Learning to fly

[Kokihi]

My Green Cheek Conure, Tori, was clipped when I got him, but I want to let his flight feathers grow back and keep him fully flighted.

I would love to be able to call him to me when he is out of his cage. There are several high ledges in my house that I know he would love, but I can't let him go there at the moment because I don't know how I would get him down. Does anyone have any tips on how to teach a bird to come?

Also, I think I should mention that I don't think he is actually aware of the fact that he can fly (His feathers have just come in). He has done it on several occasions when he thinks that I'm leaving him, but he doesn't fly unless he is scared, or thinks everyone is leaving him. I've even tried tempting him with his favorite treats and toys. He climbed down from his perch, walked along the ground to me, climbed up my cloths, down my arm and onto my hand to get the treats.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[missylynn]

The whole climbing and walking routine is hilarious! My sun conure did that a few times before learning to fly. I got mine as a young baby and taught him to fly myself, so the situation is a little different since he was never clipped, but he did start out uncertain. What I did at first was start out in a place where he couldn't climb down. I put him on the bar in the kitchen and held a treat just barely out of reach and repeated the command "Come Charlie" several times. The only way for him to get the treat was to jump onto my arm that was held out for him. It took him a few minutes to build up the courage the first time -- he walked all around looking for a place to climb down, but finally concluded that jumping was his only option. So he hesitated for a moment, then gathered his courage and did it! And of course when he jumped, he naturally flapped his wings a tad. I gave him his treat, rubbed his head and gave him lots of praise. Then we tried it again, about an inch farther. I worked on this with him every day, always getting a tad farther until he was flying to me from the top of the stairs and other such places.

One thing to note is that landing on a target is a thing that needs to be practiced and learned. Earlier on, Charlie often would miss my arm and become frantic since he was not yet coordinated enough to swoop back around and try the landing again. So always be ready to reposition yourself quick enough to let him try his land again before he crashes into something. Descending is also another difficult thing for them to learn. So once you're beyond the basics, try to find high places for Tori to fly down from, gradually increasing the height. (I started small, like putting him on a counter and then lying down on the floor before calling him.)

Anyway, hope that helps. Good luck, and have fun with him!

 

[Pedro]

When i recall my babies when they start to fly it all sort of happens naturally. They kind of take off & fly around & yes they are a little off course at times but get the hang of flying very quickly. All i do is stand with both my arms out & call come on bubbie but in a kind of excited voice. They really do respond to stupid most of the time. And let me tell you i have been caught more than once being silly with my flock. Like running through they house with 6 baby GCC chasing me. So funny. Conures are the best fun.

 

[Kokihi]

Thanks for the advise guys! It was extremely helpful! Tori has started to fly to me when I leave him in a room alone (Which happens when he won't step up. I never really leave him though) consistently, and he is able to fly to and land on his cage from a few feet away. I still haven't been able to call him to me without turning and acting like I'm leaving, but I have a few pieces of papaya and some pumpkin seeds that may be able to change that. lol

 

[Lesleybird]

Hi, When I was a child we found a baby bird that had fallen out of it's nest. It was fully feathered but had not learned to fly yet. We actually got in the yard in a big open area and tossed the bird up into the air almost like we were playing catch with the bird. We gently threw the bird a few feet into the air and foward to the other person standing maybe twenty feet away (I'm guessing). We would have both hands around the birds body wings and all and just toss the bird underhand to each other. A bird that does not know how to fly automatically flaps when tossed into the air. The soon learn that if they flap they can fly. With a little practice a bird can easily learn to fly. Just make sure you have a ladder handy when it does learn. Make sure that you have something like blinds or something on the windows because some birds will fly into what they think is an open area and break their necks on the window glass. Also, small birds can drown if they accidentally fly into an open toilet, or fly away when some one comes in and out of an open door. Good luck, Lesley