Wings clipped too short ! Please help

alys · Oct 25, 2018

Just got back from the vet who was giving my green cheek conure Loki a trim. I want to cry and need help on how to move forward. Please! Im so frustrated.They trimmed his feathers down to the coverts. They're all gone but his 2 flights on the end (which aren't even full length). I've never seen this done. And they only did ONE WING. I'm waiting for my husband to get home because Loki is so off balanced. Do I have no choice but to cut the other side down to even him out. It's bad. He drops so fast it scares me. Please any help or tips (other than to never trim him again) would be appreciated.

Alys

itzjbean · Oct 25, 2018

Yes, I would clip the other side so it's even and at least it can grow out the same length.

Is he bleeding at all?

What the vet did is barbaric, done eons ago, and birds these days are not clipped that way anymore, or it is done by people who are ill informed of the way it throws the birds off balance and can ultimately be more dangerous than helpful. Normally both wings are cut and its' ONLY the flight feathers, like the first 4 flight feathers and then that's it.

My bird is clipped and can still fly clear across the living room so he's learning to fly even with clipped wings.

So sorry your vet did this, maybe next time make sure you know exactly what they are doing BEFORE they chop away.

SailBoat · Oct 25, 2018

The single wing clip is banned by the AAV! Your Vet is clearly not a member of the leading organization for Avian Care in North America. Certificates from that organization: CAV - Certified Avian Vet, AQV - Avian Qualified Vet, AV - Avian Vet (member status).

If you paid for this service, there is no reason you should not be able to get your money back. The accepted goal of a Clip is for the Bird to glide /flap to a safe landing! A removal of near all flight feathers from a single wing cause the bird to drop quickly and exposes your bird to possibly breaking a Wing.

What to do:
- Sadly you have to clip the other wing to balance the two wings.
- Your Bird is now classified as: Has the Flight capacity of a Dropped Rock.
- You will have at least a year to as long as two+ years before your bird will have enough flight feathers to glide /flap to the ground
- You will need to train your bird to accept that it can no longer fly (near impossible)
- Move your bird to very low (floor level) cage, perches, water and food sources.

Once you get your money back, start looking for an AAV membered Vet!

alys · Oct 25, 2018

No bleeding thank goodness. I'm devastated for the little guy. They are cut just above his coverts too. I know we both can only move forward now.

I know he'll still fall quick for a while but I'm hoping atleast evening out the other side will help some &#55357;&#56877;&#55357;&#56877;&#55357;&#56877;

SailBoat · Oct 25, 2018

alys said:
No bleeding thank goodness. I'm devastated for the little guy. They are cut just above his coverts too. I know we both can only move forward now.

I know he'll still fall quick for a while but I'm hoping at least evening out the other side will help some ��

I do not wish to frighten you, but your Parrot no longer has flight capacity: Zero! The statement: Flight capacity of a Dropped Rock is not a statement that I make with a smile! It is deadly serious. Birds with this classification are in great danger of serious injury, not limited to a broken wing but a full series of very serious broken bones including the breast bone(s) which can result in serious damage to the Air Sacks and Heart.

We take on a very special group of Amazons that arrive very sick, abused, older, and with a serious miss-trust of Humans. The current love of our life came to us with his rump split wide-open, left to right across it and recovering from surgery. He has had two additional surgery since then. This all resulted from individuals taking him to Pet (not so) Smart and providing a full cut of both wings.

alys · Oct 25, 2018

SailBoat said:
alys said:

No bleeding thank goodness. I'm devastated for the little guy. They are cut just above his coverts too. I know we both can only move forward now.

I know he'll still fall quick for a while but I'm hoping at least evening out the other side will help some ��

Click to expand...

I do not wish to frighten you, but your Parrot no longer has flight capacity: Zero! The statement: Flight capacity of a Dropped Rock is not a statement that I make with a smile! It is deadly serious. Birds with this classification are in great danger of serious injury, not limited to a broken wing but a full series of very serious broken bones including the breast bone(s) which can result in serious damage to the Air Sacks and Heart.

