Breeder clipped baby lorikeets wing too far up

I picked up my new 13 week old lorikeet Boo 4 days ago. So far everything is great..except for his wing clip. The breeder says he clipped the little guys wing (as in ONE wing) at 11 weeks old. Now I am not confident at wing clipping myself, and take all my birds to an avian vet to do this if I want them clipped.. but with the limited information about this I do know, I have been taught that both wings should be evenly clipped and to leave the blood feathers obviously intact. Boo's wing clip is the total opposite, all feathers cut and on only one wing. I have taken some pics below. I am thinking of taking him to my avian vet to have his other wing done, but obviously the vet would not butcher boo's wing to this extent, which would still leave the wings uneven. So, should I still take him, would it make a difference to him and help balance things out a bit more? or should I leave it alone and let the wing grow out?

Would the wing be causing him any pain?




The below picture is blurry, but gives a good indication of how far the wing has been cut, comparing it to the length of the intact wing beside it.

What the heck? I can't believe that a breeder would do this. I'm sorry, he is awfully cute and thankfully they will eventually grow back. I may bring him in just to have him checked over and ask his advice.

I know. I feel bad for boo. He attempts to fly but is very unsteady and drops straight down, so this could potentially cause some problems *sigh*

Hello there so sorry you have such an awful wing clip. My pickles had a terrible wing. Lip when I got her as a baby and it was also just one wing. It took about a year and she is now fully feathered and flighted. With her bad clip she was unsteady all the time and prone to falling , one such incident left her with a fractured foot so I would keep an extra close eye on your baby. Fortunately the feathers will regrow it just takes a while. Hope this helps. Take care.

That really is a terrible clip - I'd leave the other wing as it is.
If you (or the vet) are really clever, you may be able to imp some of the feathers of the wing, but you'd need some 'donor' feathers from moulted lorikeets of the same size.

So I should leave the other wing? i'm unfamiliar with the use of donor feathers, do most avian vets use this method?

And also, would he be in any discomfort from the bad clip job?

Alice had more or less that clip, with the outer couple of primaries left behind for aesthetic reasons. It's really horrible, and dangerous for the bird - when something scared Alice she'd try to fly away, get a few feet then lose balance and drop like a stone. It has the potential to cause both physical pain and emotional distress, and although Alice is now fully flighted as soon as she gets airbourne you can see her desperately casting round for somewhere to land before her wings give up on her. The shop she came from does it to all their birds and it's hard not to comment when I go there nowadays but I don't think it's lack of care, just that they've learned a way of doing something a long time ago and don't take an interest in more modern thinking.

Do you have other pets? One potential problem with this clip is the risk of the bird ending up winded and disoriented on the floor where there might be dogs or cats who can't resist the opportunity.

I found this little photo essay on imping feathers on an osprey which gives an idea what can be done to replace feathers if necessary, although on a bird that lives indoors and has no need to fly you would probably be safe enough waiting for a moult to take care of things. We got through it, just caused a few painful moments when she was new and constantly taking fright at new things.

Teton Raptor Center - Shot Osprey Gets New Feathers

mimi88 said:

So I should leave the other wing? i'm unfamiliar with the use of donor feathers, do most avian vets use this method?

And also, would he be in any discomfort from the bad clip job?

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I should have elaborated more.
Imping is a process most often used in falconry (although since I have a background in both raptors and parrots, I use this process for parrots as well).
It involves pinning the missing portion of a feather into the portion that is still on the body. It's usually done when a bird breaks a feather, and the bird needs to be able to fly immediately for whatever reason. Imping is not a practise done by most vets, simply because most don't know how to do it, or have any spare feathers lying around. You might not be able to find the means or materials to imp your bird's feathers.

As to what you should do in this circumstance - it's tricky. A young bird really should never be clipped at all, because this is the time of its life where it is building up its muscles and confidence. As mentioned by others above, a bad clip can lead to some issues.
Your bird shouldn't be in pain or be uncomfortable, although if you notice it chewing on the clipped feathers you should get it to a vet to get a cone fitted or to get anti-chewing spray.

I'd definitely have a talk to the breeder - they may not realise they are not clipping correctly.

You should even up the cut with the other wing, although not as severe. With both wings clipped he will still try and use the wings. With a onesided clip they won't even attempt flight. This clip is from the "old days" ,it was used to keep parrots from attempting flight. If you take him to a vet (Avian Vet) i would ask about pulling some of the clipped primaries, these's will molt/be replaced much quickier. It is somewhat stressful ,hard to do, and should be done in the vet's office in case of bleeding. Just my .02 worth. be careful ,your bird has very little control and could hurt itself by attempting to fly if startled. Pulling some of the clipped flights would fix this situation faster than waiting for the normal molt.

I would learn to clip wings myself instead of relying on someone else's judgement. Most vets clip too much, just to cover their fanny, reflects bad on them when your newly clipped bird escapes. Clipping doesn't hurt and you can do it yourself. Start with just a few and clip more if you need to. Plenty of good videos on clipping.