flying trouble

[mybirdsareevil]

i have a budgie thats a horrible flier! every time he goes to fly, he hits the ceiling and falls behind curtains and gets stuck and then it freaks me out cuz i think hes scared. does any one have any tips or suggestions so he can be a better flier?

[Bea]

Is he tame? If not i would keep him in his cage until you can at least know he's comfortable around you. He sounds like one very scared budgie to be flying like that.

[twodoordime]

Farva is tame but he is a CRAZY flyer. He hits the walls all the time then just drops to the ground. Yesterday i was pretty proud though cause he was going directly towards a wall and he actually turned around W00T go farva

[Budgiekin]

I agree with Bea, you may wish to wait a bit longer before bringing your sweetie out of the cage. Also, when you do bring him out, make sure you don't have any open windows or doors for him to escape through, never to be seen again.

Are his wings clipped?

[mybirdsareevil]

his wings definitly arent clipped. ive been taming him. he goes on my finger. the other one and him fight to go on my finger for some reason:budgie:

[Debby]

Tiki is too scared to even come out of his cage!! I tried today but he grabbed onto the sides of the cage and no amount of sweet talk or coaxing would get this budgie budged!! Anyone have a budgie too scared to even come out? (or maybe in Tiki's case too spoiled:p )

[Amy]

Tiki is too scared to even come out of his cage!! I tried today but he grabbed onto the sides of the cage and no amount of sweet talk or coaxing would get this budgie budged!! Anyone have a budgie too scared to even come out? (or maybe in Tiki's case too spoiled:p )

I know a tip! Take the bottom of the cage off and hold the top and your budgie will come out the bottom!

I'd love to know any tips about catching budgies!

Misty my old budgie went down behind the TV, curtains and radiators!
I find bathrooms good places to let them fly all though recently they have been flying in my Mum and Dad's bedroom!

[Shiney_things]

i usually catch mine in mid-flight. :) You must be carefull doing this though... Or if it is on the floor hold your hand above it as this will stop it running away and the just pick the little angels up! :D

[Amy]

i usually catch mine in mid-flight. :) You must be carefull doing this though... Or if it is on the floor hold your hand above it as this will stop it running away and the just pick the little angels up! :D

Cool good tips, I'll try them out!:D

[mybirdsareevil]

i just realized that its not only hes a bad flier, but he flies weird. he flys kinda crooked and moves his tail. it basically looks like he move from side to side. is his tail broken or something?

[Budgiekin]

Do you know if his wings were EVER clipped? It is possible that he had his flight feathers clipped at too young an age OR that he was just never really given an oppotunity to develop his flying ability? Budgies learn to develop their flight skills as very young birds, but if their wings are clipped or they aren't given the opportunity, some budgies may be delayed in developing (or may never develop) the confidence and technique to fly properly. If you give him plenty of out of cage flight time (in a safe room of course!!), he will surely develop more strength and coordination in his flying. Practice, practice, practice.

Is he clumsy when he lands after taking a flight? How is his balance on his perches? Does he ever shake himself off of his perch when he fluffs himself up and shakes?

[mybirdsareevil]

when i got him, (from a petstore), his wings were clipped and i didnt let him out because i had a budgie with him whos wings were developed at the time and would fly away from him.i tried letting him fly today and he flew up stairs into my bathroom and onto a light bulb! he also flys into mirrors:(

[Budgiekin]

Those behaviours you describe aren't unusual (i.e. flying into mirrors, landing on light bulbs). Unfortunately, budgies (and birds in general) are not aware of those risks, nor are they aware that they can hurt themselves (or worse, even kill themselves) by flying into windows or mirrors for example. You will need to make sure that when you let him out, that he doesn't have any of those "hazards" around that could potentially hurt him. This includes things like windows, open toilet bowls, sinks full of water, boiling water on the stove. . . . the list goes on. . . poisonous plants, ceiling fans. . . .

Do you have a room in the house where you can let him out to fly without any of those things (or at least with minimal risk of running into a household hazard)? Somewhere where you can close the curtains so he won't hit windows and not escape to other places in your house etc.?

[Amy]

Cover the mirrors up or take them down or your budgie could break his neck if he flys hard at it.

[mybirdsareevil]

if i cover my mirrors and light bulbs in my bathroom i could probably let him out. should i let my other one thats a good flier fly with him so it can teach him?

