by Maggie- » Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:07 pm
Allie,
If she is not bleeding or if you do not see a break in the loose feather, she is probably okay and probably was loose.
Here is another post I received:
once had to reteach a budgie how to fly. He was a great flier at the petstore, and I brought him home clipped, however I was afraid he wasn't eating, so I took him out of 'quarantine' and introduced him to my other birds. He wouldn't stay still so I clipped him and then I guess he figured that since he was clipped he wouldn't be able to fly again, even with repeated attempts to fly. I had other budgies I could handle and they flew, but he did not. He could only get max 6 inches off the ground.
I ended up teaching him how to fly by holding him in both hands and tossing him onto my bed. Since he was tamed after clipped this was no issue. The more I tossed him, the stronger he got, the further I'd go to toss him, until after a couple weeks he was flying on his own. He really brightened up then when he learned that he still had the ability to fly!
I currently have a cherry head conure who is fully flighted but cannot fly. She has only been clipped once within the 5 years she has lived with me. I don't think she was clipped in her previous home but I don't know. I tried the same technique on her as I did the budgie, but she just wasn't interested. I tried forcing her to fly while on my hand, and although she likes it in small quantities, she has problems keeping a hold of my hand.... me trying to get her to fly just pissed her off and she'd bite me and hold a grudge for a day or two at least. I do not know if she has the ability to fly or not, but I still hope she does. I'll also be getting a second cherry head (if that's what he is) that can fly, and maybe could incourage her to work her flight muscles. In the least bit, I have come to the conclusion that she may never fly.
The other flightless bird is a whiteface cockatiel. Kiwi is only clipped on one side, however it was all her doing... her tail feathers also tend to be a mess. She's really difficult to handle (not tame in the LEAST bit), picks on her wing when I'm not watching... I do have a collar for her, however I need to put her in a smaller cage, which I have one of, however is currently in use. I may actually be looking into getting a second to put her in, with no guarantee her flights will ever grow back. I know she'd be far better off however being flighted, but it doesn't help that she clipped/clips herself.
I know with larger birds flight training can be a bit more difficult, but if the bird is trusting enough, tossing them onto a soft area forces them to flap, and reduces chance of getting hurt. If they can hold onto your hand well enough then they can be forced to flap while human runs through the house. Some birds though may never learn again.
Luna REALLY does want to fly. I hope some of these tips are helping!
GREY'T Blessings,
Mag-