Conures to fly or not to fly??

Back again, I separated my two conures but a lot of the time I still have the both with me. Buddy (boy) had to have his wings trimmed last time he broke a blood feather, the vet told me to leave bonnies (girl) feathers to grow as they were still quite short.
So hers have come back enough to the point where she can fly a few feet. Now my question is should I have her wings clipped again. She seems to love the freedom, but I have been reading a million things and there are a lot of for and against arguments. And a lot of sad stories of people losing their birds to not having the wings clipped. She will not move off me even when I am outside, but I know that a number of things could startle her into jumping off.
I would just like to know what other people have done, with both the clipping and not clipping.
My situation is so people know a bit more about the conditions around them. I close the doors in the house before taking them out, and my dog is usually outside when they are running around. They are never left alone if they are out the cage. We have a few birds such as crows around (which is always to be expected)... but I am willing to jump fences and climb up a tree in a heartbeat if that unfortunately had to be done.
Buddy unfortunately (bless his little heart) has not realized his limitations and keeps flapping and falling to try be like her, but his feathers eventually will grow back enough for him to fly. So I will need to have worked out if I should let them grow back properly.

If you take them outside or have your doors open a lot, definitely clip their wings.

I don't like wing clipping, myself. I feel like if you want a pet that can't fly, or you can't provide an environment where they can safely be flighted, get a hamster or something. I am not against a little trim to aid in training (I did this with one of my birds who would just fly away rather than step up - I clipped a couple of his flight and by the time he adapted - a week or two - he was stepping up like a champ).

So yeah, in your shoes I would let them fly but not take them outside except in a protected (screened) area and/or in a harness.

I had a fully flighted cockatiel when I was younger and I LOVED it. It gave him freedom to do what he wanted so I wasn't always guessing at whether or not I was doing the right thing. That being said, he got loose and flew away and I never saw him again.

Lukah's wings were clipped when I got him and his flight feathers are just growing back in now. I am having the same issue as you in deciding to reclip them or leave him flighted.

Unfortunately, the situation is different for everyone. People on here are going to tell you that its cruel and horrible and yadda yadda to clip wings, but again, it completely depends. Lukah's cage is two feet from the door and ten from the stove. I know if he were to get out, he would die. He's too pampered to survive outside. Try and decide what's best for your bird- both their happiness and safety.

I answered in your other thread.


http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/37036-conures-fly-not-fly.html

I saw someone post a bird screen for the front door in one of the other posts and I plan on going this route. Petries feathers have grown back in but she is never further then an arms length from me on purpose. It takes her getting startled to leave me at which point she is confused on how she got to where she was. A couple times she has since got spooked, circled the room and landed on my shoulder, that was pretty neat.

One thing to keep in mind, is that from other people I have heard a bird will panic fly and just continue flying upwards until they no longer recognize where home is and couldn't come back even if they wanted to. No going outside to a tree.

Look into covering the front door and any other possible way out. Also make sure all windows are covered because they can fly into it and break their neck.

I'm going to make my own post for my specific requirements on this subject but I hope what I've heard has helped.

If you let your bird's wing feathers grow back I would start on harness training when the wing feathers are still clipped. That way you can take your bird outside on a harness. It is always nice to have a flighted bird. Wing clipping is a good choice for some birds for training or if they are the kind of bird that flies into stuff (I do not know how common that is).

ZoeS said:

If you take them outside or have your doors open a lot, definitely clip their wings.

I don't like wing clipping, myself. I feel like if you want a pet that can't fly, or you can't provide an environment where they can safely be flighted, get a hamster or something. I am not against a little trim to aid in training (I did this with one of my birds who would just fly away rather than step up - I clipped a couple of his flight and by the time he adapted - a week or two - he was stepping up like a champ).

So yeah, in your shoes I would let them fly but not take them outside except in a protected (screened) area and/or in a harness.

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I know the first bird (a budgie) I had as a child could fly. And my experience with the cockatiel I had as a child was that she was a bird that was very good at flying. However, the green cheek conures I had really did not show much interest in flying (even after their feathers grew out). Captain Jack (my mini macaw) has made attempts to fly but like the green cheek conures makes more of a habit of climbing around like a monkey. I do not know if anyone else has had that experience with conures.

