KimKim Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Does anyone else's flighted greys still fly into walls? Babalu has been flighted for a couple years now, he doesn't fly that often, only when he gets scared or he takes a lap around the room. But sometimes he does fly for whatever reason, and he will fly straight into a wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 How old is Babalu? I would guess he needs much more flying practice. He needs to fly more. Does he fly into plain walls? could you hang something that might redirect him or cushion him when he hits. It is also possible that he has vision problems but I have no idea how you could test for that. An avian vet would be able to test for cataracts. Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Marco doesnt fly often either and has alot of what I call "crash landings" only a few times has she literally nailed where she has wanted to go. She hasnt flown into walls per say but she hits the cabinets when she misses the counter top of the kitchen sink. thats usually where she lands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Dorian also only flies when startled and his landings leave a lot to be desired. He is managing to slow down now before collisions so there are no longer bumps and scratches when I pick him up, but that's the full extent of his improved flying skills. He seems so frightened every time he flies he needs lots of fuss and reassurance before he stops shaking. I'm at a total loss at how to improve the situation. He's been stepping up now for a few years, but is only now truly trusting and eager when I offer him my hand. I could never break that fragile trust by "launching" him off my hand. So I guess for now we just leave things as they are, which is still 100's of % better than they were when he acquired me. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 KimKim, I'm guessing that your Grey was not flighted to begin with? You mention that he takes a lap around the room. You might try regular flying sessons to get your Grey used to controlled flights so that when the startled flight comes along he is conditioned to his surroundings. We fly Greycie twice a day mainly to burn off some of her jet fuel and calm her down. She used to have a problem with our full width mirror on one of the walls but has learned it's not another room she can fly into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I take Marco out (on the avian leash) and fly her as well but her landings in the grass arent all that graceful, shes pretty skilled however getting from her cage to my L shaped kitchen and landing on the laundry basket jus fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 When young baby greys are not fledged properly to learn flight abilities and build those synaptic connections related to it and when they do reach a new home after a few years of being clipped and flightless. Flying in to walls is because they do not know how to turn quickly, slow down or hover. It takes them much longer to learn to fly properly and some will never achieve the flight abilities of birds that were allowed to fledge properly when young. As others have said, practice by having them fly short distances to you, the couch, a stand, cage etc. The more you get them to practice, the better they will become at flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) How old is Babalu? I would guess he needs much more flying practice. He needs to fly more. Does he fly into plain walls? could you hang something that might redirect him or cushion him when he hits. It is also possible that he has vision problems but I have no idea how you could test for that. An avian vet would be able to test for cataracts. Steve n Misty He is 7, I adopted him when he was 2 and he was clipped. I kept him clipped up until I found this forum. And he hits any wall, with or without pictures. I'm sure it's not his vision, I'm guessing it's what some have mentioned, that he never properly learned to fly. Edited October 15, 2013 by KimKim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Oh, and I can not get the harness on him he does not like me touching him most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Unless you have a flight harness with an extension on it of 20 or 30 feet, they will not be able to fly with it on anyway. Harness are normally used by most folks to ensure they cannot fly away. But, some people do buy the extenders and take their birds out to a safe area they can fly to a fence, pole etc. and then be recalled which is great flight practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Oh poor Babalu. Could it have something to do with the wall colors? I am at a loss with what the problem could be. Perhaps practice at shorter distances straight to you might help. More practice is all I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Most of the walls in the house are taupe color. He just flies to fast maybe and doesn't turn sharp enough. I was just wondering if other birds still did this, seems he needs more flying time I guess. He doesn't leave his play area/room that often to fly on his own though. He is out of his cage pretty much all day and I also walk with him around the house and he goes with my daughter and I when I give her baths in the evening (he really loves bath time for Sophie for some reason), and if I don't take him he gets pretty mad lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 None of my parrots learned to fly when they were young as their wings were clipped prior to my getting them. They are incredible fliers now. My younger son taught my amazon how