conure has wings back, now hates me :(

So i've had my gcc boomer for about 2-3 years now and when i got him as a baby his wings had been clipped. i personally believe that birds should be able to fly. so i let them grow back and for a bit he was unsure of flying and would like to walk everywhere instead but eventually he would just fly everywhere and all seemed well.

my Boomer isnt the most cuddly conure. hes always been kinda standoffish however he did like to wrestle alot. (he would purposely come up to my hand or even my feet and roll over and start trying to get me to play. so i know i wasnt forcing this)

Now since his wings have grown he is terrified of me and everyone else. he will step up but will thin his body alert if i so lift a finger over his head hes off squacking for his life. this has been happening since the April 15th. he as also been flying to mirrors to watch himself (not into them just next to) so i though that this maybe the reason hes becoming feral. so i made sure every mirror in the house is blocked off in one way or another. but he continues to persist in these feral behaviors. I have no other birds, he does not come into contact with any other birds except for ones tht fly by the windows.

the only time he will interact with me now is if he can fly on my head and ONLY MY HEAD. he will also scamper around me and get in my way of things like doing paper work or on the computer, but thats it.

Im trying to think if i ever for some reason broke his trust but nothing is coming to mind. i havent left for long periods, i treat him well, i do not force anything on him tht he doesnt want to do. I havent changed anything in the house, or his cage except for toys of course.

I'm starting to think he was never hand feed as a baby and I got ripped off.
I've heard of some birds getting aggressive or feral when you let them fly, but ive had conures before and i let them all fly and he is the first to act so negatively.

i hate to say it but do i have to cut his wings? Will i ever be able to let him have his wings? how often does this really happen because honestly i feel like the people who say that just give an excuse to get them to come back for more money for groomings.

Sounds more like he has little to no trust for hands. You'll have to take it slow and reintroduce him to the positive association with hands, such as treats/scritches (if allowed). Birds do not naturally appreciate or allow hands being placed over them considering they are prey animals who often are attacked from above. I wouldn't take offense to their natural instinct to avoid being eaten.

From here you're starting at square one. I'd start working on training before clipping the wings, personally.

First I doubt hate is what he's feeling sounds like he's just spreading his wings & testing the limits mixed with some hand shyness. I agree with Chantal, training before clipping & avoid coming down from above with your hand.. instead maybe lore him into lowering his head for a scritch by holding a treat down low or making him come to you. While I'm sure in some cases clipping is necessary for safety etc. but in others I think it really can affect their confidence, personality and forces the desired behavior.

They are smart think outside the box when all the tricks in it aren't working.

I want to harness train Gracie the problem is that there are limits to what she wants me to do like lift her wings totally up or put something around her neck. Since I only have one bird & my cat doesn't have wings ... I've been using a stuffed parrot to demonstrate, I play with it, lift it's wings, flip it over, put the harness on etc. As crazy as it sounds it has been working, I can now lift Gracie's wings, flip her over & hang her upside down. I haven't tried to place the harness on her at all yet .. I won't be rushing that step.

Whether jealousy, wanting to be involved or being less scared because the stuffed birdie didn't explode or get eaten by the harness snake who knows. Added bonus - she became a cuddler (after she throws the interloper off of my lap & take their place). My point is ... try and think hard about what your own birdie is like & what it might take to make them feel more secure.

Maybe incorporate the mirror where your "petting" his image & not him. Make the times when he does come like paperwork super fun .. shredding paper, batting toys around etc. when he's on your head maybe make your hands visible in front of him playing with his toys. Splash your fingers around in water (slowly) if he likes to play in water. Move slow, maybe play in a smaller room/area with less flight options at first but still try and tempt him to you not force the issue.

Good luck I'm sure your baby will come around

Wow thank you! that is a very cleaver way of going about it and i will try it out for sure!

i guess since he was never really fond of hands to begining with he realized that now he can just fly off

again thank you !

If considering re-clipping his wings, I would respectfully ask you to ask yourself:

Are you clipping his wings for YOU or for HIM? Is it for HIS comfort or for yours?

Humans and birds have totally different behaviors that are natural to their species. I believe that if a bird is not comfortable with what a human desires, a bird should not be disabled from it's natural state because it's what "we want" or "we understand." Even though our intentions are good with wanting to love and bond with our parrots, sometimes we need to remember that they are wild beautiful creatures and loving them means respecting their natural state and learning ways to enrich them.