We take on a very special group of Amazons that arrive very sick, abused, older, and with a serious miss-trust of Humans. The current love of our life came to us with his rump split wide-open, left to right across it and recovering from surgery. He has had two additional surgery since then. This all resulted from individuals taking him to Pet (not so) Smart and providing a full cut of both wings.

I really appreciate the replies. This little guy is my world, and I'm going to do everything I can to protect him. I was trying lol up an ava certified vets and the only one I could find in Kansas are for our zoo. Any tips on finding anyone else?

SailBoat · Oct 25, 2018

On ParrotForums, see this Link: Vets in your area !!!!!!!

Note: CAV's are common in 'major /larger' Cities. An Avian Vet, which is a member of AAV (Association of Avian Vets) is likely more common in your area. Call the Zoos and ask for recommendations. For years our only Avian Vet was also the Zoo Vet. It is likely you are in farm country and it is very possible that you have a Large Animal (Farm) Vet! This group of Vet's work with all the animals on a Farm and that includes the Birds. Yes, there are major differences between Birds and Parrots, but they at lease know not to cut all the Flight Feathers off both winds and certainly not a single Wing!

Ask lots of question as to their Anian knowledge.

GaleriaGila · Oct 25, 2018

Here are some links...

Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

MY GOD, I am horrified. Can you report this vet to the state Board? I'm not a vengeful person but they need to be stopped!

I'm glad you're here.

So glad.

Laurasea · Oct 25, 2018

Hi , I think I would talk him into a small carpeted bedroom if you have one, and let him practice on the bed sort of teaching him he can't fly. So that he is landing on a soft bed. I did this with my sever trim fall like rock pre fledgling baby. It's so terrible that this happened! Letting mine see he could not fly helped some. Lamanuka took hers to an awesome certified vet to have the feather grafting done, something to think about if you want to go that route..

Sunnyclover · Oct 25, 2018

Does this mean the bird will never be able to fly? Or just until wing feathers grow back?

Sandy19 · Oct 25, 2018

I think just until the wings grow back depending on how they grow. I don't understand why anyone would do that to a bird, especially a vet. The lady that does my bird's wings puts her in a towel and lightly clips both wings in about 20 seconds leaving her able to still glide without dropping to the floor. Within a few months shes flying again. It literally takes her a few seconds to do the clip and it doesn't even faze the bird. Worth every bit of the 20 bucks.

MikeD91 · Oct 25, 2018

I'm sorry to hear this about your friend, but at the same time I have learned something. When and if I do this I will know what and how to go about it. I hope you and your feathered friend make out ok, and I wish you two well.

EllenD · Oct 26, 2018

Wow...I'm sorry...

Please be sure to get the other wing clipped immediately, as it's far more dangerous for him to only have one wing clipped that way than both, as with only one wing clipped he's totally out of balance...

Unfortunately it's going to take at least a year for his wings to grow back in to the point where he can even glide again, so yes, it's going to be very important that you move his cage to a low place, like the floor, and not let him climb anywhere up high, because if he falls or if he tries to fly off of something, he's going to cause himself great harm.

****For future reference, if you ever clip him again (there's nothing wrong with clipping your bird's wings, but he still must be able to glide a good distance for his safety) make sure that you Verbally request that the they only clip the outermost 3-4 Primary Flight Feathers and that's IT.

***Do not EVER take your bird back to that Vet for anything!!!! I'm going to assume that this Vet was an "Exotic's" Vet, or just a General dog/cat vet, neither which have any business clipping a bird if they have no experience doing so...However, imagine if you had taken Loki to this Vet because he was sick or injured! Imagine what this Vet might have done, or NOT done!

You need to find either a Certified Avian Vet, or an Avian Specialist Vet, obviously it's worth driving a few hours one-way when your bird needs it. Never take him back to an "Exotic" Vet or a General Vet because this is exactly what can happen...

