Can you teach a cockatiel to fly?

Question

When we purchased our cockatiel, I thought the breeder had trimmed her wings too short because our cockatiel couldn't fly. Every attempt she would start flipflopping backwards and then do multiple flips. Then some wings would break and I would worry about her safety. I did a search on the net after this continued for six months and I found a site that said if a breeder had trimmed their wings when they are babies learning to fly, they wouldn't learn to fly and they will fly "backwards" and then flop around (like mine) because they don't have the proper balance or chest muscles. Well, I tried "teaching" her by having her fly just a teeny distance from my hand to chest. However, if there is more than two hand spaces to flyvshe starts to flop backwards. I asked the vet, but she didn't seem to know of any solutions. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Thanks for all the responses. They have been very helpful. I guess it is mainly patience, patience, patience. I just hate to see her flipfloping. It has got to hurt.

She does love whistling the Iowa Fight Song! So at least she's not bored!

Thanks again!

Answer 1

Try getting a book on cokatiels, but basically there's not way to teach them they have to learn on their own. But she might get the hang of it if she sees another bird learning how to fly.

But if you want some better advice try asking someone who owns a cockatiel.

Answer 2

Cockatiels who have had their flight feathers trimmed before they learned to fly will take longer to learn how to fly properly. I'd give your little guy all the flying time you can give it, as long as you can supervise it when it's out. When the flight feathers grow in again, it'll have some problems maneuvering and landing. Cockatiels are excellent fliers, capable of far and fast flight even with a single flight feather on each wing! A bird that's been taught how to fly will eventually learn how to avoid walls and become skilled at avoiding heads and plants ^.^ .

There's several places that you can go to for lessons on teaching your tiel to fly. Try Googling 'Free Flight birds'. Free Flight is a movement in the bird world that doesn't cage birds and teaches parrot owners how to train their birds commands, sort of like teaching a dog to 'come', etc. They may have some tips that can help your guy how to fly again :-) . Many parrot owners have birds that knew how to fly then suddenly stopped for several reasons. I know of one success story that used free flight to teach a parrot how to fly again after 10 years of inactivity. The bird isn't the best flier in the world, but he's skilled enough to know what to do and can avoid crashes, etc. :-)

Good luck!

Answer 3

The following article should prove highly informative to you, don't despair. Wing clips are all too often thoughtlessly done. They can be painful and traumatic for the bird. They can also set the stage for a lifetime of feather-plucking.

“Feathers, Flight and Parrot Keeping”
Pamela Clark

http://www.indonesian-parrot-project.org/Library/pam2.html

Teils are SUPERB flyers. With practice, the bird will fledge properly.

Answer 4

they can learn to fly as i have 13 of them and the one that has cost me over 2 grand at the vet had his wings clips at an early age and now that he has got all this flight feathers back he can fly good it took us a year in a half but now he is able to fly they do learn but it does take time and i mean it takes time

Answer 5

Cockateils can fly, but not very well. they've been domesticated for too long. My cockatiel keeps flying into walls

Answer 6

i do not think it is possible to teach a bird to fly

Answer 7

i do not thinks so becuz my birds do not fly but maybe because i think my birds wings are
cut

Answer 8

placed him a distance from ur finger and coach him the manage ur going to furnish him. if he jumps on ur finger, supply him the manage then get farther and farther it takes time and affected man or woman

Answer 9

It might just take a while.Talk to the person you bought it from.

Answer 10

Why do you want it to fly?