to fly. When her wings were grown out, he would put socks on his feet so he could slide on our hardwood floors. He would take her on his hand, and start to run and slide with her telling her to fly...she would try and would fly into the couch. He started out with only a few feet, As she got better, he would increase the distance for her flights to the couch. He always had her heading to the couch for soft landings. It gave her chance to practice how to land , when she was confident, he allowed her to turn. It really helped her. Just a thought , maybe this will help if you spend some time giving lessons ath yor bird . If did take some time for her to learn and build her confidence. You don't want your bird to fly onto walls, they can split their breastbone...five lots of praise when she gets it right by landing on a surface instead of the wall . If she does hit the wall, don't get all freaked out by yelling or screaming or she may do it for the attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Will I have to teach my new baby Grey how to fly with controlled landings so he won't end up flying into walls as well? I'm picking him up tomorrow and is 11 weeks old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Will I have to teach my new baby Grey how to fly with controlled landings so he won't end up flying into walls as well? I'm picking him up tomorrow and is 11 weeks old. Just hope the breeder did not clip him. It seems to be common practise for breeders to do this. I so wish they wouldn't Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 No, he's not clipped. The breeder is the senior bird keeper from our local zoo, and does all sorts of fun stuff with his flock, including falconry. We talked at great length about allowing greys to remain flighted to help with their confidence development. He's not fledged yet, so I'm wondering how I should go about it. I don't want to see him fly into walls if I can help him avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 At 11 weeks old, he us still very young and not yet fully weaned. Weaning and fledging go hand in hand. At around 12 weeks they start fledging and are born knowing how to fly. What they do not appear to know is how to master the intricacies of flight like turning, slowing down, hovering momentarily etc. What we as their flock leader must do is keep fledgling parrots safe in case they go crashing about. Covering windows and mirrors during initial stages can be useful, as well as providing multiple safe landing sites around the area. Other than trying to keep fledging birds from banging into, knocking over and breaking things, there is nothing else the human needs to do, other than sit back and watch the circus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks for this important information! I have several java tree table top stands in our aviary (my dining room. LOL!). He can also land on top of the other birds' 4 cages. Hopefully my birds, especially my Zon, will leave his toes alone! When I pick him up today, the breeder will be sending some formula with me, just in case he ends up asking for it. He felt comfortable releasing him to me 90% weaned knowing that I'm not a first time bird owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 KimKim, I'm SO sorry, I over-took your thread. I'll move my inquiries to another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I wouldn't be so certain about the other birds leaving his toes alone. I've read about incidents of that here on the forum. I'm not trying to bring you down, but wanted to mention that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Good thought timbersmom. You do need to be vigilant to ensure they don't hurt each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talkintimneh Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Maybe you could make up some sort of a game with him where he flies back and forth between you and your daughter...and reward him with upbeat praise, a head scratch or little taste of his favorite treat. Then when he's mastered his flight and landings (on your hand) you could lengthen the distance even further and then work on being in separate rooms and doing it. Good luck. Kathie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I noticed Marco has been ... if she is on my hand/arm hop/flying small little distances if we are walking towards her cage or tree stand from my arm to the object and landing really well so perhaps I might start making the distances further away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 KimKim, I'm SO sorry, I over-took your thread. I'll move my inquiries to another thread. It's ok looks like you got some good info also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Flying takes practice. We trained our birds with two people. One to send off the bird, the other person to receive. A baby was easier, since they adapt more quickly to liking two people from the family. Getting Sophie who was trimmed thru age two, was a little more difficult. It wasn't a problem of her loving two people, she just didn't " get it!" In the end, it was our Amazon, who was a baby, grew up quickly to be an amazing flyer, decided it was time to teach Sophie " how to fly!" Kiki taught Sophie how to fly. Oneday Kiki took off, waited for Sophie... Sophie followed. Kiki took a moment to wait for Sophie. They did this over and over.I found this amazing and butted out. Within a week, Sophie's wing flapping pattern changed, more similiar to Kiki's and she was flying like crazy! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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