Budgie unable to fly

[beauderek]

My budgie, Derek, seems unable to fly. She is 5 ish and before I got her a couple of months ago, she spent all her life in a cage in a nursing home. She's never been out of her cage.

I've left the door open and she's come out and explored around the cage, but on the 2 occasions she's attempted to fly, she just flutters to the ground. When she tries to take off again she barely gets any lift, maybe a foot, then comes back down.

Is it possible she's just out of practice?

[yellowfacedviolet]

You say you've had her for a few months. Is it possible her previous caretakers had her wings clipped? If you're unsure, post a photo and we'd be able to determine if that's the issue.

[jellybean]

If she was kept in a cage for 5 plus years, this little bird probably has no muscle mass to allow her to fly.

More experienced members will advise you I'm sure on how to help her.

[beauderek]

That's what I'm thinking... Her strength and muscle mass are insufficient.

She hasn't had her wings clipped I'm sure, but she has been very neglected. She never flies around the cage, just scrambles along the bars with her feet and beak. The cage she was originally in was quite small, so I bought a larger one so she can have more room to exercise. She clings to the sides any flaps her wings really fast.

My next question would be, can she relearn to fly? Is it necessary or can she be happy as she is? She has a new pal and they get along great, she's a little bossy and possessive, not not aggressively so.

Just want to make her happy ☺️

[Hezz]

jellybean is correct. Depending on whether she has ever flown will be a very large factor in whether she can learn/relearn to fly now. If there is no physical reason why she can't, and I'm thinking injury to a wing for example, then you would presume that she should be able to learn to fly, but whether she does may depend on whether she really wants to badly enough. Having a flighted friend might just be the incentive she needs to see her through what could only be seen as intense physio sessions. Flapping in her cage is good; you can also help her by moving her up and down on your hand/arm/finger with enough speed that she has to flap to keep her balance.

You can also try teaching her to hop/jump/fly from one place to another if she is open to treat rewards. Have two stations, one can be your arm if she is willing to come to you. Put her on the other perch, hold your arm etc only a small (achievable) distance away and call, or use a pointer and tap where you want her to go to. Reward every effort that she makes.

Is it necessary, or can she be happy as is? I think she can be perfectly happy as she is - it's what she might only ever have known. Does she seem frustrated that she can't follow her birdy friend around? That would be her big incentive to try, if there was any at all. You could consider consulting an avian vet to possibly determine if there is some reason why she can't fly besides the lack of muscle mass and strength in her chest and wings.

[helenmat]

Hopefully she will get stronger now she can move about. Well done for taking her on.

[Marianne Marlow]

I took in a budgie that could not fly previously, only her owner did not tell me that she could not fly!

She was 6 when I took her in, she had all her flight feathers and I could see no reason for it at all, neither could the vet.

I adapted a cage for her and she was perfectly happy climbing about. Occasionally I'd let her run along on the floor (supervised) and give her things to shred and sometimes millet.

Be careful though, don't let her access to great heights because a fall could be fatal, that is what happened to my poor hen. She was 9 and a half and I hope she had some happy times with us, but I'll never get over the guilt.

[BloomCountyLover]

I had a little hen years ago that came to me already clipped. She was only a few months old but despite letting her feathers grow back she never really flew. Just fluttered to the floor. She seemed quite happy just climbing her jungle gyms and fluttering to the spots she could. She loved to climb my son's swag lamp and sit on top of it amd chirp away.

[bud9]

Our Joey flew for the forst 5-6 years then could only do as yours is doing but he had a great last 2 1/2 years as he would scramble round the bars and all the other buds just got out of his way so even if Derek can not fly he can still have a good life.