Flying with Confidence?

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

My sunnybird's wings are almost fully flighted again. I think she only has maybe 3 clipped flight feathers on each wing that have not dropped & grown out again.

When we first got her, she could flap & slow her fall. Around november/december she figured out she could jump farther... and just before the Hina-birdsit-time at Christmas, was the first time I saw Sunnybird control a hover...but her "flying" was so-so. Like she wasn't sure of her wings yet.

When Hina was in residence, Sunnybird TOOK OFF with her flying: deliberate, directed, purposeful, CONFIDENT. She knew where she wanted to get to, and zoomed there with intent. Mostly near the door to the room Hina was in, or to the mirror. She was also very crabby, bitey, and would run/fly away from me whenever I got near to put her back in her cage.

However, after Hina went back to my parents, Sunnybird reverted to her sweet self, allowing herself to be kissed/skritched/caught......but her flying kinda went back to so-so.

She flaps, and flys low, then pulls up just before she gets where she wants to go. Lots of weird zig-zagging. Sometimes when she lands, she gets long and skinny and holds her body almost horizontal...before running and flapping and twitching....such a tweaker! It's almost like her flying scares her.....

Maka never had issues with his flight....

How do your flighted lovies fly?:confused:

[Bubblelady]

None of my lovies--or Gussie--are (or will be) fully flighted. I've lost too many birdies to accidents related to being flighted. That being said, all my budgies of the past were flighted. My two favorite flight styles were at polar opposites. Pete (a hen--I'm very good at giving my hens boy names :omg:) was a stunt pilot in a previous life. She liked to do difficult things. Like fly figure 8s over & under the ironing board. And land on closed doors--one of her favorite stunts. She would fly at a closed door, angle downward as she approached, then at the last minute swoop straight up so that her breast was parallel to the door, then hook her toenails in the crack between the top of the closed door and the door jamb. Absolutely amazing to watch. She never did master landing on the shadow the afternoon sun shining on my cafe curtain rods cast on the kitchen wall, though it wasn't for lack of trying! :rotfl The other extreme was my one and only hand fed budgie. He never really learned to fly. I got him as a very young chick & lived in a single, small room (BOQ) at the time so he had very little room in which to practice, and had to turn almost as soon as he took off. He developed a flight path between his cage and a lamp shade. If he managed a landing on the first approach, all was well. Sad to say, however, he was in trouble if he had to go round for another approach. Once he managed to fly into the bathroom (the only door in the room). We heard the bottles under the sink rattle. Shortly thereafter a small, blue bird came walking out of the bathroom, walked to his cage, then looked straight at me. I picked him up & put him back on his cage. And, being a small blue bird who lived on an Air Force base and who could take off fine, could sort of fly, and who couldn't land worth a darn, his name was Air Force Second Lieutenant--Louie for short. :rotfl

[wilkiecoco]

kiwi has been flighted for over 2 years now. in the beginning, when his feathers started growing in, it was a crap shoot where he would fly to and land on. now that he is experienced, he is completely proficient. he sets off, can dip and dive, up and down, and land on a dime. i think with experience, and time, they perfect their skills. i think their flying does scare them in the beginning - like - WHOA how did i do that that????????

if sunnybird was always clipped before then it may take some time for her to gain her confidence. perhaps you could limit her flying space in the beginning, so that she doesn't have full run of the house. i used to close the doors where I didn't want Kiwi to be able to get to. :)

[michael]

Goof unknowingly came to us well trained for flight, so the immediate response was to only allow him access to the safest areas. After a week or so, I noticed a remarkable gain in flight speed, so much so, it was like he suddenly appeared then disappeared. Besides the hazards of escape, as we were doing some home repairs, I mainly worried he would either crash into a window or some other object temporarilly placed in his usual flight path. As it goes, we stuck strips of tape on the offending windows, then went for a mild wing trim.

After only assuming our vet had some experience with clipping little green baron's, much to my dismay, Goof somehow ended up thoroughly grounded for a complete overhaul. Surpizingly though, after several weeks of waiting for the mechanics of nature to do the necessary repairs, I began to lose hope he would ever get back one of his most greatest achievements. You see, all this was gone....:(.....the hummingbird hovers, the 90 degree corner maneuvers, the wild circles, and of course, those lightning speed fly by's.....Horrible!....Until one day as if by shear magic he suddenly took off as if he were never clipped at all!.............:omg:

Nowadays, as a result of setting the "ground rules :rolleyes:" we are finally able to keep him fully flighted....:clap......although I will admit here's been a couple lovebird into face crashes. None the less, these have proved to be of only minor offenses where only a verbal warning seems necessary. Of course, we certainly do value the option of a wing clip.............:)

[Pips mom]

At one point Pip had very close to or full flight soon after we first got him. He was an awesome flyer......very confident, (of course!) He went right he wanted to, never went off course or even a chance that he would fly into anything. He's even good at it when clipped!

[Mydoona]

I have a disaster with clipped birdies,when I got my newest Mardi I got both Mardis and Keikos wings clipped and they did an awful job,it took about five months for Mardis wings to grow back and she is fully flighted now.BUT Keikos were growing back and he saw how well Mardi was flying and tried it too and broke a feather,pulled it out and this happened to the same wing feather three times,so now although he should be able to fly, he doesn't even try as I think he remembers that it was unsuccessful and he has given up on it.poor Keiko.

[thebubbleking]

Both mine fly well but neither aas good or fast as my tiel pohaku lol
sunshine likes the speedy from here to there flights boo likes to hover constantly before decideing if its a worthy landing place for her lol

[TukiTuki]

Tuki was very unsure of himself when his feathers first grew in. He would see his target and bob up and down until he got the courage to take off. A lot of the time, he'd get part way there and circle back to where he started from, because he couldn't figure out how to land. When he'd fly to me or my finace, he'd land on top of our heads because it was an easier target for him than our shoulders. Over time, he's become a more confident flyer and lander and now he whizzes about the house without any worries or hesitation. He can also land on almost anything. A poster taped flat to the wall, a sting hanging from a toy, etc.. he just needed to get used to it all.