Wing clipping advice

sammmy · Jul 20, 2015

hi

havent posted on her in quite a while, but have tried to keep up to date reading all the funny stories.

im looking for advice. I've had skittles a little over a year now. when he came to me his wings were stripped to the quill (either done by the breeder or was a destructive behavior, however we never noticed any odd behavior)

my vet thought he probably didn't have a great chance of flying ever.

well skittles can fly. and he's been flying around the house for the past 6 or so months.

i had bought an aviator harness for him, but even following all the instructions from the video and everything i read online about proper conditioning. i was totally unsuccessful of getting skittles into it.

so i bought a flight suit. and again followed all the videos on how to properly get skittles adjusted to it, i wore this flight suit pinned to me during all our play times for weeks, but the minute it went anywhere near him he flipped. and being a fully flighted bird the one time he flipped he flew into the microwave and bruised his wee beak.

which was very upsetting for not only him but all of us.

basically my question is, would it be wise to trim his wings? with it being summer season and the doors and windows being open a lot more i feel he's in his cage to much because i worry of him slipping out the open door. and things like ceiling fans all have to be shut off before he can come out, and we're usually very very careful , but what if one day one fan gets forgotten and he goes flying?

i've also read places online that it may be easier to condition him to the flight suit when his wings are trimmed.

please help!

riddick07 · Jul 20, 2015

Unfortunately we can't really tell you what is best for him. It all depends on how confident you are about the doors and the fans being closed and off respectively when he is out. All my birds are flighted anymore and we have been able to remember to turn the fan off and everyone knows to give warning when you are coming in the house. Unfortunately accidents are bound to happen clipped or flighted it just depends which one you believe is safer in your particular opinion for your bird.

I'm not sure why the flight suit would be easier to put on with him clipped. Some birds just don't take to the harnesses or suits.

jiannotto9492 · Jul 20, 2015

I would trim him if you're worried about him flying on out. However be advised that even clipped birds could end up flying with the right gust.

getwozzy · Jul 20, 2015

Just a fair warning to anyone who chooses to chime in on this thread.... Clipping is a very hot topic- one that can get out of hand easily because some folks have very strong opinions. PLEASE keep your responses civil~ we will NOT tolerate anything otherwise, especially bashing each other.

~the Mod Team

cindymlb · Jul 20, 2015

Personally, I prefer clipping - people argue that it's cruel to keep birds as pets because they're creatures of flight; I don't see it as cruel to keep birds, but if you're going to have them as household pets then you may as well go the whole hog and ensure they're clipped for their own safety.

My husband on the other hand does not really like to - he prefers the birds to be "whole". However, he has seen that clipping is necessary, not the least because when our 'tiels can fly in the house they destroy plasterwork and the windowsills, chew on the door frames, and get into nooks and crannies they shouldn't be getting into, and turn hidden places into defecation areas. With our larger Corella, however, he agreed with me on the off that we had to keep him clipped purely due to his size and the fact our residence is on the small side.

On that note, I did notice that our birds became incredibly arrogant and antisocial when they are full flight, preferring to hide up high destroying where they know we can't get at them! Once their wings were clipped, however, they became significantly more docile and sweeter in temperament. That behaviour change alone justifies it even more for me. A compromise you could do is only clip enough of their wings so they don't gain height or altitude, but are still able to glide low and land with some control. There are helpful articles and youtube videos that show you how much of certain feathers you can cut to achieve this compromise.

thekarens · Jul 20, 2015

Let me show you an arrogant anti social fully flighted bird.

Frankly, I don't know how we stand the attitude.

riddick07 · Jul 20, 2015

Jeez I don't know how you deal with her....I'll take her off your hands

RavensGryf · Jul 20, 2015

cindymlb said:
On that note, I did notice that our birds became incredibly arrogant and antisocial when they are full flight, preferring to hide up high destroying where they know we can't get at them! Once their wings were clipped, however, they became significantly more docile and sweeter in temperament. That behaviour change alone justifies it even more for me.

I acknowledge that you do see this behavior and temperament change in certain birds, and I admit I have seen it before myself. That being said... we need to remember to not word sentences to make it sound like ALL birds are like "this or that", especially in a rather serious and controversial topic such as this one. As you can see from Karen's post, Zoe the macaw is not as you say.

