Since I found out that Pickles is a plucker almost a year ago, I've been wracking my brains trying to think of what to do for him. He doesn't play much with toys so all the foraging and preening toys I've made/bought have done no good. I will have had Pickles for a whole year on the 23rd of November. He was feather destructive when I got him and I rehomed him from someone who had already rehomed him so I'm not too sure about his history. He's just now two years old. I decided to stop trimming his wings. I only have one other bird in my flock who isn't trimmed and that's my CAG Qwynn. She actually is trimmed but only moderately and she still flies well. Pickles will fly now for the same reasons Qwynn flies. Both are prone to feather destruction. None of my other birds have this issue and they're happy without flight. Here's the amusing part. Pickles thinks he's part helicopter. When he wants to visit my other Quaker whose cage is right next to his, he flies all the way around the middle of the house in a big circle to get there rather than just hopping over. He's such a show-off. He flies over to where I'm sitting and hovers there until I say something to him and then he flies back to his cage. I haven't noticed his plucking less. His chest is almost bald, but I don't think he'll pluck his wings now because the survival instinct which uses flight as an escape method has kicked in. He won't voluntarily deprive himself of flight because he knows he has it now. When he first started flying, he shocked himself because he'd never been unclipped I believe. I do have to keep all of my doors dead-bolted now so that nobody comes walking in through the door while he's out and about and can escape. It's scary for me though because I keep reading about all these lost birds. Does anyone else here have a flighted Quaker? I know even trimmed birds can fly, but does anyone else leave their birds flight feathers intact like I do? I keep Buttons trimmed because she's in lovely feather and is not destructive. Just wondering how many of us have fully flighted Quakers. I'm not looking to be judgemental about it either. People do or don't trim for very good and sometimes very personal reasons. I'd just like to know what others have noticed about flighted Quaker attitude and behavior. Pickles was always independent and has never liked being touched or handled so giving him his flight never made him less friendly. He wasn't friendly to begin with. But what have you others found with your QPs in full flight status?

PS... after posting this I went to look at Pickles out and found out he's letting the feathers on his back and chest grow in!!! I'm so happy I could cry. It was so hard watching him pluck those out. I'm not getting my hopes up but I'm very excited about this new development!

Renee! What great news! I think it's wise for you to let him have his flight. Some birds need it and some don't. I tried to let my quaker stay flighted but he became WAY too much of a booger. The minute I clipped him, he was sweet as pie again.
But if yours didn't want the touchy-feely friendship from you, like you say, it's not a loss.

I guess I'd just be more careful while you're cooking ...
I think you're doing a great thing!
Hooray for new feathers!!

I had a plucker QP, Wicket. Unfortunally, despite having full flight feathers, eventually he plucked enough feathers out, that he couldnt' fly...for a few years like that...didnt' actually pull flight feathers out, but couldn't fly. So, there are no guarantees..

Just thought I'd give you my experience..I hope yours does stop plucking...I so hope!!

Carolyn:-)

Clyde is fully flighted and makes use of it most every day. When he found us (he just turned up in our yard one day and we never found his former family), he couldn't fly very well and had trouble landing and we think he was clipped before and had grown out just enough to escape. Now that he's had some practice, he's really good at flying and can go where he wants and land perfectly. However, he only wants to go to Hubby or me or back to his cage. He doesn't explore or buzz around the house. He never goes in the kitchen or bedroom and really prefers to be with us except when he wants a snack or decides it's bedtime, and then he goes right to his cage. It hasn't seemed to alter his attitude or personality, but then he was already flighted when he arrived, so we wouldn't know how he acts when he's clipped.

We've got two dogs and they understand he belongs here and don't bother him, but I wouldn't want to clip him so that if he did take off, he could only glide or go to the floor. That might be too much temptation for the dogs, and if they got too curious, they could hurt him even if they didn't mean to. Or we could step on him if we didn't see him land. He squawks his little feathered head off when he takes off to fly, so nobody can miss the fact (he's kind of a showoff! ). He's never out unsupervised, anyway, so we know where he is all the time.

You just have to be vigilant about doors and keeping an eye on him, and put him back in his cage and shut the door if you have to go into another part of the house and can't take him with you. If you're cooking, I'd put him in his cage, too. Clyde has no interest in the kitchen and when Hubby's cooking, if Clyde's out, he's with me, just in case he should develop an interest in the kitchen, but we've had him almost seven months now and he only goes in the kitchen if he's on my shoulder and I'm in there getting a cup of coffee.