****As far as the Vet who did this, you absolutely need to report them to your State Veterinary Board, they are the ones who can prevent this Vet from hurting another bird, otherwise they will just keep doing the same thing to more birds! Take a photo of Loki right now, the way this Vet left him, and then scan or take a photo of the receipt or medical statement that you got from this Vet as proof that they are the one who did this to him and then Google for your State Veterinary Board. They will have a link on their website to file complaints, and that's where you need to write an email to them explaining what this Vet did to you bird, how detrimental it is to him, and then embed the photo of Loki and the receipt from this Vet into your email, or attach them as files and send them to the Board! This is extremely important for you to do, because this Vet needs to be EDUCATED about this immediately...They will listen to the State Veterinary Licensing Board, if they don't they will lose their license...

alys · Oct 26, 2018

EllenD said:
Wow...I'm sorry...

Please be sure to get the other wing clipped immediately, as it's far more dangerous for him to only have one wing clipped that way than both, as with only one wing clipped he's totally out of balance...

Unfortunately it's going to take at least a year for his wings to grow back in to the point where he can even glide again, so yes, it's going to be very important that you move his cage to a low place, like the floor, and not let him climb anywhere up high, because if he falls or if he tries to fly off of something, he's going to cause himself great harm.

****For future reference, if you ever clip him again (there's nothing wrong with clipping your bird's wings, but he still must be able to glide a good distance for his safety) make sure that you Verbally request that the they only clip the outermost 3-4 Primary Flight Feathers and that's IT.

***Do not EVER take your bird back to that Vet for anything!!!! I'm going to assume that this Vet was an "Exotic's" Vet, or just a General dog/cat vet, neither which have any business clipping a bird if they have no experience doing so...However, imagine if you had taken Loki to this Vet because he was sick or injured! Imagine what this Vet might have done, or NOT done!

You need to find either a Certified Avian Vet, or an Avian Specialist Vet, obviously it's worth driving a few hours one-way when your bird needs it. Never take him back to an "Exotic" Vet or a General Vet because this is exactly what can happen...

****As far as the Vet who did this, you absolutely need to report them to your State Veterinary Board, they are the ones who can prevent this Vet from hurting another bird, otherwise they will just keep doing the same thing to more birds! Take a photo of Loki right now, the way this Vet left him, and then scan or take a photo of the receipt or medical statement that you got from this Vet as proof that they are the one who did this to him and then Google for your State Veterinary Board. They will have a link on their website to file complaints, and that's where you need to write an email to them explaining what this Vet did to you bird, how detrimental it is to him, and then embed the photo of Loki and the receipt from this Vet into your email, or attach them as files and send them to the Board! This is extremely important for you to do, because this Vet needs to be EDUCATED about this immediately...They will listen to the State Veterinary Licensing Board, if they don't they will lose their license...

Thank you so much. I will make sure and report it. We're going to a specialist today that does trimming so they can help even out the other side. I cried all day yesterday, I feel so horrible. I took him to the vet to meet them and wanted to have his first checkup, I thought I was doing everything right and being a good bird mom, then everything happened so fast and went horribly horribly wrong. Would you guys be able to help me find an avian vet? The one we saw yesterday that was "suppose to be one" is the only one we could find in Kansas. The other 2 we found only work at our zoo. I'm going to talk to our groomer today and see who they reccomend too.
I will drive hours to take him wherever he needs too.
We've only been in each others lives for 3 months, and my little guy has changed my whole world. ♡♡

alys · Oct 26, 2018

How many flight feathers so you all think he will need to start getting some sort of balance again? Loki is 8 months old and in the middle of a really big molt. I see at least 3 new bright blue flight feathers coming in on his side they butchered.
Any foods that are really good to add to his diet that might help his wings stay strong, and feathers come in strong too?

bill_e · Oct 26, 2018

I took Nike back in April to get a mild clip for our camping season. They left the first two and clipped the next 5 which was supposed to allow her to fly down but not up. That did not really impede her flight all that much with the exception of how fast she could gain altitude...I guess she is a strong flier. If Loki is getting some new feathers already, it may not be long until she's in a controllable state.

