Fly!

[dblhelix]

Here are a few pics of Kip practicing flying to me with her new wings...all flights are in now and she is becoming quite proficient. Her overall agility/balance moving around is also markedly up B) Not the best quality pics, but you get the idea. In the first one she says "Fly!!" before taking off!

 

 

 

<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/01/03 02:38

[judygram]

Nice pictures Mark and she looks good there trying out her wings, and I just love your wife's green slippers, nice touch!!!!!! :lol:

Thanks for sharing a few pictures with us and they look fine to me.

[chapala]

she's doing great! Love to see these photos of flighted Grey birds!

Reta

[Kibibi]

Great pix

[DUKEdevils36]

Neat pictures

[Makena]

Awesome pics!!!! We can't wait until Makena's flights grow back in!!

 

Question.... How old was she when you clipped her, and how long did it take for her feathers to come back in??

[lovemyGreys]

Lovely pictures Mark I love the last one of Kip in flight.

[danmcq]

Mark - Congrats on Kip becoming flighted again and gaining all the abilities Greys were meant to have. The photos are wonderful and inspiring at the same time for those of us patiently waiting for the molt to begin replacing those flight feathers on clipped wings. B)

 

Thanks for posting these nice photos! :-)

[dblhelix]

Thanks all. Kip is a happy girl and learning more and more independence. This is an adjustment for owner and bird as now the bird can easily fly off that perch etc when previously if you put them there they were sort of "stuck". B) My experience with keeping flighted birds shows that this will be manageable with some time and training. She also is clearly more agile when climbing around on cage, swings etc as she uses her wings to balance her body, small flaps to help her flip around etc.

 

Makena - Kip was clipped when we got her at around 6 mo's. I am not sure exactly when she was clipped but I think it was pretty young. She was not fully fledged though according to the breeder she was not clipped until she had 1 or 2 flight attempts. In Kip's case the molt of the primaries started around 12 months and completed just in the last few weeks at around 18 months old! Her flying capabilities progressed significantly as more and more flights came in. Now she can hover, bank, fly up, down and is not afraid to "jump" off swings, perches etc as she trusts now that once in the air, she can fly! She comes to me when I call her and lands on my outstreched hand. Always keep the landing pad stable, do not move it to the bird, regardless of their approach, let them come to you and zero in on the landing pad! It is a work in progress, we had to encourage her at first, lots of praise etc. B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/01/03 16:42

[loviechick]

Those pics are great!

[Christina]

OH, that is sooo cool! Thanks for the info. I can't wait for Finnigan's flight feathers to come back. The breeder only cut one wing when they clipped her. I know she wasn't completely fledged when they did it. the vet cut the other side similar but not as drastic. Now whenever she "jumps" she goes in a circle. It's the sadest thing I've ever seen. Our B&G is just finishing growing out his flights. We are working with him to teach him how to fly, but he is a scardy cat, so its slow going. However, on that note, maybe you guys can help with a our problem. Loki doesn't usually take off as he is just learning and doesn't usually take off unless something startles him. Now, we have a completely open house, where we have three sliding glass doors that open onto the screened in lanai. When the doors are closed there are blinds or curtains that are pulled so he knows not to fly there, but has taken off when they are open and doesn't seem to see the screen. He bumps right into and falls to the ground. He doesn't have a lot of speed yet, and the screen has some give...but we figured he would be able to see the screen. Anyone out there with experience with flighted birds? Is he just at this point, going, and because he hasn't really gotten his turning or agility down yet, he sees it but can't stop? Any suggestions on what we can do to make it more visible.

[Makena]

Thanks Mark for the info. Makena will be 8 months old in a couple of days... go I guess we have a ways to go! Surprisingly, Makena is very good at flying even though he is clipped. He does it all the time. He flies from his cage to the kitchen table or from his cage to the front door (trying to find Andrew every time he leaves). When spooked he is actually able to gain some lift. We can't wait until his wings grow back! Thanks so much for sharing the pics!

[dblhelix]

Christina,

 

I would even out the current clip on Finnigan so the wings are balanced. Having 1 wing clipped and another unclipped (or an extreme imbalance) is generally considered quite bad for the bird and even worse than a severe but even clipping. Dont do the clip yourself unless experienced, but I would recommend having them evened out.