Landing!

[dblhelix]

So we have been letting Kips flights grow out and she now has 4 full flights (of the seven that were clipped) grown in on each wing. She has been flying more and more, becoming more confident and controlled as she discovers her wings and learns how her body is supposed to work! She is also undergoing her first major molt with lots of different feathers dropping off and pins coming in.

 

This morning I had her in the bathroom with me while brushing my teeth. She shook herself on a small perch I have for her and the perch shifted from her motion. This scared her a bit and she took to the air. The bathroom is a fairly small space...she elevated about 3 feet, made a tight circle to avoid crashing into the shower enclosure and came back towards me. I put out my hand with the index finger extended as a landing pad and she neatly and accurately landed right where she should on my hand! It was great!! She seemed proud!!! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/14 03:22

[Talon]

Oh Mark! Isn't that the best feeling for both of you? Talon will do that all the time. When she flies to come find us, all you have to do is out your hand up and she will land on it. If we don't put our hand up, she will land on your shoulder. That's fun too!

But wait until she lands on top of your head...OUCH! those claws!!!!:evil:

 

Now that KIP has done that, she'll be more confident each time and do it always!! I'm very happy, it is sooo cool when they do that! B)

[danmcq]

That's a nice story Mark. :-)

 

So, it took around 6 Months for the flight feathers to molt and re-grow?

 

This interests me, due to Dayo being clipped by the breeder after fledging for only a few weeks. Which is not nearly enough time to build the balance and confidence they need.

 

That is pretty good flight control to be able to maneuver like that in such a confined area.

[nevjoe]

That sound so good Mark. What a feeling it must be to see that.

Lots of luck

 

Joe

[lovemyGreys]

A lovely story,Are you going to keep her flight feathers now or clip again ?

[judygram]

I'd say he was going to keep her flight feathers from the sound of his post, and if Kip is proud of herself you know what the answer to that question is going to be.

[spookyhurst]

Nikko is almost fully flighted now and is becoming a little too confident. She usually fusses and flickers her wings when she wants to go somewhere, such as from my lap to the coffee table. But now, she has figured out that it only takes a couple flap of the wings to get over there herself. She also flew up onto the niche above the front door while no one was in the room. This could have been disastrous because there is a stain glass art piece (one of my dad's favorite Frank Lloyd Wright pieces) and a Galileo thermometer (one of those glass thingies with water and spheres in it) that she could have easily knocked over. I think we're going to need to clip a couple feathers on each wing so she doesn't get so much lift.

[dblhelix]

The plan is most definitely to leave Kip flighted. Has been since the day i brought her home. Most of you know by now that I have grown up with flighted birds. I am aware and have had first hand experience of the pros/cons. I would certainly not clip my bird(s) to protect some art. If the art needs protecting I would not allow the bird near it unsupervised if at all.

 

BTW, yesterday Kip jumped off her ceiling swing heading for her cage, as she approached it she hovered in the air trying to figure where to land. The she picked a spot and made a nice landing. My experience in the long run is that once the birds know they can go where they want to when they want to they settle down and usually stay where you put them. This can also be greatly influenced by repetition...if they fly somewhere you dont want them you get them, every time, and put them where they are allowed. Its part of training and I look at the whole thing as another way to interact with my pet. There are trade offs, but flight is not one of the things I will take from her.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/17 23:07

[Guest briansmum]

i had to take EVERYTHING out of my living room other wise brian would fly to it, the only things in there now are his cage, his stand, his boing rope, the sofas, tv and DVD rack.. which he likes to land on.. my boyfriends DVD collection has been chewed to bits

[lovemybird!]

I cannot wait for Zuri to be able to fly! She has gotten pretty comfortable wearing her aviator harness, so when those feathers grow back in we can still go outside. I will need to buy the extension for it then. I like to hear stories about birds being proud of their flying accomplishments. It makes me feel like I have made the right choice for us!