Advice on helping my budgie learn to fly

[nyc_budgie]

My budgie's name is Stepán, he is about 2 years and 3 months old. I got him two years ago, he's hand-fed, is very sweet and friendly. They clipped his wings at the store when I got him, so I gave it some time but he still couldn't fly after about a year.

I asked the vet when I took him for a check-up if there was anything wrong with him and they said it didn't seem like it. When I enquired further, they said that they could perform an x-ray for $500 to see if there are any problems with his wings. That's a little bit too much so I let it be.

I've tried a little to train him by putting spray millet on a little platform on a perch and having him fly from another perch. This works for close distances, but when I increase the gap between the two perches, Stepán either doesn't go for it, or misses and glides to the floor. Admittedly, this is not something that I've done on a daily basis, just occasionally.

Here are some videos:

In the second video, where I increasd the distance between the perches, he waited for a really long before giving it a half-hearted effort, abandoning mid-air and flying to the ground.

He's fine flying down to the floor, but he cannot fly up. In the videos I link, you can see how he has a tendency to bob up and down before trying to take the leap, as if he's psyching himself. My hunch is that the issue is psychological. But it could also be physiological of course. My parents also recently got a budgie who has learned to fly pretty good, and 2 things I noticed were that:
1. My parents' budgie's tail is much more massive (thicker)
2. He flaps his wings probably around 2x faster than Stepán

Here is a photo of his back and tail.

Look forward to your thoughts on helping my Stepán enjoy flight. Even though he seems perfectly happy in his current state, I think as a bird he would be happier if he could fly freely.

 

[BirdyBee]

My budgie's name is Stepán, he is about 2 years and 3 months old. I got him two years ago, he's hand-fed, is very sweet and friendly. They clipped his wings at the store when I got him, so I gave it some time but he still couldn't fly after about a year.

I think they may have clipped his wings badly, causing him to have permanent issues with flight. Or they clipped him young so he didn't learn how to fly.

I asked the vet when I took him for a check-up if there was anything wrong with him and they said it didn't seem like it. When I enquired further, they said that they could perform an x-ray for $500 to see if there are any problems with his wings. That's a little bit too much so I let it be.

Is this an avian vet/exotic vet that treats birds?

I've tried a little to train him by putting spray millet on a little platform on a perch and having him fly from another perch. This works for close distances, but when I increase the gap between the two perches, Stepán either doesn't go for it, or misses and glides to the floor. Admittedly, this is not something that I've done on a daily basis, just occasionally.

Here are some videos:

In the second video, where I increasd the distance between the perches, he waited for a really long before giving it a half-hearted effort, abandoning mid-air and flying to the ground.

He's fine flying down to the floor, but he cannot fly up. In the videos I link, you can see how he has a tendency to bob up and down before trying to take the leap, as if he's psyching himself. My hunch is that the issue is psychological. But it could also be physiological of course. My parents also recently got a budgie who has learned to fly pretty good, and 2 things I noticed were that:
1. My parents' budgie's tail is much more massive (thicker)
2. He flaps his wings probably around 2x faster than Stepán

Here is a photo of his back and tail.

View attachment 39929

Look forward to your thoughts on helping my Stepán enjoy flight. Even though he seems perfectly happy in his current state, I think as a bird he would be happier if he could fly freely.

Your budgies appear to be show budgies. Show budgies often have health issues such as difficulty flying, heart problems, neurological issues, respiratory issues, and many more, including physiological/mental issues like chronic depression or anxiety. This may cause him not having the motivation to fly, and because show budgies sometimes struggle to fly he may not want to put the effort into something he physically can't do.

I wish you the best of luck! Your parents' budgie and Stepán are very cute

 

[nyc_budgie]

I think they may have clipped his wings badly, causing him to have permanent issues with flight. Or they clipped him young so he didn't learn how to fly.

Is this an avian vet/exotic vet that treats birds?



Your budgies appear to be show budgies. Show budgies often have health issues such as difficulty flying, heart problems, neurological issues, respiratory issues, and many more, including physiological/mental issues like chronic depression or anxiety. This may cause him not having the motivation to fly, and because show budgies sometimes struggle to fly he may not want to put the effort into something he physically can't do.

I wish you the best of luck! Your parents' budgie and Stepán are very cute

Thanks for the comments.
I took him to an avian vet - twice actually - the first time 2 weeks after I got him and the second time a year later.

What are the signs that he is a show budgie, aside from that he's not flying?

 

[BirdyBee]

Thanks for the comments.
I took him to an avian vet - twice actually - the first time 2 weeks after I got him and the second time a year later.

Oh okay, I was just making sure the vet is not a Normal dog/cat vet as they usually don't know much about birds.

What are the signs that he is a show budgie, aside from that he's not flying?

I actually noticed both are show budgies not by the flying but because of the big crest and body size. Normal budgies are smaller in size

 

[BirdyBee]

Oh okay, I was just making sure the vet is not a Normal dog/cat vet as they usually don't know much about birds.

I actually noticed both are show budgies not by the flying but because of the big crest and body size. Normal budgies are smaller in size

Here is a comparison:
Show budgies Sunny and Grumpy):

Normal budgies Griffen and Jeff:

 

[BirdyBee]

(Oops, I noticed the bird in the video and the bird in the pics are the same bird)

 

[nyc_budgie]

Yes, same bird, I should have pointed that out, I know the lighting in the video is pretty bad, it's been cloudy the past few days. Well, Stepán was sold as an English budgie but he's actually smaller than my parents' bird who can fly, so go figure.

 

[HeatherG]

Show budgie= English budgie, I think.

 

[nyc_budgie]

Show budgie= English budgie, I think.

Yes, he is an English budgie. So is the idea that all English budgies are unmotivated to fly? Still looking for some concrete advice (even if it's contacting some sort of specialist), not giving up on him yet.