Petco messed up our Pineapple's Wings

Hey all,

This is my first time posting. Me and my girlfriend just got a Pineapple GCC named Kiki from Petco and without asking the caretaker went in the back and clip its wings. This would have been okay, but this person clearly had no idea what she was doing. She cut all the feathers (Coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries) so far up that there is almost nothing left. It looks like she took office scissors to it's wings. It is obvious that Kiki is in a great deal of discomfort. I was wondering if any of you might have any ideas of how we can lessen Kiki's discomfort. I can't think of anything other than plucking the old feather to let new ones grow in, but that seems a bit extreme. Please help.

Oh no, that's just terrible! My quaker had his wings clipped before I met him but at least it was done by competent people at the bird shop where I got him. Even so, I was still sad for him being barely able to break his fall to the floor when he fell off my shoulder. If he had been clipped like your little pineapple, he probably would jave been injured =(. I would definitely be sad and angry to see my bird clipped as you describe!

I'm not into filing lawsuits by far, and I've never done it but I think I'd be ready to go there in your situation. Can't help the bird any at this point but it would certainly let some people know they had messed up bad. I don't think I l'd try plucking any feather, at least not without a lot of research first.

As for the birdy, I'd be real careful to not allow him to get up high enough that a fall might hurt him. Also make sure his nails are long enough and sharp enough to hang on wherever he's perched. My quaker fell off my shoulder a couple times when I first got him, mostly I'm sure because of the free nail trim the bird shop gave him. Being unable to fly OR hang on is just a really bad combo. Maybe put some padding on the bottom of his cage and put the perches down low until he grows some feathers.

Do NOT pull the feather stubs! As said, be careful with your new baby through this transition !

Since you did not provide a timeline, if it is difficult to advise! If the event occurred with in the last 30 days or sooner, please see below!

Return to the Store and Ask to speak to the Store Manager and the District Manager! Demand a Major discount on the cost of the Purchase! The Wing Clip your Parrot received is call a "Dropped Stone" clip! This type of clip is so dangerous that if you Parrot falls it could die from the impact!!! In addition, you can /will be faced with 'major' Avian Vet costs from any number of issues this type of 'Abuse' can cause.

You should report this 'Abuse' to the BBB!!!

PetSmart is known for not being Pet Smart, not at all!

See your Avian Vet ASAP!

See all my recent posts on Salty, who was a victim of too short claws, too clipped wings and too stupid parront. He did fall and did seriously hurt himself. Your baby should not be more then belt high from the floor or lower until his wings grow back in. Not your fault, but he's your responsibility now.

I would go to the regional management and make sure they know that this happened in one of their stores.

That is just terrible! I would rage on the store and every feedback site I could find. Your poor baby, it's like going through the toughest transition of its life and both arms were broken before going to its new home. Please do be really careful of your new bird flying. I am sure he/she will be looking to you for a stable emotional support, so just be there. Don't push things, but make sure baby know that it is valued and loved.

Good news is, it will grow back.

Oh, I am so sorry!
Yes, I think a rebate is in order, if only to alert the manager to what's happening!!!!!
I'm glad you're reaching out to us.

I would talk to the district or regional manager first. The store manager did not have employees with proper training. They might have other problems at the same store. I have seen managers cover actions to keep thier job.

Okay so here is an update. I forgot to mention that we've only had Kiki for a few days now. I was able to get some slow motion footage of him in flight and, to my relief, he still actually has about 1/3 to 1/2 of his feathers' length (which explains why he doesn't fall like a stone when he tries to fly) she still cut all three sets of his flight feathers and he is still in a good deal of discomfort, but at least he can glide. We've been keeping him only a few feet off the ground so he stays safe. I have attached a photo of what his wings look like folded.




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It's not just a temporary discomfort thing. The outer feathers provide protection for the new blood feathers as they come in, and a broken blood feather can kill a bird. They can literally bleed to death if a feather breaks, as the blood runs out through the hollow shaft of the feather. It would be good to prepare...have a first aid kit handy that includes blood clotting powder. If a feather does break and begin bleeding pull it out right away! Then put clotting powder on the follicle. Be prepared to do this right away, don't delay or wait to see if it stops. The feather will grow back.

