Maiden Flight! Questions.

[PickleMeDickles]

Ok, so my birds wings have been clipped (were originally clipped by the breeder). I know there is a ton of opinions regarding the "rightness" and "wrongness" on both sides of the block. I am in the middle. I have not clipped anyone's wings for 6 months. Today Pickles was on her tree out with me in our work room. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, she flew really high in the air straight to me.

I felt like a mom watching her kid parachute for the first time. Of course I freaked because I was busy with work and "kind of" screamed. She circled the room then landed a few feet from me. Then I let out my breath

Question is, is there anyone out there who has been through something like this? Is this normal to just take off flying without ever being in the air before? What should/could I do to make this transition safer and easier? Do most birds, after being "unclipped" for a while just fly more and more? She is a GCC if that helps.

On a side note, it was amazing to see her fly. It REALLY made me realize that she is a bird, not a kid. It was really an odd feeling to see her in the air like that.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Giggleagain]

I would have screamed "YAY! You flied !!! You're an eagle!!" My Clover heard that every time she jumped off her cage and landed beak first on the carpet. Today she flies like a jet around all the curves and up/down all the floors of the house. And yes, she can say "I flied" (like the little bird in the Disney movie). Congratulations, you have a BIRD

 

[JamesC]

Start by trying to entice her to fly to you with short distances. Then a little toss back towards her home. Make it a game with a treat reward.

I don't think my Senegal had flown much in his life and when he realized he could fly he didn't understand the power of his wings. ZOOOM! straight up then THUMP on the ceiling. It took him a while to figure that one out. Having a room with lots of pictures on the walls might help or walls with color on them. My place is plain white and he had a few near misses circling the room until he figured out that blank white thing is not something he can fly through.

Pickles should start to gain confidence pretty quickly. Just make sure you are very careful going in and out of doors now. I've had Sidney zoom at me a couple of times intending to latch onto my shoulder just as I was about to walk out. He does not like me leaving him. And be careful when cooking. Pickles might just come looking for you. An active kitchen is not a place for a bird to be. I've gone in my kitchen a couple of times to get a drink and turned around to find a bird on the floor looking up at me or fluttering confusedly around because it is an unfamiliar space. When I cook, he goes in his home and the door closes.

Having an unclipped bird is great but the potential for trouble goes way up. You have to be alert.

 

[WilliamKenyon]

lucky she didn't hit the wall :41: . If her tree is near the window often birds will get startled and take off when they see another bird because in the wild that humble pigeon could have been a bird of prey, such as an eagle of hawk, which hunt other birds. So there is not much you can do to stop that behavior other than move the tree to another area (if it is near the window). Good luck.

 

[Sarvesh]

yeah its nice to see them fly...imo conures are like puppies and when they fly they become flying puppies!

 

[Notdumasilook]

Its a joy to me having my Sun "Booger" buzzing around my den just for fun..or flying to me whenever I got up. He started landing on my head... thinking that bald spot was a runway I guess. Since then I've managed to get him to land on my shoulder a bit more often. I doubt you will have much trouble teaching him to fly to you. More than likely he will pester you to death like mine does.hah try to toss him back to his cage he comes back like a boomerang. Heck I cant even go to the lil boys room without him being on my shoulder. Just be very careful and pay attention when hes out of the cage. Conures have a strong flocking instinct and will try and follow you anywhere.. including outside when taking out the trash, etc. Careful also of any large windows and/or mirrors in the house... especially with a bird just getting his "wings".

 

[Sunshyn7529]

All 3 of ours fly around. They land on our arms, heads, shoulders, perches, couches...outside/tops of cages...your hair, your back...wherever they feel like. Yours will soon pick it up. We were told 2 of ours never flew...hahahaha....that was funny! The instant we got home, they were flying around!~

 

[PickleMeDickles]

I would have screamed "YAY! You flied !!! You're an eagle!!" My Clover heard that every time she jumped off her cage and landed beak first on the carpet. Today she flies like a jet around all the curves and up/down all the floors of the house. And yes, she can say "I flied" (like the little bird in the Disney movie). Congratulations, you have a BIRD

I should have yelled that Instead, I behaved like a typical mom, and I was freaking out! I wish I could see somebody's bird(s) zooming around a house. I have taken her from window to window to demonstrate where the glass is. I am also a graphic designer and made these decals to put on the front and back of a sign. One says "WARNING - FLYING CAN OPENER AT LARGE" and the other side says "SAFE - FLYING CAN OPENER IN HER HOUSE". I am hoping that people will actually read these when they come in and out.

Thank you for the congrats! I still can't get over that my "baby"
is a bird!

 

[PickleMeDickles]

yeah its nice to see them fly...imo conures are like puppies and when they fly they become flying puppies!

Oh my goodness, you are so right! Flying puppies, LOL! You had me laughing so hard I cried. My conures do remind me of puppies, perhaps more than kids. They wrestle with you, mouth you (beak you), make a mess but always put a smile on your face!