Keeps trying to fly :(

[Ozzy]

I have had my BFA for a few months now and as far as I know he has never learned to fly. I dont think he has had much time out of his cage before me and was never given the chance. I would love for him to fly and for the last week or two he seems beyond anxious to figure out how; he keeps leaning forward and flapping his wings and I just see this look in his eyes that he is itching to fly to some other part of the room.

My issue is how do I teach him? When I have him on my hand I will move my hand up and down to get him to flap his wings and use his muscles. He does this a few times but sometimes gets mad and like throws himself off my hand and face plants somewhere (often into my bed but it still scares me). His muscles on his chest are underdeveloped and he is underweight and I think that may be some of the issue.

I feel like I am in a catch 22. I want to make him flap and work his muscles but I'm scared of making him use too many calories and become too skinny. Does that sound crazy? How often should I be making him flap and encouraging him to go for it? He is in a molt right now and is losing tons of tail and wing feathers, does this effect flying?

Is there anyone here who has taught a non-baby bird to fly?

Thanks

 

[greycloud]

If you hold his feet with your thumb while he is flapping it will help steady him. The best place to practice flight is over a bed. I sit a small playstand on the bed and gently encourage with a lift of my arm. If they hit the mattress it won't hurt them. The eventually learn how hard they need to flap to stay up and land on a target.

 

[etse20]

It took 2 months for my cockatiel to learn after his feathers grew back to full strength. We used the bed too. Place the bird in both your palms, like you're cupping water with your hands. Then slowly slide forward. It'll start sliding and start flapping and land on the bed. After it managed to do that, then we have Lester fly a 2 feet gap and land on the bed. Then make it farther....Lester is now flying around the house, he even dive bombed off our hands, he glide, really starting to experience new moves. We are doing recall training with some good results too.

 

[cwekeybb2350]

you can drop it from a height (not very high at first or it will be hurted) to let it practise its muscle i think it maybe useful
if the bird was kept in the cage for a long time they will loss the ability to fly
so it is good to let them fly in the room freely

 

[Pedro]

I would let him learn at his own pace. You don't want to scare him at all by forcing the issue. He will fly when he gets his confidence back.