I agree with complaining to the local Better Business Bureau, as that will create a public record which will stay online. Also review them on Yelp, with clear warnings and explanations and reference links, because the store might reply "customer is new bird owner and total idiot". Angie's List is another place you can leave a review as is Google. Search the store on google maps and usually when you select them you will see other reviews and have a chance to leave one of your own.

A store manager will be frustrated because why should they be punished for an employee's mistake? Maybe the person was the district manager's daughter and forced on the store? But the business is responsible for ensuring that employees are properly trained and supervised, and they should take these incidents seriously. I wish people would boycott this chain, at least for birds.

EDIT: I just finished Blanchard's Companion Parrot book, and she has a page on broken blood feathers. First, she says not to use styptic powder on feathers because it can cause health problems - to only use it, sparingly, for toenails. She recommends cornstarch, and has a good description of how to locate the bleeding feather, immobilize the bird, support the body and correctly pull the feather using fingers or hemostat by pulling it gently straight out.

How sad! They need a dose of reality. Contact a district manager. That is horrible.

My daughter cried to see the sad state of your bird's feathers. She sends her love!

Well he's definitely been hacked, and my major concern besides the well-being of your bird is that the person at Petco that did this horrible clip job doesn't EVER do it again. IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO IMMEDIATELY GO BACK TO THE PETCO (TAKE THE PHOTO OR YOUR BIRD WITH YOU) AND TELL THE "ANIMAL MANAGER" EHAT THAT EMPLOYEE DID AND THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON'T CLIP ANOTHER BIRD UNTIL THEY ARE TRAINED PROPERLY! You must do this, they probably aren't the only employee that doesn't know how to clip wings and are put in the situation where they have to do it anyway. Petco has a store manager, but then an "ANIMAL MANAGER" that trains the employees that interact with the animals. My guess would be that the person that clipped him felt like they had to even though they didn't know what they were doing, and there are probably many others there that will do the same if you don't say something right now! Whoever clipped him just took scissors and cut his entire wing straight across, half-way up his wing. THE BIRD COULD HAVE BEEN SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED IF THEY HAD GONE UP MUCH HIGHER AND JUST CUT STRAIGHT ACROSS! Please go back there and make sure no other birds have this happen or worse!

As for your little guy, you should be taking him for his well-birdy checkup at his new avian vet this week or next week at the latest anyway (I hope you have this scheduled already), so your avian vet can check his wings out at the same time to make sure nothing was seriously injured, and can give you tips on helping him through this. DO NOT PULL ANY FEATHERS OUT! The only time you should do that is if a blood feather breaks and is bleeding, then the entire feather should be pulled out with pliers, and cornstarch used on the follicle...And no, don't ever use Qwikstop or styptic powder on skin or feathers, nothing but toenails!! Use cornstarch on everything but toenails!!! Qwikstop/styptic powder will burn skin or any part with live nerves like fire!!! Always have a vile of cornstarch in your birdy first-aid kit along with the Qwikstop/styptic powder for toenails!



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Honestly, I've seen cabbage cut cleaner than that.

It's a mess. I hope you've talked to the manager by now!

Lol, it's not at all funny but you're correct, that's an awful, awful clip job, and to think it came from Petco while they were selling a conure (that no doubt was horribly expensive at like $450-$500) makes me sad...

Also, SHOULDN'T THEY ASK YOU IF YOU WANT YOUR NEW BABY BIRD'S WINGS CLIPPED? As a former English budgie breeder I always asked the new owner if they wanted their wings clipped before they left, and I showed them what I was doing while I did it (I did this because I knew #1 it is easier to train and bond with a hand-raised baby budgie if their wings are clipped, and most importantly #2, I knew they very likely might try to do it themselves at home that night and wanted to do it myself for them..
BUT I ALWAYS ASKED FIRST, AS HAS ANY BREEDER I'VE BOUGHT A BABY BIRD FROM, EVER!

