Flying with confidence: evaluating skills

[coopedup]

Ive left Wrangler unclipped as his feathers have grown back in. It seems that he has most, if not all of his primary wing feathers now (before there were significant gaps of two or more feathers in them) and he has a full tail minus 2 feathers, not together. I think he *should* be able to fly, the question is can he, does he want to, and how do i evaluate his skill level?

I know Stephen's Jolly is a "confident" flyer, while Maya is not. Wrangler can hop/fly short distances, mostly horizontal or with a slight upward change of no more than a foot or two over about 3 feet in distance. Other than that he will choose another route, go the floor and climb, etc...He's made it from the table to the sofa a few times (about 8 feet) but no longer attempts to make that span, opting instead to flutter to the floor and waddle the rest of the way. He's flown 50 feet horizontally, about a foot off the ground, basically skimming, but never flies vertically.

Twice this week has flown into the window downstairs in an attempt to find me. We live in a split level town home and he can navigate from the main level to the upstairs via climbing the stair rail and using his tree but doesnt have that option to get to the entry level...so he's chosen to fly, and then crashes. he then hops back up the stairs to the main level. The window is covered, so he's not trying to get out, it just seems he doesnt have his range finder set yet?

I am taking a wait and see attitude about letting him remain flighted or clipping him but I am concerned for his safety. If he's going to continue to crash and burn (there was one other incident where he hit the wall) I'd rather clip him, as much as I hate to do it. The upside is he'll have more freedom, he's gone from being out of his cage 22 hours a day down to about 12, including sleeping time at night. He sleeps upstairs with us, but because of his increased mobility he's caged whenever Im not home since my husband is a piss-poor bird sitter. How do i evaluate his skills? What constitutes a skilled flier? What is "normal" for these guys? Thoughts? input?

 

[chris-md]

Sounds like wrangler is going through normal toddler phase of learning how his wings work. I wouldn’t take flight away from him at this point. He’s learning mama!

And you can help. What youve noticed is willingness to fly short distances, with flight interest waning as distance increases.

The way around this is clearly defined training sessions whereby you increases the distance slowly. Start at a distance where you get 100% compliance, with short response time to your command (goal is twofold: respond to commands at all time, and do so when the command is given, without constantly repeating the command)

If he doesn’t respond to the command right away, walk away out of sight for 10 seconds, come back, and try again. Rinse and repeat. This reset is very powerful as he learns he only gets his treat when he responds immediately. Walking away = lost treat.

In these training sessions, again the key is to start with a distance where he responds at all times and quickly. Once you have that, increase the distance by six inches and work him up to 100% compliance with immediate results. Once you have that, add 6 more inches

Rinse and repeat.

This is gives him real practice with taking off and landing. He will figure out proper flight technique on his own if give plenty of practice opportunity.

Let me know if you need a video of what thisall looks like.

 

[coopedup]

Thanks Chris! Ive actually watched your online video with Parker and its impressive. Wrangler is 8, and im not sure what his skills were, if any, prior to my getting him in 2016. Can an older bird learn to fly well? How long should it take? If I follow your training to help him get basic skills, when is it ok to stop the progression of distance? I just have visions of Liesl crashing and breaking her wing---and I dont want to lose another bird like that.

To be honest I'd prefer he not fly but want him to be safe and happy. Birdproofing the entire house isnt really something I want to do as his favorite game is "lets toss this off the counter/table and watch it fall" (and break!) The top of the fridge is getting full of things Ive had to move out of range. And of course the less trouble he can get into the greater his out of cage time freedom is going to be.

Just last week I was folding laundry and while I was bent over he flew up to my shoulder...first time he's ever done that. Then he climbed onto my back and I realized he was trying to get on top of the dresser---where his almonds are kept. I was just a convenient stepping stone, so much for love! He also flew off his outside cage this week and waddled across the yard to visit my -e 0neighbor (the treat lady) when he saw her outside. I caught him just as he was climbing the gate. Kinda cute, but his mobility is increasing his confidence--and mischief making.

Before everyone gets upset about my letting him be outside without being caged/harnessed...I know what he can/cant do and I was supervising him from 4 feet away. I just waited to see what he was up to before I went after him. Im letting him get used to the outside cage so that when i put him in it he wont scream and get the neighbors upset. He's learning outside cage is a good thing but it's a not very big and only meant for short duration use for him to get sunshine and fresh air. Im going to try and put netting around it to make it more secure from hawks with the idea that I can leave the window open on nice days and he can go in/out on his own as he wishes. Kind of a mini aviary. He was on the window ledge this morning tapping the glass wanting to go out.

 

[chris-md]

Parker is the same age as wrangler so yes he absolutely can! To get him to do more than just step across perches - to get him to hop/flit between them - took three solid weeks. It grew quickly from there. Wrangler should likely take just a week or two to get the hang of everything.

Parker still has an occasional crash landing, which is what prompted me to teach him flight, but they are fewer and farther between. Much safer landings now happen.

 

[Anansi]

Has Wrangler's flight ability made any further progression? I loved Chris' advice on this thread, and following that method should prove quite effective if followed through consistently and patiently enough.

Of course, some of it also depends on where Wrangler is psychologically speaking. With Maya, for instance, there is no interest whatsoever right now in developing her flight skills. And since she is not highly treat motivated, my attempts to work on her flight skills have been largely unsuccessful.

In Wrangler's case, however, there is an indication of at least some level of interest. But as Chris pointed out, his interest wanes as the amount of effort necessary increases. One of the ways to work on this is to have him do repeated flight drill sessions to build up his strength and endurance. As his strength increases, the necessary effort will decrease... and the fun of it all will begin to factor in. And once you get him to that point, there won't be any stopping him! That's how it all unfolded with Bixby, my first ekkie. As he got stronger, he felt more motivated. Like he was saying, "Hey! This flying stuff is FUN!"

Hoping it goes along a similar path for Wrangler.