29, 2006 12:41 pm

Mikaela wrote:Ever heard of a flighted bird that didnt fly because they didnt realize they could?

my aunt has a blue fronted amazon that in fully flighted and has never flown.

Dani03 · Post by **Dani03** » Mon May 29, 2006 4:06 pm

Prinny's are coming in and she is in total fly mode. She flaps and tries to fly but can;t quite get the lift she needs. Silly Prinny

Dani Prinny Bodi

Post by **kyria** » Mon May 29, 2006 4:07 pm

We had a galah that plucked so bad he lost the ability to fly, over time and with much love he got better and grew his feathers back. We always had him outside with us running around the back yard, he would just climb back up to his cage (outside cage) for years he never realised he could fly again. One day a wind picked up and caught under his wings and that was it .. Wacka was off. Mind you he hung around home for some years after that.

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Mon May 29, 2006 7:44 pm

Glad this is fairly common... Baby is extremely smart to be too dumb to realize he can fly. Hope the instinct doesnt take off while Im making up my mind.

Knowing he could fly makes me weak when I really think about it so I'll probably end up clipping again.

Those wings sure are pretty though.

Mazziemom · Post by **Mazziemom** » Mon May 29, 2006 8:48 pm

Buddy has been flighted for years Mik, but its a trade off.

He doesn't get to go outside without a harness, and he doesn't care for the harness much. He can go to the flight, but has to be carried there safely. He doesn't get time upstairs often because I have kids and you never know when someone will open a door.

However, he has all the freedom in the world downstairs, and in my bedroom. He is grace in movement, beautiful and free. I adore the way he flies to my shoulder to give me a kiss before zipping off to explore something else.

Alice is currently exploring flight. She's still a few feathers away from fully flighted, but you couldn't tell honestly. She zips all over the bedroom. usually stopping to rest on the DVD rack (and chewing the covers, boy does she get in trouble with dad for that!). I'll leave her flighted as long as she lets me, but if she gets pissy with me that'll be the end of it.

Mazzie is never flighted, because the one time I let her grow in her wings she became a witch from hades. I do get to take her outside though... so theres that trade off again

Athena

Neokireina · Post by **Neokireina** » Tue May 30, 2006 12:21 am

Most of the time a clipped bird, or a baby that was clipped before fledged wont fly when it's wings grow back. Part of the reason is they just arent used to it and the other part is the fact that because they have lost all strength in their wings.

like when a person doesnt exersize much and then is asked to go for a 5k run, they are like wtf.... Your bird will fly if it's scared so there is the possibility of a fly away because just like with the 5k run, If your being chased by a madman with a chainsaw your going to run your little heart out until you cant run no more.

To get used to flying again your bird will have to learn from scratch. holding onto the perch and flapping its little wings like it would when it was a baby to gain muscle strength. But even fully fit and fully flighted some still prefer climbing to flying and are less likely to take off when startled because they arent used to doing so.

Post by **kyria** » Tue May 30, 2006 2:03 am

Kai and Jordan are both clipped.. I left kai for a few weeks last time he grew his flight feathers back , just to give him a good tastes now and then of flight. But both of them regularly do the, hold onto the perch and fly like mad thing, its what we call wooohooooo!!!, coz thats what I yell out when they do it and they call back at me with great excitement. The wind they both create when they do it is spectacular, even with clipped wings.

kaela .. baby can still have a couple of pretty little flight feathers left at the tip of the wing, thats how kai's wings are clipped, it gives a beautiful little cross over look as if they have a full set, just not when their wings are outstretched

julie · Post by **julie** » Tue May 30, 2006 3:22 am

indie and cookie both do the hold on and flap thing they go crazy.cookie holds onto the cage door and flaps so the door will take him where he wants to go which is norm over to indie.we had a galah that didnt know how to fly,my sister took him outside to clip his wings and he took off(that was a no brainer)but he didnt know how to land.

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Tue May 30, 2006 5:19 am

It crosses over now kyria... so pretty. Much more natural looking. It makes him look alot thinner and more stream-lined though. I thought he was losing weight but he is just turning into a little man REALLY fast.

The very short clipping makes him look fatter.

Neo: He does grap and flap furiously, so as long as he keeps doing that, he is getting enough exercise for those wingies? And boy can they flap, look like freaks lol.

Dani03 · Post by **Dani03** » Tue May 30, 2006 6:55 am

Then again we all have to remember that though a bird is clipped it is NOT grounded by any means. If a breeze comes alone they can still get lift. We have to remember that our babies were meant to fly so lord only knows they can still get up there. Sadly, a bird that gets lift with clipped wings generally doesn't survive and is picked off by preadtors...

I'll step of my box now *giggles*

Dani

IndianRingNeck.com

Shhh dont tell Baby...

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