I have been meaning to post this for a while. When I took my bird home she was clipped, but I let them grow in with the first molt. I knew that if I made the wrong decision and had to clip her she would be really sad. But if I never let the wings grow in the first place, she would never know what she was capable of (and thus not know what she was missing). So I wanted to make the best decision I could with her first molt.
What to do? What to do? At the time I was really torn about it. Would I be able to keep her safe flying around the house? Would I be able to save my house from HER? Well..... while I fretted about the decision her wings grew in bit by bit and the decision pretty much made itself. Because she grew her feathers one at a time, her flight skills grew gradually so it was easy for me to adjust to her as she became more adventuresome. And it was never too much for me to handle. In fact, she became WAAAYYY easier.
At the time, my main worry was that I would not be able to keep up. She was so high maintenance. But what actually happened was comical and ironic. Poop? Not a problem... she can fly to the perch when she needs to. Biting? Not a problem... she can fly away when she needs to. Boredom? Not a problem... she can fly around and find something to do. Velcro bird? Not a problem... she can fly to follow me whenever i move around the apartment.
She does what she wants. She is a completely different bird, and watching her personality change so quickly along with her flight skills, I have no doubt all the positive changes are as a result of choosing to let her grow her wings.
(I'm sorry - I don't know why the pics are sideways)
As it turns out, there is really only one small problem that hasn't solved itself. Chewing on doorframes. She absolutely loves to do that. It has gotten to the point where I have to take active measures to discourage her, getting up frequently, and sometimes even put her in her cage. She was fine for the last two hours. Now five "chewing" incidents so far while writing this post on three separate doorframes. She learned that chewing gets her immediate attention, potentially making it worse, so i have to be careful creative about how I address it. Since I rent, I don't want to be slapped with a huge bill when I leave so I can't let her do it.
The last two days she has been obsessed with the cabinets over the stove in the kitchen. I left it open two days ago and she climbed in to discover a wonderful little cubby perfect for a conure such as herself at this time of year. She does a very cute rendition of what i call the "Springtime Dance" and then tries to get in to nest with my dry goods. But she isn't strong enough to open the doors herself so she just chews and chews and chews to try and open it.
I have no idea if this will work... but I tried putting her sworn enemy Mr. Elephant there with some baby dinosaurs, to give her the impression that the nest was already taken.