Clipping

I just got Apollo clipped for the first time since he came home. He is a one year old Sun Conure. He has been full flighted for three weeks. I am torn. He was doing fine staying out of everything and was not endangering himself. I do not want to clip him again, but want him to be safe Would my fellow conure owners recommend a baby clip, full cip, or no clip when he is due again? He got clipped two days ago and is is still sulking a bit and I feel so bad for him. :=(

I believe that clipping should be a personal decision based on the individual bird and its environment. Unclipped birds can be more confident and less likely to be nippy, but there is always the possibility that they could escape or injure themselves. Another factor to consider is if there are dogs or cats in the house. If a dog or cat were to ever (God forbid)chase a bird, the bird would pretty much be defenseless unless it was able to fly. Choose whatever you believe is safest for your bird.

I have a cockatiel, who lives in a home of 3 intellectually disabled men... One of the men is very attached to Tiko...

I have been away from the house to 2 weeks... Tiko was quite aggressive, when I got there, but settled down... I cut his wings and trimmed his toenails...

My birds at home are fully flighted, but because people in this house don't think of closing the doors, Tiko has to be clipped, and then supervised, so no one steps on him...

I kept Tiko with me after his wing and toe clip (2 hours) and he was fine...

I live alone, and I don't have anyone open doors etc... so I leave Max, my Alexandrine, flighted...

It all depends on your circumstances...

I only clipped Rowdy for training reasons, and then let her grow her wings back. But, like Lene, I am single and no one is going in and out of the house, or leaving doors open. When I have people like that here, I keep her in her cage. Often when people bring children I have that situation. They come in, then go out to play with the barn animals, then come in, then go out, etc. My disabled cousin was here last week and she goes in and out to smoke, and often leaves the door open. I kept Rowdy and the others in their cages while she was visiting.

We have had members here who nearly lost a bird when they took it in for grooming and it managed to fly out an open door. And we have had members who have lost a bird because it flew out a door or window.

If you leave them flighted, you do have to watch them for things like trying to chew out a screen. And you have to take extra precautions with family members and visitors.

It is a personal decision and I'm not going to say one is good and one is bad. You need to evaluate which is safer for your bird.

My breeder told me that he clipped Pixie's wings the other day in prep for her coming home for safety reasons. She was apparently so thrilled with flight that she didn't pay any attention what she was flying into and didn't want her to hurt herself going into a wall or anything. I agree that this was probably the best decision for now.

I plan to let them grow back however and see how she does with her aim once she has been home for awhile. I really hate the idea of taking such a natural thing away from her without giving her a chance to live that way. Kinda broke my heart for her a little considering how much she was enjoying it.

It is also true that some birds are just naturally better fliers than others. I'm sure that mostly has to do with the fact that these pet birds live in our homes though, where obstacles and walls and ceilings are everywhere. Obviously wild ones all learn to fly well. But, Rowdy is a very good flyer who has never crashed into anything. My BCC was another story and sometimes did crash. Thankfully she only flew on occasion or she might have gotten hurt.

I'm debating clipping Merlin for her own safety since she can't see. She hasn't tried to fly, I'm sure because she knows it's not a good idea. But, something could scare her enough to try someday, and that would not be good. But, she got pretty scared at the vet's every time someone "suddenly" appeared (to her it seems sudden since she doesn't see them until they are right there), and she did not try to fly any of those times. I don't want her to get upset that her wings aren't "right" and start plucking again. So this is a hard decision.

I got Max as a baby, and it was extremely nerve wrecking, when he was learning to fly... I often thought about clipping his wings, so he wouldn't get hurt crashing into things... I stuck it out, though, and I'm so glad I did... I doubt he would be any easier to train, if he was clipped - in fact Max loves training recall and flying to his perch....

Some years ago I took in a GCC, who was very aggressive... I target trained him in his cage till he learned to trust me, and after about a week he came out, and I trained him all sort of tricks, while he was still fully flighted.

roxynoodle said:

I'm debating clipping Merlin for her own safety since she can't see. She hasn't tried to fly, I'm sure because she knows it's not a good idea. But, something could scare her enough to try someday, and that would not be good. But, she got pretty scared at the vet's every time someone "suddenly" appeared (to her it seems sudden since she doesn't see them until they are right there), and she did not try to fly any of those times. I don't want her to get upset that her wings aren't "right" and start plucking again. So this is a hard decision.

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If she hasn't tried to fly, even in an extreme condition, such as the vet, I wouldn't clip her wings... She would be intelligent enough to know that she's better off sitting completely still, rather than flying, when she can't see...

lene1949 said:

roxynoodle said:

I'm debating clipping Merlin for her own safety since she can't see. She hasn't tried to fly, I'm sure because she knows it's not a good idea. But, something could scare her enough to try someday, and that would not be good. But, she got pretty scared at the vet's every time someone "suddenly" appeared (to her it seems sudden since she doesn't see them until they are right there), and she did not try to fly any of those times. I don't want her to get upset that her wings aren't "right" and start plucking again. So this is a hard decision.

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If she hasn't tried to fly, even in an extreme condition, such as the vet, I wouldn't clip her wings... She would be intelligent enough to know that she's better off sitting completely still, rather than flying, when she can't see...

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That's what I'm thinking as well. She's been tested, and she hasn't flown. And my house is generally pretty quiet and without surprises. The vet asked me if I wanted to do it, and I said well, let me think about it.

Don't do it... She's might be enjoying preening her beautiful wings, and be very annoyed by the clipped 'stumps', should you go ahead...

lene1949 said:

Don't do it... She's might be enjoying preening her beautiful wings, and be very annoyed by the clipped 'stumps', should you go ahead...

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I think so, too. She is 21 and used to having her full wings. And she loves to preen.

Our bird will come home clipped. The breeder allows them to fly a few times before cutting their wings but he clips before they come home. And while we do have other pets I think it's best for our bird, right now anyways, to have her wings clipped. Atleast in the summer. We have a 5 and 7 year old and when it's warm they are in and out all day long. When we had the cockatiels I lost one because I forgot he was on my shoulder and I stepped outside he took off immediately. Luckily I was able to get him to come back to me though.

Small children do go in and out all day. I would probably do the same if I were you, jewels04. In your case that is a matter of the bird's safety.

I still haven't completely made a decision on Merlin yet, but I'm inclined to let her keep her full wings. But, the vet did say, "Oh, sometimes blind birds DO decide to fly!"

I was actually wondering the same thing about my Midori. I will be bringing her home in a couple of weeks.

I personally would let Merlin be unclipped if she has been ok so far. Sure she could fly but she hasn't. I think if you notice a problem arise than consider it.

My breeder also offers free nail and wing clips too but he is about an hour and a half away so not very cost effective.