My QP Cheeky was always clipped and never knew how to fly but recently at age 3 now my husband and I
decided we wanted to teach him to fly. So we let his feathers grow in and very slowly in the bedroom got him flying!
He was a bit scared at first but now is pretty confident. Hes very good now and loves to take off and go for some
flying around the bedroom and in the 2 family rooms we have. Hes gotten very good and is pretty confident now! It took
a bit but we feel it would help him be a stable minded bird and it would be a good thing mentally for him. We just keep
the doors closed...locked and hes fine. He seems very happy flying and has no bad attitude problems from his new found
Independence. I like the fact he can think more for hisself now and is not so helpless!

Donut has been clipped since we got him.
We have a lot of glass, doors & windows.
We dont have net/sheer curtains so we were terrified he would fly into a window.
(no they are not really clean, we live in a new area that has houses going up all around)
So his attitude has always been the same, HE IS THE BOSS !!!!

That is such good news about Pickles new feathers.
Maybe he decidedit is too cold flying naked !!!!
LOL

Whatever you are doing, keep it up.

Tricia

Inca is 8 years old hes been able to fly his whole life, when we got him 7 years ago he was clipped and we never decided to restrict him. He follows everywhere we go in the house. As soon as we let him out first time of the day he does this crazy jungle call he flies around like a maniac and screams RA-RA-RA-RA we always assumed it was pent up frustration he was getting out. He just started this year plucking his feathers around his chest, and we think its from sexual frustration, because for the first time in his life he gets a little in the mood if you know what i mean lol we havent heard anything back from the vet about all his tests yet, but were crossing our fingers thats a good sign. Best of luck!

Darwin, and my other birds, are fully flighted. I personally wouldn't take away their natural ability to fly. Darwin is very bonded to me and allows me to carry him most places, but sometimes when he is on my chair in my room and I move to the bed, he will fly over to me. I have no problem with him flying to me since it's his choice. Sometimes he doesn't fly to me so it's up to him. I do, however; have to take precautions just like everyone else with flighted birds. I always keep the doors locked so no one walks in, I have showed Darwin all of the windows and mirrors in the house (they all have blinds and curtains too), I keep the toilet seat closed, I make sure there are no open chemicals or things he can get into (just tonight he tried to take off with one of my pencils so now I have another thing on my list of things I didn't realize he could get to before! ), etc. Bottom line, as it has been said thousands of times before, to trim or not to trim is a personal decision, but mine is based on my ability to keep Darwin and my other birds safe, and their natural need (and love I think ) to fly.

In regards to the plucking, I don't think there is any information/research out there that supports the idea that flighted birds pluck less, but who knows, it might. Darwin has no behavioural "problems" so I really can't say how being flighted has altered his behaviour, personality, etc. I think, in general, allowing animals in captivity to be able to express their species-specific behaviours (such as flying in birds) does improve their mental, physical, and physiological well-being and has been extensively researched with many mammals in captivity...not so much with birds as of yet. But it makes sense that birds, not being domestic animals, and being more closely related to their wild counterparts, would fall into this same thinking.

Amigo is fully flighted, as being able to fly is his only defense if our dog or one of our cats manage to get near him, and decide he is fun to chase. Amigo is about 9 months old. His flying was a bit clumsy at first, but it keeps improving.

Amigo has his own room on the second floor - well, almost his own room. He shares the room with a hamster and with two red eared slider turtles. Cats aren't allowed in this room, and the dog only occasionally. Amigo stays in his cage except when my daughter or I are in the room. Amigo loves to fly, and we enjoy watching him show himself off. At first he was pretty clumsy, but his flying skills have greatly improved. This room also keeps Amigo away from the kitchen, and makes it harder for him to escape our house. To get outside, he'd have to fly down a dark staircase and through another door normally kept closed.

As we bond more with him, he is spending less time flying, and more time on my shoulder, and climbing around on my lap. He loves to preen and lick my nose - I think he just thinks I have a beak. After a while he will settle down, leaning into me, and loves to cuddle once he's tired out.

One of my sons is home for the next week or two; he'll be returning to Iraq in a couple of weeks. He has told me he hates birds, and can't stand their noise. He can't believe I was so sensitive to the noise my kids made when they were little, and now enjoy the sounds Amigo makes. (There is one Amigo, and had 6 children - and five of them were boys!)