Still flying into walls...?

[Mistyparrot]

Kimkim you will find that as you start to play teach Babalu (I love that name) he will gain more confidence and it will also bring your bond even closer. My guess is he was shaken up by some bad flying experiences after his clip and now perhaps he flies more out of a start than for the fun of it. As his confidence comes back he will learn to fly better.

I helped Misty recover from his clip by gently launching him onto the bed or the sofa. I would say "Fly Misty" in the hope that he would he would take that as a cue to fly. He soon got better and better at flying and became able to turn very tight turns and make precise landings. Of course he has never learned the cue the way I intended but most times when he goes for circuits and bumps as student flyers would call them, he calls out "Fly Misty fly". My other attempt to get him to fly to my shoulder on cue was also unsuccessful. As he would often fly to me as I made to leave the room I tried calling "Shoulder". That misfired as well. He will watch me go through the doorway and I call "Shoulder" but he ignores that. If I then go out anyway he starts to call out "Shoulder"... "Shoulder". So I go back and he is just sitting on a perch with one foot raised in the "Pick me up" signal! So now he uses "Shoulder" as a command to me to come and collect him so I can take him out of the room with me! ;)The only way he will come to my shoulder on cue is when I aim the spray bottle at him. That brings him every time. He quickly worked out that I wouldn't squirt him if he is on my shoulder. I don't have to actually spray him but if he doesn't see my finger on the trigger he takes no notice.

 

Steve n Misty

Edited October 16, 2013 by Mistyparrot

[KimKim]

When he takes off flying and I'm in his flight path, I will hold up my hand but he never lands on it or me. I need to try and watch some videos on flight training and how to start from the very beginning.

[murfchck]

Bongo was clipped very badly when we got him, flying was not even an option for this poor guy. We called him our statue for a very long time. Once his wings did start coming back in, we did practice flights where hubby would hold him and i would be a few feet away and call him. He could make those short hops but couldn't master the landing at all. We did this daily for months and months increasing the distance when he was ready. He is now one of our better flyers. He hasn't mastered hoovering yet but still tries, that usually ends with him landing on my head though. If i am not ready and don't get my arm out in time when he flys to me he tries so hard to hang in there until i can turn around, but tuckers out and just plops onto my head, regains his composure and tries again. And just so you are not shocked, it has been over 2 years since we got him and just last week a clipped feather fell out so he still does not have all his flight feathers in. That takes a while.