Aly~ Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 She's fat and healthy (says the vet) But she won't try to fly! She won't even flap her wings! She stretches them out one at a time with a big leg stretch to go along with each wing, but that's it. She's not clipped. I have no idea if she was clipped as a baby, but she has all of her feathers now. I really think she might be afraid of heights!! When she comes out of her cage it's from the bottom. She hangs on the bottom of the door upside down, puts her beak to the floor and flips over. She spends her time walking around on the floor. She occasionaly climbs the side of the cage, but never to the top. Can birds be afraid of heights?? Is that a crazy question? She's a bird for goodness sake!!! Aly~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 My grey doesn't fly but is getting new flight feathers. I perch her on my hand and give it a gentle wave up and down so she can "catch wind" in her feathers. My grey takes "flight" briefly and gets to short distances. Always making sure she will have a soft landing. So we practice together. She seems to enjoy this. Hope this helps.<br><br>Post edited by: luvparrots, at: 2009/10/08 20:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 How old is your Grey and how lng have you had it? If it is a rescued or adopted Grey, do youknow any of it's background? It is entirely possible it was never fledged and had it's wings were clipped and remained that way for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aly~ Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 She's about 2, or so I was told. I've had her for a couple of months now. I really don't have much information about her past. She has a great vocabulary and seems happy. I can't tell if her wings were clipped. They look pretty normal, but that's not saying they weren't clipped in the past. Will she ever have the confidence to try to fly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 That's hard to answer. I've seen birds not fly because of past clipping. There is such a thing as losing the desire to fly and also loss of desire because they can get from one place to another easily. But I've also seen some birds that have suffered trauma to the head and it takes quite a while before the effects wear off. Just like broken keel bones, it's possible that a clipped bird can land in the wrong place such as on the head. In the wild, they're basically perchers who really don't have a strong desire to constantly fly unless it has to collect food. I only mention clipping since you don't know the past. What you can try is to put some toys or a playstand farther away from the cage and see what happens. PS--if she doesn't fly, don't worry about it as long as her general health uis good.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/10/09 03:51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aly~ Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 As much as I would love to see her fly, it's ok if she doesn't. She follows me around on the floor. It's not just the flying tho, she really has no desire to be up high like most birds. She plays and hangs upside down from the top of her cage when she is in it, but she won't climb up and hang out on the top of her cage when she's out of it. She goes straight to the floor and walks around looking for things to play with. She plays alot in the bottom of her cage too. I have a box top with treats and lots of shredded paper for her to sift around in. She loves throwing that shredded paper around EVERYWHERE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Most greys do not like being on the floor, Josey will go there occasionally but not for long, your bird obviously enjoys going where she wants on the floor so if she doesn't care for flying then so be it. She is a great looking grey from the pic you posted, thanks for sharing that with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearllyn Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Aly, Alfie would always use the floor to take her places that her wings couldn't, ie through doorways, before she was confident enough to negotiate them on the wing. ALso, we have curtains separating a large open room. The curtains were put up to keep Alf in the half we wanted her in, but she thought nothing of going to ground and just walking through them!! Now she has mastered flying through them even if there is no gap - she just flies straight at the line, closes her wings for a split second and lets the momentum take her through! I'm amazed at her confidence, and it sounds as if your grey is just as confident on the floor. It's great that your just letting her take her time, and maybe she will feel confident enough to try flying when she feels ready. x<br><br>Post edited by: pearllyn, at: 2009/10/09 15:02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Thanks for the background on her. She is a beautiful and obviously inquisitive Grey wanting to explore the great unknown areas of your home. :-) Dave's comments were informative and based on years of experience. As time goes by, the relationship and her familiarity of her new home will start making her feel more at ease and let her hair down a little. Looking forward to hearing updates on her and seeing more photos. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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