# Help? Cockatiel keeps doing flips and flailing (Trying to fly with clipped wings)



## Time_Catalyst (May 18, 2013)

Hello,

My cockatiel frequently does "flips" repeatedly, flipping himself upside down in circles. It has broken most of his tail feathers, and I'm worried he might hurt himself worse.

I've read elsewhere that some cockatiels do this if their wings were clipped before they learned to fly, and that could definitely be the case. We bought him last August (he was 2-3 months old), and let his wings grow out, in the hopes that he would stop flipping. By February or March, he was able to fly and did stop flipping over, but we clipped them again in late March (for unrelated reasons), and he's started flailing around in circles in again.

He might not have learned to fly well enough, or for long enough. When we clipped his wings, he was still somewhat learning how to land properly, and would sometimes just fly in circles around the room until he tired himself out.

He usually starts flipping around when he's startled (which seems to happen more frequently lately), loses his balance, or occasionally for no apparent reason.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Did you find anything that helped? Any ideas are welcome! Thank you. :cinnamon pearl:


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

sounds a bit difficult 
i've never had that before, since Bjorn knew how to fly before his wings were clipped. though your cockatiel should've known how to fly at 2 months old!
i guess all you can do is leave them to grow out - then you'll find out whether or not he knows how to fly...
hopefully someone else can help you more


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I haven't dealt with this so I don't know what to suggest for now, but here's a thread on teaching a bird to fly if you decide to let his wings grow out: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32235


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## Iloveyou123!! (3 mo ago)

I've had this same incident happen with my cockatiel he's 3-4 months old and he keeps doing flips and I'm worried about him can anybody give me any advice please


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