I need the views of others on this topic - flight to be or not ..?

[tropics1989]

Hi every body,
As you know I have a flock that includes a Hawk Head. Ive had her since 7wks. She's now 11wks. She's flighted. I've let her stay flighted but I am torn. She flys real well sometimes and sometimes not. id hate to take her wings from her. I'd also hate to see her hurt. If I take her wings from her she'll be plopping onto the floor ouch. I'm at a lose. Now on the opposite end of the spectrum my Jardine I got him at hand feeding age to. The breeder clipped him before I took him home. He's old enough to fly but cannot because he didn't learn to in the beginning. He wasn't able to fledge like my HH is currently. I can see how sad he is when his friend flys he wants to fly with her but cannot. And he falls a lot. My heart aches just watching him watch her fly and he's stuck on his Java tree. I pick him up hug and kiss him but I just feel so bad and I know he does to. I would of kept his wings had it been my choice so he could at least establish some sort of flight but now I torn. Now that she's had flighted and develop sone sort of flight do I trim? What do I do? My poor Jardines I want him to take flight at some point. Ugh confused to the max!

[Mare]

Hi, tropics :). I'm of the belief...let them fly. Your HH is still learning and believe me, she WILL get good at it! I feel for your little Jardine but if you give him time, I think he will also become fully flighted and I only say that because it sounds like he is trying real hard.

A month or so ago, I brought home a little sweet pea of a cockatiel and her wings are clipped. She tries SO hard to keep up with Chip (my other cockatiel who is flighted) but she crashes into things and it makes me not want to let her have her freedom because of that. I've decided to let her out of the cage with Chip, only when I can watch and help her. Even though her flight feathers haven't grown back in, she is learning to maneuver with what she has :)

[spiritbird]

I believe birds are much happier when they can fly. That is what their wings are for. They also eat better because of the exercise. You can make your home bird safe by having covers or stickers on windows and taking down mirrors or sticky them also. You bird is young yet and will learn the flight patterns set up in the home and will fly like an expert before you know it.

My Female bird Tago had clipped wings by the breeder also. That was 5 months ago. Since that time she has been flightless and its absolutely horrible. She can only fly to the floor and gets no exercise. It is seemingly forever for them to grow back. [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[tropics1989]

I feel so bad for PJ. 5 months geeez my poor boy. My sun is flighted. Always has been flighted. And she is very happy bird. Thank you. I'll try the sticky idea. I'm worried about her because she's reckless and it's really not so much the Windows or doors it the way my house is lasted out. The ceiling are very very tall much taller than 10ft it slants up then the stair case. Horrible scare she flew up the stair case then fell straight down on not the first but second stair flight. it was sickening. You can see on my icon with Charlie on the railing. Flight is great but this is a horrible house to learn in. It's so dangerous because the ceilings are so tall and the two flights of stairs. To top it off my stairs and floor are wood not carpet. That's a hard fall from like 16ft onto a wood stair.

[wingman]

Flight I think is the best way to go.

[spiritbird]

Can you get a few big play stands to distract her from flying up high?

[tropics1989]

She has 2 Java Trees yet she chooses to fly past them into cupboards or on the few nice days we've been getting I shove her out in the aviary. She's sits there frozen. I think I'll move her to the den. It's got sliding glass door and it's carpeted only problem green wing is down there. She likes the young ones but on her cage is think not. This is a hard decision. It's either keep her where she is till she ends up breaking a bone or worse her neck because she chooses to fly past her Java trees, move her to the den where she is not directly in front of the window which she loves and put her with the gw, or trim her so she can glide not fly at break neck speeds and be a stupid girl and fly 16ft run into the wall and drop all the way down onto hard wood floor. I think my mind is made up. I'll try the den first and if it doesn't work out then she'll have to be clipped. My sun conure flys very well she's amazing but she learned in a ranch style home. It wasn't a fly the wrong way and break your neck type of situation. Before I clip a few flight feathers I'll move her and PJ her friend to the den with their Java trees and see how that works.

[Lady]

Humm, what about those rope nets or a boing? Maybe she would prefer to stop and rest on one of those instead of a perch as they can be hung and placed more in her flight path?

I have never had one so young, but I have read about other folks gently holding onto their birds feet while the bird is perched on their hand and carefully moving their arm to get their bird to flap their wings. Mainly this was for exercise but maybe it would help the flighted bird with balance and control??

[tropics1989]

The net is a good idea but I don't want to put holes in my ceiling. In her cage she has a boing and on her playtop she has swings on either sides and swings hanging off her Java Tree And has the option to hop on her Java Tree. That's also what the aviary is for. Unless they're is an alternate route to ceiling holes? I'd be willing to try an alternative way. I've tried bouncing her she gets angry. She hates it when I hold her feet. If I were her I'd be like "what are you doing CHOMP" to lol. And if I don't hold her of course off she goes and I've defeated my purpose and this time I have put her in harms way when she runs face first into a wall. She may not be to bright or she may just be super stubborn or maybe her center balance is off. She can't walk normal. She's wobbly and odd with her movements and I don't think it's her age. And her back toes turn frontwards like she has 3 front, 1 back sometimes they do that sometimes they're normal looking. Maybe deformed? Maybe took to flight at such an early age that she didn't care to develop normal leg muscles to walk?? Legs feel normal. I am not sure yet. Vet is the 19th.

