Mali is scared to fly and only flies when he's scared. Ive had him for about a month and he is very clever and learned to spin, wave, and shake his head "NO" within a week. He is a bit shy still but will often even let me scratch his head and he steps up almost every time with little hesitation. When I purchased him from the store he was clipped prior and they where almost grown in so I asked that they only trim his nails and leave his wings.He has spooked when shown a new toy and Ive seen him fly quite a far distance so I know he is capable of flight. Ive decided to start to help him develop his flight skills and he loves to flap his wings while on a moving hand and so we made a game of it to build up his muscles. Ive begun to try to teach him to fly to his cage. First I started by holding him within grabbing distance of the cage but still keeping him far enough away that he had to flap in order to climb up. When i move him just out of grabbing distance he begins to spin around on my hand and shakes and vocalizes a bit and acts like he wants to target onto the cage but is petrified. Eventually it ends with him holding one foot outstretched towards the cage and him simply waiting like that as if expecting me to just place him down. Its the cutest thing but actually problematic since he will wait there for 5+ minutes usually forcing me to cave since he has more time for mind games than me. I know its bad to give in because I'm reinforcing the behavior but what else can I do to encourage flight? Do you think I should just keep trying and eventually he will grow a pair?
Thanks
