Cont'd
I hand raised Joey from hatching as I've done successfully a couple times over the past two years. Her birth defect became apparent when she was about three weeks old. Her parents were siblings and I didn't breed them deliberately and they have since been physically and visually separated.
Joey is a very sweet little girl and is very bonded to me and my husband. Because of her disability we nurtured her more than we did the other two chicks we hand raised previously, both of which are now happy healthy adults integrated into our flock of 10 budgies that have freedom to fly around our living room during the day.
Joey has her own 18x14x18 "training cage" with low perches. She is now weaned onto the chop I feed all my budgies. She has difficulty gripping perches securely but has no difficulty climbing. For some reason she isn't getting the hang of flying more than about three feet before fluttering to the floor where she likes to walk around and explore. I discourage this because it requires constant supervision. Budgies underfoot could easily get stepped on and none of my other budgies are floor walkers. I don't know why she isn't flying better at her age. The avian vet examined her and other than her feet she's normal and healthy.
We take her out and hold her, let her sit on our hands, arms and shoulders, and I bring her into our bedroom when I lie down to relax and read and hang out with her. She's very content to be in physical contact with us. I try to have her out of her cage for several hours every day. When I'm too busy to supervise her out of the cage she seems pretty content in her cage by herself, preening, climbing around, stretching and flapping, and just sitting and watching what's going on in the room, which usually includes at least five budgies flying around and just being happy birds.
I want her to integrate into our happy flock and this is where I don't know what to do. My other budgies fly around and land on top of cages and perches, fly over and visit with us frequently, and play together very well for the most part. They have formed special friendships between themselves.
Joey is just starting to show some interest in the other birds but still prefers our company right now. I want to encourage her her independence from us. She has trouble walking on cage tops because her feet are clumsy and slip between the wire bars but she is starting to fly toward the other birds' cage about 12 feet away yet can't make it there. The other birds don't pay her much attention but haven't harassed her.
I'm worried that she won't be able to integrate and will need more hands on attention from us than we will be able to give her. We both work part time and don't want to have to supervise her constantly but don't want her to be either unsafe or lonely.
How do I get her to strengthen her flying skills? How do I safely integrate her into the flock do she can lead a normal happy life as a budgie and not just a baby bird that needs constant handling and supervision? This situation is making me pretty anxious lately. I want Joey to grow up and join the flock but I don't know if it's possible. I feel like I have a special needs child and I'm unprepared for her future. Any help would be appreciated.
Keep these perches all over the cage. if he is anything like my Archie was, he'll have few problems getting around. Also, cushion the bottom of the cage so if he falls, it won't be so hard 
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