The manager/animal manager at this Petco needs to be shown that bird's wings immediately and needs to stop all wing clipping until every employee that will potentially have to do the clipping is properly trained to clip only the primary flight feathers, and to clip them correctly. As I said, much further up on this bird's wings and the poor thing could have been amputated..


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That's horrible. I'm glad the petco near me gets them clipped by a vet.


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Operaman20 said:

Hey all,

This is my first time posting. Me and my girlfriend just got a Pineapple GCC named Kiki from Petco and without asking the caretaker went in the back and clip its wings. This would have been okay, but this person clearly had no idea what she was doing. She cut all the feathers (Coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries) so far up that there is almost nothing left. It looks like she took office scissors to it's wings. It is obvious that Kiki is in a great deal of discomfort. I was wondering if any of you might have any ideas of how we can lessen Kiki's discomfort. I can't think of anything other than plucking the old feather to let new ones grow in, but that seems a bit extreme. Please help.

Click to expand...

GGGRRRRR!!!

Why do they even allow these people to do grooming if they haven't a clue what they are doing.

First, I need to see pictures to see how bad the damage is.

The good news is they grow back. It's just going to take about six months. And the bird won't fledge properly in the meantime. So once they grow out, you're going to need to be sure she can fly, and then gradually scale them back.

The bad news is that your bird is now going to be helpless for those six months. Can't even glide down to the ground. So, you're going to need to lower perches, and be especially careful of fall risks. Because you bird could break a leg, or split a keel if he/she cannot fly. Balance will also be affected. Confidence could very well be affected. Your bird will be feeling vulnerable because it is a sitting duck for predators.

Birdman666 said:

Operaman20 said:

Hey all,

This is my first time posting. Me and my girlfriend just got a Pineapple GCC named Kiki from Petco and without asking the caretaker went in the back and clip its wings. This would have been okay, but this person clearly had no idea what she was doing. She cut all the feathers (Coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries) so far up that there is almost nothing left. It looks like she took office scissors to it's wings. It is obvious that Kiki is in a great deal of discomfort. I was wondering if any of you might have any ideas of how we can lessen Kiki's discomfort. I can't think of anything other than plucking the old feather to let new ones grow in, but that seems a bit extreme. Please help.

Click to expand...

GGGRRRRR!!!

Why do they even allow these people to do grooming if they haven't a clue what they are doing.

First, I need to see pictures to see how bad the damage is.

The good news is they grow back. It's just going to take about six months. And the bird won't fledge properly in the meantime. So once they grow out, you're going to need to be sure she can fly, and then gradually scale them back.

The bad news is that your bird is now going to be helpless for those six months. Can't even glide down to the ground. So, you're going to need to lower perches, and be especially careful of fall risks. Because you bird could break a leg, or split a keel if he/she cannot fly. Balance will also be affected. Confidence could very well be affected. Your bird will be feeling vulnerable because it is a sitting duck for predators.

Click to expand...

Exactly! See page one for pics.

Hey all,

So here is another update. Unfortunately, it appears that Petco may have also been lying about Kiki's age. They managed to be "unable" to find the birth certificate. We noticed that something may be out of the ordinary a few days after my last update on this thread. It seemed that Kiki had finally settled into his new surroundings and he got along with me fine, but he suddenly began to attack Amy my girlfriend. He would even jump off his cage and run up to her to bite her. He took a good 15-20 "chunks" out of her hands . We spoke with a woman at our local specialty bird store and she believed that Kiki likely was at sexual maturity or at least old enough to have established some aggressive habits. This was in stark contrast to the 9 months old that the store was telling us Kiki was. Unfortunately, Amy returned Kiki to the store a few days ago because of this aggressive behavior. We will still be approaching the regional managers about the wing clipping hack job to make sure these employees are properly trained in the future.


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