Wing clip question

vedwed · Mar 2, 2011

OK, I was reading another thread when I came across this statement, which I know is true.

Spiritbird said:
The wings should be the same size. I would have a vet look at them to see if it was damaged before you got her or a birth defect. This could of course make a huge difference in her flying safety.

Leading to my question.

Olivers wings look oddly clipped. The outer most feather on each wing is long (for the color I presume?) the next few are clipped short and one is clipped, but longer than the short few?! Oh not to forget that that 1/2 clipped one is not the same size on both wings. He is not flighted, nor is our house ready for that just yet so I am not worried about the dangers of flight so much as I am concerned that this affects his balance, therefore affects his mood (at least more than mating season does alone)

Should I wait for a molt and then have him clipped again, or should it just be done now? I will try to get a picture of him with his wings out tomorrow so you can see exactly what I mean.

wildheart · Mar 2, 2011

If he flying from perch to perch and landing without a problem then I would rather wait for the next molt.

If they cut off more it can easily be overdone and cause him to drop on the floor like a rock. My girl's wings has been cut incorrectly twice in 12 months and I am really tired of seeing her fall.

vedwed · Mar 2, 2011

wildheart said:
If he flying from perch to perch and landing without a problem then I would rather wait for the next molt.

If they cut off more it can easily be overdone and cause him to drop on the floor like a rock. My girl's wings has been cut incorrectly twice in 12 months and I am really tired of seeing her fall.

No he doesn't fly from perch to perch, he clambers about the bars of his cage to get around from perch to perch, and he isn't very coordinated while doing it. If he does try to fly off his cage (he still only responds to step up with a hard bite) he gets 3-5 feet before ungracefully crashing to the floor, he seems to miss where he is trying to land.
He will not cooperate for a picture, so bear with the crappy attempt at what i mean: very poor diagram, but this is what his wings look like, and the opposite one has a shorter short feather in the middle

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MikeyTN · Mar 2, 2011

If he still bites then I would have him reclipped again evenly this time. It looks like they left the front main primary feather for looks or they have grown out when it fell off. Same with the one in the middle. It is easier to train when they can't fly.

vedwed · Mar 2, 2011

He tries to bite me often, but only bites my wife when she asks him to step up, I figure he sees me as a threat to his "mate" so I go slow with him most of the time, he also only talks to my wife, he squaks and peeps at me, but no words except for "COME HERE" and that means you are getting bit, that one I learned real quick. He was 4 when we got him, and he doesn't seem like his previous owners socialized much with him. Mating season isnt helping my cause much either lol.
He has a 4o'clock appointment with the vet today so I will see what he says about his wings also, although his feces is what caused me to want to take him to the vet, today he has had a lot of snot looking feces with no solid fecal matter, and he sits fluffed up and shaking a bit. No bobbing of his tail feathers though, so I figure its best to have him checked out.

MikeyTN · Mar 2, 2011

I hope he checks out all right....my macaw bites my partner and he only bites me when he feels threatened because im not protecting him like I should, he let's me know.....but he doesn't draw blood or bruise me. My Cockatoo will bite when you ask her to step up so she's perch trained. No more biting from her!

Wing clip question

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