I am involved in parrot rescue and I have honestly seen some very damaged birds due to wing clipping. I do understand that sometimes it's necessary and can be done properly, but I think for the happiness of the birds, it should be a last resort. Good luck to you and your bird

Why get a bird if you're going to take away his wings? It's like de-clawing a cat. Or getting a puppy and chopping off his tail....seriously bad.

Hi guys! I respectfully have to disagree with the whole "never clip your bird's wings" thing. Two things we have to keep in mind here.....

Number 1: We are taking these birds in because we want to give them the best life possible. Part of that is having them be part of a flock, and a huge part of that is the bond between the bird and its paronts. Yes, all of our birds have different personalities, and it is fine if the bird can maintain that even if his wings are grown out. But in a case like this, if the bird is able to fly off before we are able to handle and reasure it, it make that bonding moments so much more difficult. I in fact would recommend a reset here. Clip his wings, take the time to bond with him again, then let him grow out his wings again should you so choose. Just make sure the clipping is done by a professional.

Number 2: We all want to believe that our birds will never get lost, but the truth is that there are hundreds of cases where exactly that happens, a door gets opened, a window forgotten, etc. We have to keep in mind that if your bird is not super tame or super socialized it probably will not go looking for a human to help him once he gets hungry and thirsty. In that case loosing your bird will be most probably a death sentence as they do not have a clue how to look after themselves in the wild. So you need to be VERY sure that if you are not having your bird clipped that there is absolutely NO chance of them getting out or loose at all.

Lastly, We all have to keep in mind that the choice of clipping or not clipping is a personal one, and should mostly be decided on a case by case basis. Your household setup, the birds best interest etc must all be kept in mind, and also that we can not always have a clear cut rule where this is concerned. We also need to keep in mind that we have to respect other forum members choices in this regard.

I hope this helps.

Mom to Charlie and Milo

3 years sounds like the average time for him to mature. From the information you gave, (looking in mirrors, landing on heads), it does sound like it. I clipped Ruby's wings during this time, and it seemed to make the problem a little less intense. I would recommend clipping them.

This behaviour should go away after 3-4 weeks. If it doesn't, it could possibly be something else. Of course, after this phase passes, feel free to let him regrow his wings! Just make sure he's safe

I agree it's probably a maturity thing. When my GCC went thru this we had a very light clip done to help us all get along. He had enough flight to avoid injury if he jumped off his cage or needed to fly, but the light clip made him rely on us more. At the next molt, I left him flighted and it went off awesomely.

I have 3 conures, only one has clipped wings - my husband's black capped. I got him on a trade from a breeder - he was just weaned. I asked her to do a light clip, she didn't. She clipped way too much on his right wing and 5 months later, he still can't fly. We can tell that it really, really bothers him, with the other two flying (soaring) through the house. He wants so badly to fly with them. Of course, it would be different if there were no other birds flying around. I'm just hoping his grow back soon, as he's molting. My Sun had a light clip when we first got her, just for taming purposes, but it never slowed down her flight one bit.

How long did it take his clip to grow out?

Ours fly all over the place, we are their landing strips. They all have different personalities - the sun was not raised by us, we got her when she was 1, so she is a little more independent. She does not like hands, but she loves to snuggle inside our shirts or beside us on the couch while we are watching tv. If she's on her back, it's okay to pet her. If she's doing something she isn't supposed to be doing, all we have to do is walk up and say "I'm going to pet you" and she's off and flying. She will step up and is on us constantly, just wants everything on her terms, and we're fine with that.

The other two, including the one that can't fly, are much more trusting of hands. But, I finished hand feeding the yellow side, and we got the weaned black cap at the same time, so I hand fed him a little, too. I truly think it makes a difference if you wean them yourself, if at all possible, but it's very important to know how to do it properly before trying.

lplummer52 said:

Why get a bird if you're going to take away his wings? It's like de-clawing a cat. Or getting a puppy and chopping off his tail....seriously bad.

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Since you are a fairly new member, I will try and be as gentle as possible. :54:

Wing clipping is a controversial subject. Always has been, always will be. But comments such as yours help NOBODY. Attempting to put a guilt trip on someone achieves NOTHING but ill feelings.

We try and be respectful. Always!

And no it's NOT like declawing a cat....or cropping a tail. You see, claws and tails don't ever grow back - unlike properly clipped wings.