yep dwhite,
that could be part of it, if they are out of show lines, they are so use to people handling them and being around folks generation after generation that they just completely loose the desire or need to feel to do it. Also like all birds, they have to exercise the muscles to do it well. If they have never been flyers, their muscles are most likely under developed in the wing and flight for them would most likely take some effort.
We as people often alter animals to suit our needs threw generations of breeding and selecting for what we want.
as a call duck or any bantam duck, they in the end still have the ability of flight unlike their 8-10 counterparts, but in the calls, they have been spoiled for so long that it is possible for them to just totally decide not to fly, even in high risk situations if they have never know they have the ability, after all to a degree, it does have to be taught to them threw trial and error. So if they made it to adulthood and have never tried it, most likely they just feel they cant.
So often, these PRO breeders keep all theirs in tiny cages for show conditioning, well in there ,there is no way to fly obviously, so I feel in some, the ability is still there, but their instinct to do it is being bred out of them. If that makes sense?
Think it all boils down to how there were raised. Pen or cage raised, less likely, mother or free ranged raised, very likely.
I do have some show line calls here that very seldom try it. Then I have some aussie spots that were free ranged raised by their mother. They'll bed up in the high grass around the edges of the yard, if you walk up on them and dont see them, spook them and such, they squat jump and fly off like a covey of quail.
So line and brooding conditions I feel may play a large part in why some fly all the time and why some choose not to.