You might luck out with the molt in that rather than getting clipped right after the molt she was clipped before or during the molt and some feathers will be replaced in the near term rather than having to wait until another molt.

clark_conure · Oct 26, 2018

First, your vet is an idiot.

I clip, but I have this down to a science. The bird should be able to jump scare elevate to about 2 feet then slowly glide down like landing with 3 parachutes.

It takes about a year from fully clipped to totally free flight or one good molting and regrowth.

With my gcc about 1/4" to 5/8" sticking out past the greenness of his wing is about perfect. That or like EllenD said the last 3-4 flight feathers. I normally give a block cut then adapt as needed since I have to do it myself.

Birds can fall, I have a split level so when I run to door for the pizza dude (or gal) clark will sometimes rush to the overlooking edge...I tell him"your gonna fall" and he's like no I'm not....but sometimes he does, the he gracefully flippy-flappys down to the lower staircase. And i'm like I told you and he's like, whatever gimme pizza..

But anyways; Yeah they need to be able to flippy flappy glide.

To all the non clippers, and those daredevil free flighters, I wish I could join you, but sometimes the responsible choice is to clip, depending on the environment. ...But no you don't clip to where the bird can endanger him or her self in a fall. So Alys your bird will be fine and next molt will be back to total normal.

:gcc:

LeslieA · Oct 26, 2018

First, a one- wing clip is cruel! Not even domestic animals are allowed one- wing clips these days!
Second, GCCs can fly with only coverts, so beware!
Third, did you ask for a clip?
Fourth, the vet ATTEMPTED to give what's referred to as a show clip and did a frightful job. No bird show I know of would even allow this!
Fifth, not all vets claiming to be AVs are certified and unfortunately, you get what you pay for. My local vet claims to be an avian vet, but only, I discovered, to ostriches! I wouldn't let him near my chickens much less my parrots!

LeslieA · Oct 26, 2018

Wing feathers usually grow back at the next molt. Another option is, IF THE ACTUALLY CERTIFIED AVIAN VET AGREES TO DO IT, the feathers can be plucked and new feathers will grow back. Again, I wish to point out that should ONLY be done by a CERTIFIED AVIAN VET AGREEING TO DO THAT! Pulled feathers will regrow in a month or two.

I do not clip and would prefer to avoid that debate as nobody wins... They just argue lots. That's why they are considered controversial topics and people like to use big words. Well, goody goody gumdrops, you get to "sound" like the smartest person in the room.

If your bird fledged, technically it can fly. If it has gotten spoiled and given up much independence, it won't bother to fly. It's now how you deal with it.

BTW, bill e, what you described is known as a show clip and clark conure is doing what's called a full clip, clipping the entire wing. A half clip is only the flight feathers and most common.

Again, smaller birds like a GCC, can fly great distances with just coverts. It can be taught not to.

EllenD · Oct 27, 2018

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you Leslie, as no matter the weight of the bird, if they have lost all of the their primaries and secondaries, they simply drop to the floor like a stone. And that's what is already happening here...

And a "show clip" has long been deemed cruel and unusual, and frankly just dangerous, even in the show world. I haven't seen a parrot clipped that way since I was a small child in the 80's...And there is absolutely no excuse for only clipping one wing, regardless of anything else. It's long been proven that clipping only one wing causes serious spinal issues most of the time if it is kept that way long-term.

Either way, this vet simply had no idea what they were doing, doing a "show clip" on only one wing is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard in my life, and that Green Cheek isn't flying anywhere any time soon, and the OP needs to be very careful about letting him climb up anywhere high, as he will hit the floor like a rock and hurt or kill himself.

Wings clipped too short ! Please help

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