[tropics1989]

I feel like saying, 'Ahhhhhhh!" Lol

[spiritbird]

Perhaps you need to teach her the play stands are for her by decorating them with bird toys and treats. They do not automatically know what is for them. Just to let you know I think most bird people have a few holes in their ceilings to hang bird things. There is one other way to control your birds flight and that is to teach it recall. Many people do that. [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]


Here are two videos of Smokey being trained.


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[tropics1989]

Thank you for the videos. Ive been clicker conditioning her the past few days. Today she's being moved into the den. And I will continue the training their where it is safer if she decides to hit a wall at least she's falling into carpet. Hopefully I can post a video like Smokys soon here. Thank you again.

[Mare]

Aww..poor little PJ, that sounds like a nasty fall :(. I was going to suggest moving her to a different room with lower ceilings till she got good at it...I see you've already worked it out! :). Please keep us posted on her progress, I'm curious to know how long it takes for her to get good!

[tropics1989]

Thank you! Me to! I already got her in the den. She seems depressed because shes not on top the window but it's for her own good. In fact she hit the window so hard lost a head feather and that was in the den. I'll try the flight training but I am at the end of my rope. If it boils down to her safety vs flight I'm going to pick her safety. She's very hard headed

[spiritbird]

Please remember she is young and needs to learn from you. Did you cover the window or close a blind? Her instincts are to fly away from you and the window offers false hope to a bird. I would take her close to the glass several times and let her peck on it so she knows it is solid. It takes months and months to teach a bird.

After she learns to trust you and feels comfortable where she is you can post your own Smokey videos like you say. Best of luck.

[Shanlung]

Unless they're is an alternate route to ceiling holes?


There have been times I need to suspend something from the ceiling without drilling holes to hang the perches from.

I took a piece of thin wood / and or plastic cable duct and loop a wire around that. Slap on a glop of silicon cement and stick that to ceiling of house and on back of car boot and when that hardened, use that wire loop to hang the perch from.


See that done to my car. Same done to many of the perches hung from house ceiling.
If you doubt the strength, use bigger plastic cable duct/wood and whack on more slicon cement.

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[spiritbird]

Nice idea.

[Lady]

Pardon me for this question, but can you get it off the ceiling without messing the ceiling paint or paper up?
I would like to try it but am afraid I would create a bigger mess in the end. Silicon cement sounds permanent.

[Shanlung]

Pardon me for this question, but can you get it off the ceiling without messing the ceiling paint or paper up?
I would like to try it but am afraid I would create a bigger mess in the end. Silicon cement sounds permanent.

I wrote above off the cuff. To be more explicit, I use silicon sealant and not silicon cement so if the name scare you off, maybe silicon sealant might not sound so scary and not so permanent.

I did not use wire either to loop around that piece of wood/piece of cable duct either. I used something even more strong than wire. That was Dyneema braided fishing line. If one loop not enough, use 2 loops.

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Those two loops might even be able to hold you up to do chin ups.
Dyneema make Kevlar appear as wimp in comparison.

Removal of those wood pieces/cable ducts quite easy. I suggest you add yet another loop near the end of the wood/cable duct piece where you pull on to initiate release from ceiling.
Once the peeling start, the rest of peeling should be easy.


Go test out on obscure area to see if removal damage is minimal or not and you decide.

[Macaw Lover]

The silicon will be removable down the road on paint, cabinets, wood but I am not sure about wallpaper, maybe if it is a vinyl it would be ok, just not sure about any paper/paper stuffs. Too many years back, I had used that stuff to glue an eye glass case to the dashboard of my '78 Pontiac. When I sold the care and needed to remove that case I was able to get it off, maybe using something like a dull knife or such. Might have to work at it a little but it will come off. Using it for your littler ones it would work but I would not try it for your Mac, don't think it would hold up to the combined weight of bird + whatever you are hanging.

[tropics1989]

I clipped her with what's called a baby clip. She's learning her barrings and not flying 100mph into walls or Windows or up to the 2nd floor. She's becoming very good and I no longer worry about her breaking her neck. As she learns to maneuver and land with her baby clip she'll take all she learned with the baby clip as she becomes a fully flighted HH. It certainly gives her confidence being able to maneuver verses flying into walls and windows. Sometimes clipping is needed I feel. (I feel though PJ certainly got the cheated and that was not by my doing but by the breeder.) After all my HH is not in a tree in the wild and has miles to learn to fly and maneuver herself. she is basically in a big box"my house" lol and doesn't have all the room the wild would offer to figure out how to maneuver. It may seem not nice the clipping part BUT hitting the walls and windows is not nice either. so I've taken my precautions for her sake and my sake. She's learning to manuver without risk of injury and every thing is great! She'll carry it with her to full flightness(is that a word haha). She loves to come to me whether I call her or not. My girl :)

[Lady]

Glad to hear she is learning how to use her wings more safely :).

[tropics1989]

Thank you :)