# Fledgling wants to fly



## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi today the chicks are 34 days old and Screech is out of the nestbox.
The problem is that now whenever i take him out he flaps rapidly and attempts to fly around. I know that he has to learn to fly but yesterday we had a close call and he scared me to death. My sister was in my room with Screech out and I was downstairs getting apples for the tiels. My sister called down to me that Rosie had flown out of her cage and was flying around the room. I didn't mind this because she is often out and flying around when I'm in the room with her...but when i was just about to come back my sister yells my name and tells me to come quickly!! My sister had apparently tried to get Rosie while having Screech in her hand and Screech had decided that he was going to fly too. Well he flew up right into the window  He fell down and when i got there he was sitting in her hands and his head was turned around  I took him in my hands and started rubbing around his head to see if anything was broken. I didn't feel anything and slowly he brought his head back around. After checking his neck again I put him back in the cage and kept an eye on him. He slept for awhile and later on he woke up and was begging for food. Rosie fed him and he seems fine today. But now I'm terrified that he is going to hurt himself again because now whenever I take him out he tries to fly around. I'm terrified that he is going to hurt himself but i need to continue to handle him to keep him as tame as he is right now and I don't want to clip his wings. What can I do? Any advice.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You need to cover any windows or mirrors so it doesn't happen again. It is very scary though, to know god knows what could be broken if they crash into something.

Do you have curtains at all? if you don't you can always get a curtain rod and stick a blanket/sheet on it. I had the same problem so I had to make sure every thing in site that could be ran into was covered at least so they missed it if they went to fly into it.


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## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

Yes i do have curtains and now whenever i take him out i cover the window. I don't have a mirror in my room...only in the tiels cages. I'm still terrified that he is going to hurt himself though...


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

Why don't you want to clip his wings? It's a personal decision, but Halley freaks me out every time he flies around too (he's landed on the stove - unlit, of course! - a couple of times) and I just feel more secure with my birds' wings clipped.

You could try hanging a perch somewhere high, like a swing-type deal from the ceiling? And that might encourage Screech to land on that, rather than flying wildly around looking for somewhere to land until he crashes.

Aside from that (and covered windows/mirrors, etc) I don't know what else you could do.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

At 34 days old it's way too young to be clipping their wings. They NEED to learn to fly before you decide to clip their wings, if you clip their wings now, they're not going to learn until their new feathers come through.

It's all part of the fledgling, they will learn, and yes, some have had accidents, but this is why you need to make sure you keep a close eye on them when they're out and are ready to fly. They will learn from their parents also, but clipping their wings now seems a bit cruel. (in my opinion)

Hanging something like a swing from the ceiling is a good idea, if they need to land they'll have something to aim for to land on. But they do get the hang of landing & flying and it won't take long, depending on the 'tiel.

ETA:

*There are many things a cockatiel chick must learn as he is growing into an adult bird. One that is critical to the chick's development is learning to fly. Birds have wings. It is important to the emotional health of the chick to master being able to fly and land safely. Flying increases the chicks self confidence and increases their sense of well being. One of the reasons for allowing chicks to learn flight is that they learn to control the flight and make safe landings.*


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## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

olive juice said:


> Why don't you want to clip his wings?


I don't want to clip his wings because he is still really young and I read that you need let them to grow their muscles for flying. Also I don't think my friend who is getting him when he is old enough wants his wings to be clipped, I haven't asked her yet. I also don't want to clip them myself because I'm afraid I would do it wrong...and the closest vet is around 2 hours away and I'm not old enough to drive by myself yet and my guardian won't drive me. (No there is no trains, buses or other source of transportation that i can take, i live in the middle of nowhere) Yes, if there was an emergency with the tiel or any other animal my guardian would take them to the vet but she doesn't agree with clipping their wings. Sorry I ranted a bit :blush: I'm just terrified that he is going to hurt himself.


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

Ahh, I didn't know you couldn't clip their wings that young. :blush:


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## Guest (May 12, 2009)

Hi when chicken was first discovering this place i put mylar tape on the windows just bits and peices of it maybe 1"long bits

she soon realised there was something there and so learned about the glass windows

i did the same with Eshka and its worked well there too

Mylar acts like a mirror and fish eye lens at the same time so the birds see thier own reflection and stop before they hit it

I learned this from a breeder here 

very clever old bloke who had lots of happy tiels

cheers

jack


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## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

Thank you everyone. Now when Screech is out i cover up the window with the curtains. When i get paid I'll buy him a perch that i can put on the roof


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Ahh, I didn't know you couldn't clip their wings that young.


Learning to fly is important for their mental and physical health, and a bird that doesn't learn to fly at the natural age for it will have a harder time learning to do it later on. 

This article has some good information on fledglings and clipping: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww65e.htm I think they tell you to eventually take too many feathers (six is plenty), but I agree with the idea that babies should be clipped gradually.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Spike was clipped when I got him but he was 10 weeks old. When I brought him home I would show him the windows and bang my fist on them and say window, ouch  and put him really close to it so he knew he could not go through it.


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## Tony's Tiels (May 21, 2009)

I hope everyone got the importance of letting a bird learn how to fly here....
That is what they are born to do, to not let a baby bird learn how to fly is like never letting your child walk on their perfectly good legs.


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