# Teaching a Formerly Clipped Bird to Fly



## ZappyZapdos (Jan 6, 2015)

Zappy's breeder clipped his flight feathers super short and really early (they were already clipped when I got him at seven weeks). He has never learned how to fly. I don't think he knew he was capable of flying until this week. Before this week, he had maybe flown twice in the entire year I've had him. He has flown several times in the last week. 

Is there a way to teach him how to control his flights? Because he never learned, he's crashing into everything. He has a lot of trouble with blood feathers, so I'm inclined never to clip him again.


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## Brandon2k14 (Nov 26, 2014)

Aw thats sad you should find something online people on here might be able to give you some help too I hate when people clip birds before they even learn how to fly well I dont like when birds get clipped at all Its just wrong.


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## Phoenix2010 (Sep 15, 2014)

I keep my new fledged birds in small rooms so they dont get as much speed up when flying and therefore don't crash as hard. I also have plenty of landing places for them and stay with them until they learn to control their flight


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## ejoypousson (Apr 18, 2015)

Mine was never clipped, but when I got her she hadn't learned how to control her flights, and would keep crashing and didn't know how to land anywhere gracefully. I started teaching her flight recall by targetting her across two perches that I put really close together, then slowly separating them until she had to use her wings to get across. Then I targetted her to my finger and kept increasing the distance. She was really nervous about flying even short distances, but I think once she got the hang of landing she grew more confident. She stopped crashing immediately after I controlled her flights with recall. And like Phoenix I put lots of place where she could land around the room.

I got the method from here


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

I would start by gently tossing him over a soft place like a bed so he can learn to land - just make sure you give him a verbal cue before you "drop" him and give him treats and praise afterwards  Then I would move to the perch gap like ejoypousson suggested.


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## ZappyZapdos (Jan 6, 2015)

I've been trying what everyone suggested, but this is terrifying. Zappy has NO control. I've tried to bird proof the house, but I can't possibly bird proof the CEILING. For the third night in a row, Zappy has been sitting calmly on my shoulder and then taken flight for no reason. He keeps crashing into the ceiling and then dropping like a dead weight to the floor. He also keeps hitting the wall way up high and then dropping. I'm so worried that he is going to get hurt. It's gotten to the point that I am considering clipping him just a little bit, but his primaries are still blood feathers. Anybody have any suggestions? I don't want to confine him to a cage permanently. I would much rather clip him, but like I said, he still has blood feathers.


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## Phoenix2010 (Sep 15, 2014)

I see some people on this forum use flight suits. Maybe you could try one?


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

ZappyZapdos said:


> I've been trying what everyone suggested, but this is terrifying. Zappy has NO control. I've tried to bird proof the house, but I can't possibly bird proof the CEILING. For the third night in a row, Zappy has been sitting calmly on my shoulder and then taken flight for no reason. He keeps crashing into the ceiling and then dropping like a dead weight to the floor. He also keeps hitting the wall way up high and then dropping. I'm so worried that he is going to get hurt. It's gotten to the point that I am considering clipping him just a little bit, but his primaries are still blood feathers. Anybody have any suggestions? I don't want to confine him to a cage permanently. I would much rather clip him, but like I said, he still has blood feathers.


I know it's scary, but it's completely normal as he learns how to fly and learns how to maneuver the room. Even Miles, who was fully fledged and a strong flier, had some issues navigating a new space and hit the ceiling and walls. Phoenix took a few weeks to learn, too - and you know we had the same issue with feather loss/breakage. It's nerve wracking, but just try your best to keep him in a space where he can't get a lot of speed and there are minimal hazards (windows/mirrors/etc.)


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## ZappyZapdos (Jan 6, 2015)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. 

Jaguar, did your birds have any injuries from hitting the walls/ceiling? Especially Phoenix since he has the same problem as Zappy.


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

ZappyZapdos said:


> Thanks for the replies, everyone.
> 
> Jaguar, did your birds have any injuries from hitting the walls/ceiling? Especially Phoenix since he has the same problem as Zappy.


Phoenix lost a few feathers here and there from bumping into things, but it didn't stop him from flying, and as he got more confident and built up strength, he eventually stopped hitting things, and the feathers grew in without issue.  He hasn't lost a feather in over a month and he is a pretty good flier.


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