[Budgiekin]

Yes, you could let them out together, especially if you are not working on taming them. If you were planning to tame them, it would be best to bring them out separately.

Well, good luck with your little flier and let us know how he is doing!!

[mybirdsareevil]

i brought them out today in the bathroom with bulbs covered and mirrors covered, and they still crashed. ones usually good but i think it may be to small in there.

[miss_missy]

pegasus... oh lord. he is the worst.... ihate it when he trys to fly... he just goessssssssssssss......SMACK right into the wall and im freaking out... and hes like what... what i do..:duhh: His wings are clipped the i rememeber the first time i goth im out and help just flew like an eagel i was like this is going to suck. and boyfriend said.. what... i said trying to catch him.. i want their wings clipped when im in training but when they are trained i want them to have the power to fly. they are birds... .. hehe.. just what i feel.. people have their own unique way of training..:)

[Amy]

You let them out in the bathroom? So do I!
Maybe you should fly them in a bigger room if you think it really is too small.

I agree with you missy, I'm never going to clip my budgies wings. I like them to fly naturally to!

I don't have any more advice for either of you. Sorry!

[Shiney_things]

My birds wings are clipped for safety, altough they can still fly just not as high (no window trips for you my feathered friends) I worry SO much about them getting hurt. I think loosing perfect flight is better than dying. Hmmmm ask your vet for advice on whether or not clipping in your thing.

[Amy]

My birds wings are clipped for safety, altough they can still fly just not as high (no window trips for you my feathered friends) I worry SO much about them getting hurt. I think loosing perfect flight is better than dying. Hmmmm ask your vet for advice on whether or not clipping in your thing.

Ohh I can't decide! What shall I do?:(

[Kiwi]

We had a budgie as a class pet in the 6th grade. One day someone was changing his food and the door was open and he flew out. We were devastated because this bird was the sweetest thing ever... he said "I'm a Murfee Bird", "I love you" and "My name is Cupid". Long story short he kind of fell into the path of some of the kids in my class and they brought him back... they were on the news and everything. It was a traumatic day.

[Budgiekin]

Holy smokes! That IS a traumatic story! I'm glad that he was brought back; I couldn't imagine seeing the little fellow flying away and feeling so helpless!

[Amy]

Woah, what a lucky budgie to be heroicly saved from a terrible fate of certain death like that!:p

[Shiney_things]

If done correctally, your birds will still have the ability to fly, but not past your knee's height, and enough to get them from place to place safely. It is also fantastic for the taming process! Although ozzy was tamed with untrimmed feathers, but i clipped him for safety. Eventually i let his feathers grow back and he flew into a door and knocked one out... He bled for a while. I was SO scared.

My friend owned a parrot, and she forgot to re-do his wings, he was a lovely bird, :( he managed to fly into a tank and drown.

Many places recomend trimming so long as it is to benifit the bird and is dome humainly. It is totally painless to your bird. Better safe than sorry.

[Amy]

Er well I'm not getting them clipped, sorry! It's just that I like them to have all the natural things they can, including flight. Well I might change my mind I don't really know. I proberly won't.

Although... When I tame one of Lily's babies might consider it, only for taming though.

It would of been useful if I had my old budgies clipped, they flew away, But if they had been clipped that would never of happened.

Thanks for all the advice it has been useful and made me think.

[Shiney_things]

no problem at all! But if you are taming a baby, all you need to do is make sure you socialise it well eg hand feeding and handling them for about 5 mins at a time, as this will get them used to humans. id start this at about 4-5 weeks. You dont really need to clip to tame. Aswell you dont have cats... i cant risk them flying out of my door although i do respect your views on clipping and i totally understand where you are coming from! :) I didnt intent to 'win you over' to clip them... :) but it is better to clip for safety than for taming.

[Amy]

I don't have any cats because I have a hamster, 3 guinea pigs and a rabbit.
Anyway I don't like them because they were the reason I lost my previous budgies. A cat came along and knocked their cage off the garden table, then the door opened and they flew away.:(

I won't clip his/her wings then. If its not urgent for taming.

[Shiney_things]

:) Good look with it! Sorry to hear about your other bird by the way :( Silly cats!

[Amy]

Correction for you!
Bird!S! There was 2 of them, Dusty and Misty.