lwis wrote:His wings are currently clipped, which I intend to grow out. I don't think it makes sense to clip a birds wings either, it is just unnatural. I know some people do it with what seems to be the best intentions, but I think if you are going to have a bird you have to deal with the fact that he can fly and might fly away if you aren't careful.
Anyway, that was my mini rant on that topic. Now, in saying that, I have heard it may take 6 months to a year for the wings to grow back fully, so I would keep a much stricter eye on him when he is out and the cat is around. Also, do you think, since he is young, he will be able to fly properly when they grow back? He currently tries to fly to something if he wants it, but he lands on the ground or I catch him before he hits.That must be so frustrating for him. I know with some older birds, if their wings were clipped for some time and are grown back, they either have too weak of muscles to properly fly or they haven't learned how. Do you think he will get the hang of it with a little bit of time?
It did took one of my GCs 6 months to molt her wing back in, while the other GCs wing still hasn't come through (it's been 1 year). Because I wanted her to be able to fly while she was still young, I had her wing imped.
Because both birds were clipped when they were babies, they didn't know how to fly (and had no muscles) so I had to teach the birds to fly through training - they didn't just figure it out themselves. If you practice flying training daily he will be a much stronger and more confident flyer for it.
