to clip or not to clip cockatiel

[24pawz]

I adopted a male cockatiel when his owner passed. I was told he was about 5-6 yrs old. He is a very vocal bird, he says appox. 12 words and he signs like he is a rap singer, bobbing his head and moving side to side just singing as he goes.
I don't think he's ever been handled, but I was told he would fly around the room and then go back to his cage.
He is not tame, but is not aggressive.When you talk to him you can tell he wants attention.
My question is to try to calm him down and tame him should I clip his wings or since he's never been clipped will it bother him. I don't want to harm him in any way, but I'd like to tame him so he can be out of his cage and have interaction with the family.

 

[MarciaLove]

I would clip his wings so he can calm down and that will help the bonding so he will become tame then when they grow back in you probably wont have to clip them as he will be tame Make sure his flight feathers are all fully molted and grown in though since lots of birds are molting now some still have their old feathers or new ones are growing in and you don't want to clip a blood feather or have to re clip them cause more grow in right after.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forum, 24pawz.

You will find that the "clipping" subject is quite controversial

Whatever you decide to do, do what feels right for you.

Personally I agree with Marcia.

 

[24pawz]

Thanks for the welcome. I have been reading your forum for a couple of months and really enjoy reading about everyone's birds.
I have a Hahns that I Adopted about a year ago, and he was not tame either.I talked to a lady that breeds and hand raises birds and she said to clip his wings and it would help him calm down. It was like 10 min. after he was clipped he actually stepped up on my hand! he was still a biter and he bite me hard a few times, but now almost a year later he is my baby, and as sweet as he can be. He will still grab me some but he only will put pressure, he doesn't draw blood like he used to. I keep him clipped because I have grandkids that live with me and in and out the door they go and Since he is out of his cage all day I don't want to take a chance of him getting out.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I also agree with Marcia. Clipping once will make him easier to tame, and you can work on taming him Andes the feathers molt back in.

It is possible to tame a flighted bird, it just takes more time. Personally, I prefer taming a cockatiel clipped and have had great success with it. Saying this, I've never had the opportunity to tame a un clipped bird.

 

[Niner10Tango]

I also agree with the others who have commented on this thread. Clipping a birds wings can start a heated debate. I believe it's totally up to the guardian. I just had Tango's wings clipped and his nails trimmed. I always think safety first when it comes to my bird.

 

[Ashytiel]

Clipping his wings makes him more dependant on you, and so he can be easier to tame. Then after he's tame you let them grow and he can fly all he likes, no harm done! Good Luck taming him!

 

[MonicaMc]

People often talk about not forcing parrots to do something that they don't want to do, but are "clip-happy" - as clipping the parrot forces them to be unable to get away from you... kind of contradictory.

With the right training and patience, I feel it's possible to tame a parrot without clipping them.

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