My Goldcapped conure Frankie was clipped when we got him 8 years ago. We let his wings grow. He still doesn't fly much. If he gets spooked he will fly back to his cage. I think it depends on when the birds got their first clip. They should be allowed to fly before they are clipped, but many breeders just clip as soon as possible.

Rory is almost fully flighted, and he is harness trained. I love that he can fly and he get's great exercise. I never take him outside with out his harness. He seems so happy when he fly's.

I have not owned my own bird, yet, but I liked what someone said ‘Why have a bird if you’re going to take the one thing that defines it, it’s ability to fly’ (ok he said it much better than that but still gets to the point).

Have you ever heard of free flying? It’s amazing and will be the first thing I work on once I finally have my own place and am able to adopt my own bird. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfUDtABZo1k]The Freedom of Flight - Documentary Intro - YouTube[/ame]

To me I feel like at first maybe clipping the wings is a good idea but at the same time if you start from the bottom and work to the top (gaining trust, training, and bonding) then you’ll never have to clip your birds wings. Maybe get a harness for the first few times outdoors. Here’s some good videos

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyibkWoCMUg]Wing Clipping Parrots - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlj2gL3cgII]Why You Should Use A Clicker - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN97J1hlt8o]Pet Galahs Flying - YouTube[/ame]

BIRDTRICKS channel has some great stuff and you should look into it

To clip or not to clip would be a individual choice!!!!! There should be plenty of prior postings that would answer all your questions as this very topic is being discussed countless times almost on a weekly basis.

ohmyhi said:

BIRDTRICKS channel has some great stuff and you should look into it

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If you are seriously interested in free flight, I would not recommend Bird Tricks. There are better trainers and resources out there for something as delicate as this is.

i have a sun conure that is flighted but has flown off twice already…once just this morning!!but both times we managed to get him back thank god. so i would like to point out that the chances of losing them is very real and can be very traumatizing for us.

i've considered clipping so many times but i just cannot do it. i wouldn't suggest immediately going into free flying but instead working on recall is somewhere to start if like me ya don't wanna clip

Could a happy medium be to clip but not so short they are faliing straight down if they try to fly (or lose their footing) or it that pointless???

My lovebird was flighted but my housing situation was a little different at that time.....

Re: Conures to fly or not to fly??
Could a happy medium be to clip but not so short they are faliing straight down if they try to fly (or lose their footing) or it that pointless???

My lovebird was flighted but my housing situation was a little different at that time.....

If you are going to take him outside you must harness trained. PLENTY of people thought their clipped birds couldn't fly and a gust of wind came along and bye bye birdy. I've seen TONS of lost bird posts on Craigslist from clipped birds flying away. My Quaker can fly even with a heavy clip so I've let all her feathers grow back and she loves flying around the house but always lands back on her cage or on my chair. She's not allowed outside because she hates the harness.

This topic has been done to death. Clipping is a completely individual choice.

One of the biggest issues that people don't seem to be able to grasp is that flighted or not - you give a bird a chance to get away, and it will.

With the right breeze, a clipped bird will soar and soar and soar until it's merely a pinprick in the sky - but then has no ability to get back.
A flighted bird will fly and fly and fly (caught in the wind probably, as most are not used to flying with any outdoor conditions) and the only positive to this, is that they can fly again. If they drop and there's a cat about, a clipped bird is going to stand little chance compared to a flighted one.

The trick to this entire thing is - don't let your bird get out! People think that having a bird clipped means that they are suddenly safe. They are not, you have to be vigilant whether clipped or not. Many use clipping as an excuse to be lazy or negligent. You do not need to restrict your bird via clipping if it's just windows, doors, pets or taking outside - you need to take responsibility.

This isn't an attack on you, just a reminder that there is an alternative and clipping does not guarantee safety at all.

Never really thought hard about this at all. Kiwi seems happy clipped, she loves to climb and swing around and hang out with me more than anything else. Her flight feathers have grown in and now that she can fly, she only does it once in a while. It makes me happy to see her fly, so I am keeping her flighted for now, and play it by ear.

Beware of open doors and windows! And always leash up when you go outside - clipped or not clipped! This is for the safety of your bird - yes you will be sad when they fly away, but imagine how they'll feel when they get eaten by a hawk, or caught in a power line!