In the end, we all must make a personal decision whether clipping a particular bird is the right thing to do with that individual, and within our unique set of circumstances within each home, and for our own reasons alone.

getwozzy · Jul 21, 2015

As Julie pointed out, every bird is an individual as well as their situations~ what works for one household, may not work for another.

I would also like to say that clipped birds can still fly, so precautions still need to be taken with (screen-less) open windows, doors, and ceiling fans. All it takes sometimes is a good spook....

Skittys_Daddy · Jul 21, 2015

Skittles? Why on earth would anyone name their bird that? LOL. j/k.

I've always been opposed to wing trimming after initial taming. HOWEVER, there are instances where safety comes first.

My doors lead to the hallway which is still indoors and I'm on the second floor. I have no ceiling fans and my windows all have screens.

If I were in your shoes, I'm not sure what I would do, but like others have said - it's really up to you and your situation.

As much as I hate to see a bird deprived of flight, it wouldn't be nearly as bad as a bird who flies off into the wild with no knowledge of how to survive or getting hit by a moving ceiling fan.

I also want to reiterate a previous poster. Even clipped birds can fly like the wind. Indoors, they don't have the wind/gust to carry them along, but outdoors it's different and a clipped bird can fly outdoors like an unclipped bird does indoors.

Accidents can happen even among the most responsible caretakers. The best we can do is try our best. Maybe putting a sign on your door to let people know, but also putting a 'reminder' sign on your birds cage to make sure all fans are off. Just an idea.

Anansi · Jul 21, 2015

thekarens said:
Let me show you an arrogant anti social fully flighted bird.

Frankly, I don't know how we stand the attitude.

Gasp! He's Flying feathered fury! Hahaha!

When it comes to flighted birds, I think it all comes down to training and conditioning... yours and the bird's. Destructive behaviors can be trained and conditioned out of your bird with some time and patience. And a tendency to leave windows and doors open, ceiling fans on or toilets open can be trained and conditioned out of us. With self-training and determination.

We have a ceiling fan, but we're now at the point where we feel a strong hesitation before ever turning it on. It would just feel unnatural to do so without checking the cages, first. And as for doors and windows, I have two boys, 4 and 7, who have learned to be very careful whenever opening and closing doors in the house.

At first, it's a mental discipline thing. But after a while, it becomes a way of life that hardly even requires conscious thought.

JerseyWendy · Jul 21, 2015

Karen, you had me rolling with you post!!! ROFLMO!!! Priceless!!!

Here is one of our flighted guys:

....won't stop him from being sweet though....

This topic is discussed just about every other week. Here are some links to previous discussions:

http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/51221-pros-cons-clipping-wings.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures...g-his-wings-until-today-now-i-don-t-know.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/44897-wing-clipping-bonding.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-mem...o-question-clipping-wings-vs-full-flight.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/41983-flighted-vs-clipped-wings.html

Anansi · Jul 21, 2015

LOVE that pic of Niko flying, Wendy! Takes my breath away every time!

jiannotto9492 · Jul 21, 2015

Anansi said:
LOVE that pic of Niko flying, Wendy! Takes my breath away every time!

It is a great picture.

However to everyone saying that this particular bird should be left clipped. With fans being on and doors and windows being opened it very well might be in the best interest of the bird to be clipped.

thekarens · Jul 21, 2015

jiannotto9492 said:
Anansi said:

LOVE that pic of Niko flying, Wendy! Takes my breath away every time!

Click to expand...

It is a great picture.

However to everyone saying that this particular bird should be left clipped. With fans being on and doors and windows being opened it very well might be in the best interest of the bird to be clipped.

I'm guessing you didn't Stephen's response to that. You can turn off fans and put in screens and/ or doors. Just like when you have small children you have to make accommodations for their best interest.

