My cockatiel is learning to fly. How do I keep him safe from hitting walls?

Have him perch on your finger, then gently place a thumb on his feet to hold him. Allow him to flap as he is being held on your hand. This may show him he doesn't have enough lift to takeoff. You can also hold him over the bed and allow him to gently fly/flutter down onto it a few times. This may also show him he can only fly downwards.

It is OK if your birds are not flying. Many bird owners actually have bird’s wings clipped so that they are unable to fly or escape. As long is the cage is an adequate size (which it appears to be) they should be fine. You could try increasing their exercise by taking them out of the cage and playing with them individually, but this is not necessary. Birds can live long happy lives without flying. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Have him examined by your veterinarian or by an experienced avian vet. Most birds can fly unless there is an injury or defect in the wings or feathers. A poor clip job may also affect flight, but at 3 years old he should have molted and grown new feathers to replace damaged ones.

Thanks for reaching out about Tango. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess vision. Loss of vision is not common with young birds, so could just be clumsy? Were wings trimmed recently? Schedule a veterinary examination. Good luck.

I am sorry to hear that your bird tried to escape. The good news is that the wings were clipped so he was unable to fly away. I would recommend continuing to keep the wings clipped to prevent him from escaping. It is important that when you get him out of his cage to interact with him that you make sure the area is secured with no open doors or windows. The more you get him out of the cage and interact with him the more used to it he will be and the less likely he will want to fly away. I would recommend having his wings trimmed every 1 to 2 months to prevent him from flying away. It may also be beneficial to train him to come to you for a treat so that, in the event of an escape, he will be trained to come back to you instead of wander off. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for reaching out. The best method to try and prevent flying is to trim the flight feathers on both sides. The flight feathers are the outside 10 feathers on the wing called the "primaries". There are probably videos on youtube to show how. Some birds with clipped wings can still fly a little, especially if there is a breeze at their backs. You still must be aware of open window or doors, ceiling fans, etc. The down side of trimmed wings, it is less exercise for birds. Most bird owners just have to figure out which is best for their birds and situation. Good luck.

A bird may do this out of curiosity or for attention. If he is behaving normally otherwise, there is likely no cause for concern. Allow for more playtime in and out of the cage to see if that makes a difference.