She still can't fly :(

[ZoeS]

I've had my GCC, Libby, for about 3 years. When I got her, her wings were very clipped but the breeder assured me that she had learned how to fly before she was clipped. Once her flights grew back she was able to get a bit of lift if she fell and would fall less hard, but she never really flew.

A year later I got a rose-crown conure who came slightly clipped and flies very well (except for a brief period last winter during which he chewed his flight feathers). I thought that with time and by observing Toby, that Libby would figure out how to fly. She does try sometimes - she'll flap her wings and "dive" off the curtain rod but never let go with her feet, so she just flops forward. I guess she is afraid to let go, and unsure what to do. Now I am starting to wonder if maybe she is incapable of flying. No vet has ever mentioned any physical deformity although her wings do not close in perfect alignment. You can kind of see if here in this old pic:

So yeah, not sure what exactly I'm seeking - advice, I guess! I've tried to encourage her to learn how to fly by giving her larger distances to "hop" over, but she'll just lose interest if she can't step over easily.

 

[MissTaz]

I will take Rory in my hand and then kind of release him like you would release a dove and he will fly down. I do this over our bed so he has somewhere soft to land. Maybe you can try that.

 

[ZoeS]

I will take Rory in my hand and then kind of release him like you would release a dove and he will fly down. I do this over our bed so he has somewhere soft to land. Maybe you can try that.

That's a really good idea but the days when I could take Libby in my hand are long passed. That is bird is seriously bossy.

 

[MissTaz]

Then start with what I call the burrito bird. Wrap her in a wash cloth with just her head sticking out and then stroke the top of her head and talk to her gently. Maybe if you do that for a while then you will be able to start holding her again.

 

[ZoeS]

Awww, burrito bird. Well - technically I CAN grab and hold her. She just gets mad at me when I do

 

[MissTaz]

This is my burrito bird lol

 

[ZoeS]

Awww he's all wet and needs KISSES.

 

[MissTaz]

He gets LOTS of kisses lol!!!

 

[ZoeS]

I don't know about that... he looks like a little bird who doesn't get nearly enough attention!

 

[MonicaMc]

Does she have any flight feathers at all???? Looking at that photo, she is clipped.

Here's a picture of two hybrid conures. You can clearly see the flights on the bird on the right. Libby's wings should look similar - long blue flights coming out and touching above her tail.

If they do look like that, then the next step is to teach her to step up using another command. Here's a post I made for someone else explaining the steps

When people say to break a behavior down into tiny steps (like baby steps), they mean to break them down really small! Not too many birds can "connect the dots" and immediately understand what their owners want them to do.

If he knows step-up, and he'll step up reliably, then you can teach him to fly on command! The first command is step up, using a different command.

1. "Come" - have Kiwi step up. Repeat 10 to 100 times
2. "Come" - have Kiwi stretch just a little to step up. Repeat 10 to 100 times
3. "Come" - have Kiwi use his beak to step up. Repeat 10-100 times
4. "Come" - Have Kiwi hop to your hand. Repeat 10-100 times
5. "Come" - Have Kiwi hop to your hand with a wing flap. Repeat 10-100 times
6. "Come" - Have Kiwi fly to your hand in a short distance. Repeat 10-100 times.
7. "Come" - Have Kiwi fly to your hand in a somewhat longer distance. Repeat 10-100 times.
8. etc....

More or less, break down the command into small steps, and repeat each step until Kiwi accomplishes the step at least 9 times out of 10. If Kiwi is reluctant to go onto the next step, then go back a step and repeat until Kiwi is comfortable with that step before proceeding further.



You can read more below.
http://www.flyingparrotsinside.com/

Likewise, you can target train a bird to step between two perches (i.e. two chairs, backs facing each other) and slowly increase the distances between the perches.

 

[MissTaz]

(; lol!

 

[ZoeS]

Oh yes, she has flights now. That photo was within the first 6 months we had her, before they grew back. She's had full flight feathers for over 2 years now. I believe she is physically able to fly, just not mentally. I have tried the perches with increased distance thing - as soon as it's farther away than she can reach with her beak, she just loses interest and won't even try a little hop.

When we got her, ALL her flights were clipped. Toby came clipped as well, but only a few of them, so he could still flutter around.

 

[ZoeS]

This is her now (on the left)

Edited to add: I just looked more closely at your written instructions. They seem logical - I'll give it a try! Libby does lots of tricks on command so she gets the idea. I'm not sure she'll be willing to try anything that requires a leap of faith but it's worth a shot! Think positive etc.

 

[MonicaMc]

Just wanted to make sure she had her flights! Was a little worried that she might not have! Love the photo, btw!!!!


I had a "similar" situation with a budgie. I bought a flighted budgie from a pet store. The employee tried to get me to buy a clipped budgie, but I saw one that was an amazing flyer! He was like an acrobat in the air. His flight skills stood out against the others! I was so amazed by him that I had to have him!

Got him home (a 3 hr drive... as my family was down visiting relatives... I was either 12 or 13) and for two days he didn't eat. I freaked out. I tried quarantining him from my other two budgies to make sure he was healthy but he wouldn't eat.... so I put him with my two other budgies. He freaked out and flew. Desperate, I clipped him. It wasn't until months later did I regret it.

He was a young budgie, had already gone through his first molt but was probably under a year old. He *knew* how to fly. And I clipped him. He grew in his wings again, but he couldn't get any lift off the ground. While all my other budgies were flying, he was stuck to the ground. He couldn't get more than 2-3 inches off the ground.


Not knowing how to train a bird how to fly again, I just ended up tossing him on my bed at least 2-3 times a day and until he got worn out. For two weeks I did this. After that amount of time, he was able to fly again. He was never the agile flyer that I had bought in the store, but at least he could fly without assistance.



I now hate to see young, small birds under 6 months old clipped... larger birds under a year old. Flight is instinctual. Knowing how to fly is learned. It's the same as a child learning to crawl, learning to walk, to run and balance. It takes practice! There's going to be bumps and bruises along the way, but it can be done!



My next flightless bird was my first conure. I could not toss him on the bed in the same manner as the budgie, so I took to encouraging him to hop to me. Again, I didn't know how to teach a bird how to fly at this point, so I asked too much of him too soon... but he still managed to gather up enough courage for a small jump. Since he could never fly, it was a leap of faith. Most birds who are clipped can at least keep themselves upright and land feet down on the floor. This conure, Noel, he couldn't even do that. I often said his flight capabilities were that of a rag doll. He just tumbled through the air and would hit the ground on whatever side of him made it to the floor first. It was horrible seeing him when he fell and not being able to reach him before he hit the ground. A breeze wouldn't have helped him. It hurt so much that I couldn't give him a normal conure life, because he deserved one.



My third flightless bird was a cockatiel that gave herself a permanent one sided clip. I didn't even bother trying to get her to fly. She could at least land, but she didn't have the required flights *TO* fly.



I now have Jayde. She now has enough flights to actually fly, but does not have the amount of confidence that I would like her to have. Charlie will fly where-ever he pleases around the bird room (which is mostly to my double flight cage that houses my tiels), but she wont fly unless it is to get to me... and even then, she's not confident enough to just do it. She's still growing in her flights and her confidence is growing at least! I'm glad that she can fly, and is learning that she is able to. I started by encouraging her from short distances and then she started flying longer distances on her own.