DexMom · Jul 21, 2015

For members who have full flighted birds - how do you keep them from flying into your windows? My Dexter was semi-clipped when we brought him home, some feathers were trimmed, so I thought he would be safe, but those clipped were not enough to keep him from flying into the windows. He did it more than once and I was SO scared that he might hurt himself, that I let my husband take him and have his wings clipped some more. I have a large house and would love to allow him to fly, but I have many large windows (some very high and floor to ceiling in my sun room) and it would be impossible for me to cover them all to discourage window strikes.

jiannotto9492 · Jul 21, 2015

thekarens said:
jiannotto9492 said:

Anansi said:

LOVE that pic of Niko flying, Wendy! Takes my breath away every time!

Click to expand...

It is a great picture.

However to everyone saying that this particular bird should be left clipped. With fans being on and doors and windows being opened it very well might be in the best interest of the bird to be clipped.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing you didn't Stephen's response to that. You can turn off fans and put in screens and/ or doors. Just like when you have small children you have to make accommodations for their best interest.

Right but depending on where the OP lives they may or may not have the power of doing this. If the OP is concerned about these issues wings should be clipped in the best interest of the bird.

JerseyWendy · Jul 21, 2015

jiannotto9492 said:
thekarens said:

jiannotto9492 said:

Right but depending on where the OP lives they may or may not have the power of doing this. If the OP is concerned about these issues wings should be clipped in the best interest of the bird.

Click to expand...

Are you aware that a 'properly' clipped bird can STILL hit the fans, and/or could escape through an open door? Sure, they lose some altitude, but accidents can still happen, unless, of course, the bird's flights have been butchered, and the bird simply drops to the ground upon attempting to take flight. And that sort of clip is quite hazardous as the bird could easily fracture the keel upon impact.

Additionally, a clipped bird can also crash into a window and break its neck.

Click to expand...

riddick07 · Jul 21, 2015

DexMom said:
For members who have full flighted birds - how do you keep them from flying into your windows? My Dexter was semi-clipped when we brought him home, some feathers were trimmed, so I thought he would be safe, but those clipped were not enough to keep him from flying into the windows. He did it more than once and I was SO scared that he might hurt himself, that I let my husband take him and have his wings clipped some more. I have a large house and would love to allow him to fly, but I have many large windows (some very high and floor to ceiling in my sun room) and it would be impossible for me to cover them all to discourage window strikes.

A bird who knows how to fly can avoid windows. Ones who never learned or haven't fully figured it out have trouble. A clip can make it harder for the bird to control flight too. So sharp turns don't happen. An example, my fully flighted gcc, Monkey, was flying full tilt around the living room. She was going full speed ahead towards our sliding glass doors at the last second she realized they were there and made a sharp downturn to the right. On the other hand when my other gcc, Monster, was learning to fly he ran into the window. Not because he didn't see them but because he didn't know how to do the aerobatics that Monkey knew. You could see the panic midflight that he wouldn't be able to stop or avoid a crash. Today, they both know how to fly extremely well. Once the bird knows where the boundaries are in a room they are not as likely to fly into them.

Also, when the flights grow back in they will be uneven making it harder to control. Plus, a bird with some flight coming back has no idea how to control those new flight feathers if they never learned how to fly while young. A good example of this one is my Amazon. I am trying to teach him how to fly right now. He doesn't know how to turn, speed up, slow down, and will just crash into things. Plus, he is weak so flying is an effort for him. So right now I'm taking him outside on a harness and tossing him. He can fly a downward straight line...no crashing.

Anansi · Jul 21, 2015

DexMom said:
For members who have full flighted birds - how do you keep them from flying into your windows? My Dexter was semi-clipped when we brought him home, some feathers were trimmed, so I thought he would be safe, but those clipped were not enough to keep him from flying into the windows. He did it more than once and I was SO scared that he might hurt himself, that I let my husband take him and have his wings clipped some more. I have a large house and would love to allow him to fly, but I have many large windows (some very high and floor to ceiling in my sun room) and it would be impossible for me to cover them all to discourage window strikes.

One of the most important things to do is take your bird with you on a tour of the house, repeatedly, and to make sure to touch their beak to every window therein. They can learn the concept of glass.

Now, if you have a situation where they keep bumping the windows anyway, aside from more tours, there are special stickers you can buy that are made for just this purpose. Some, I've heard, are even frosted translucent for minimum infringement upon the aesthetics of your windows. They serve as a little reminder to birds who are having a little more trouble remembering where the glass is.

Wing clipping advice

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