Benefits (or not) of having wings clipped?

[JerseyWendy]

Just peeking in to let ya'll know we ARE keeping our eyes on this thread.

So far so good.....play nice everyone, please.

There is NO right or wrong here, keep this in mind (if possible). It is a PERSONAL choice/decision, and whatever the guardian decides, flighted OR clipped, accident CAN happen in both cases.

....ok....I'm heading back for the exit now. Carry on....

 

[strudel]

My galah's previous "mum" told me that my galah was clipped short so that she couldn't get out of where she was staying, but that a longer clip would let her get about but not get the height to head for the tallest tree, the hills, whatever. Is this right? Is there a "compromise clip" where they can still fly but reduce the prospect of them getting somewhere where they are not "catchable"? I suppose I'm not understanding the mechanics well enough. If the feathers that give "lift" are trimmed severely, no lift, no flying, but if they are just trimmed, can you have "little bit of lift", "can fly" but "not enough lift to get up that 30ft tree in 2 seconds flat"?

Birdman, can you please tell me how short you clip? What can your birds do? Can they move about only by walking or can they go short distances via wings?

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

Mine flew away when my daughter left the cage open when she gave him a treat. She was only 2 and I didn't know she was giving him the treat, while he was in his cage in the grass.
The other was a little budgie that snuck out a cracked window.

Our windows have screens, and the bird will only be out of the cage when we are home. My other birds were never closed in their cages.
Also, my kids are older, and know better.
I don't know how I will handle outside time. I may look into a harness, but we have spoken about building a flight cage.

 

[jenphilly]

I'll spin this in a different direction... we have a harness for Ivory (bare eyed cockatoo adoptee). She is clipped and when she first came home she could barely break her fall from off the cage or sofa. But, our experience with the little guys was that even if you take all flight feathers, some can still fly like the dickens (we have a cockatiel that you would need to literally cut her wings off to make her stop flying!!). But, clipping her makes her tire quicker cause its more work to fly, so after a few rounds of the room (and mocking you while she does), she eventually lands and you can catch her. Anyway, I was not happy that Ivory could not get herself off the floor or break her fall, and I really felt it had more to do with her being cage bound for most of her 4 years before she came to us. So, I started her with wing exercises - on my arm or hand and moving my arm up and down, Ivory would flap to get her balance. Not even two months later, the girl can fly from wherever she is into another room to track you down when she's been left behind, and she is even able now to turn and maneuver.

So that brings me to a point we keep discussing, working with the harness to take her outside (granted its a cold November here in PA, so not happening anytime soon)... but is it just me, or do people who take their bird out on a harness worry about predators anyway??? I just keep remembering story I heard once locally of a bird owner who put a small cage on her porch and was outside enjoying the sun with her birds and a hawk came down and picked up the cage and off it went... We don't have many stray dogs / cats in our area, but there are larger birds.... and is the risk of disease from wild birds to our beloved fids?? I would love to take Ivory out on the harness and get her more exercise (she is a total lap bird, but thats the whole cocktoo thing), but I encourage her to chew and fly (I won't carry her from room to room, I actually will put her on top of her cage and make her follow me if she wants to come along).

We have both clipped and flighted birds in our home... so I guess I straddle the fence, I feel its more bird specific for us.... The little ones can be real turds, so when they forget their manners, usually get one or two flight feathers clipped, just enough to slow them down and allow to rework basics of behavior For Ivory, right now as things stand, I don't think I'll clip her wings when they grow back in, but that could change as our situation changes.

Anyway, thoughts on safety or precautions of taking your bird out on a harness.... that is a way bigger quandary for me then clip or not!

And I am so sorry to hear the stories of the lessons learned and birds lost. That is a pain I hope to avoid, but know sometimes fate has a different plan or lesson for us...

Thanks

Jen

 

[Birdman666]

I
So that brings me to a point we keep discussing, working with the harness to take her outside (granted its a cold November here in PA, so not happening anytime soon)... but is it just me, or do people who take their bird out on a harness worry about predators anyway??? I just keep remembering story I heard once locally of a bird owner who put a small cage on her porch and was outside enjoying the sun with her birds and a hawk came down and picked up the cage and off it went... We don't have many stray dogs / cats in our area, but there are larger birds.... and is the risk of disease from wild birds to our beloved fids?? I would love to take Ivory out on the harness and get her more exercise (she is a total lap bird, but thats the whole cocktoo thing), but I encourage her to chew and fly (I won't carry her from room to room, I actually will put her on top of her cage and make her follow me if she wants to come along).

Thanks

Jen

Well, you have to watch for predators ALWAYS! That's a given. Most won't get near your birds if you are around because they retain their fear of humans BUT a few Urban birds will get used to people, and if it's nesting season, hawks become quite aggressive...

And it's not just birds. My neighbor in California lost a mini-dobie (little yip-yip dog) to a red tailed hawk. When they have chicks to feed, they really do hunt anything and everything.

Mine have been going out and about with me for decades. They climb trees. We even had three little wild birds that became so used to us, they would fly INSIDE the house in CA...

Never had one instance of illnesses...

Obviously, if there is an outbreak of some sort, I would be more careful, but to me the risk to adult birds is less than advertised. Keeping them locked up in cages all the time may make them safer, or it could just cause them to become depressed perch potatoes...

Like the old joke about If I gave up smoking, drinking and sex, would I really live longer, or would it just SEEM longer...

To me these are quality of life issues.

I don't harness mine. I do try to keep them clipped. And mine get outside almost every day. Mine generally don't fly off or wander on me, which doesn't mean they can't or accidents haven't happened, it means they generally don't.

 

[thekarens]

Just out of curiosity, what about West Nile? There's been a few years when it's been bad here in Texas and a lot of the wild birds have died. That's caused by mosquitoes, the Texas state bird

 

[jenphilly]

West Nile is one of the concerns I have too... I am still vaccinating Chip (horse), so have to think West Nile is still a concern in our part of the country....

 

[SoCalWendy]

Rio has one flight feather on each side grown in, and more to follow. But even with the two new feathers, she is getting around a lot easier. Jumping and exercising her feathers more. Do you think she knows?

 

[strudel]

For Ivory, right now as things stand, I don't think I'll clip her wings when they grow back in

Just to clarify, she can fly around your house with clipped wings? Is that right?

 

[shakar850]

if the bird already has wings and can fly and manage to get from point a to b do not clip the wings. what can happen if you do is that the bird can get depressed . I've seen it happen to birds that can fly and had their wings clipped, its very sad. its almost like taking away their arms if u know what i mean.

 

[JerseyWendy]

if the bird already has wings and can fly and manage to get from point a to b do not clip the wings. what can happen if you do is that the bird can get depressed . I've seen it happen to birds that can fly and had their wings clipped, its very sad. its almost like taking away their arms if u know what i mean.

I WAS going to stay out of this discussion, but I wanted to chime in and respond directly to the above.

Not necessarily true. My nearly 15 year old YN Amazon has both been clipped AND flighted (numerous times), and she never held a grudge when I clipped her, nor was she ever depressed. Not in the least.

Currently ALL my fids are flighted, and let me just say, having 2 big macs flying loops around the house is quite an adventure. :11:

 

[thekarens]

I'd love to see a video of that!

 

[SandyBee]

Me too!!!! Come on Wendy!!!

 

[strudel]

I'd love to see a video of that!

With the soundtrack from the Battle of Britain

 

[JerseyWendy]

I don't have a video (yet), but I do have these 2 pics of Ripley coming at me/after me. :54:

 

[thekarens]

Those are awesome!

 

[strudel]

Wow! Impressive. The "ride of the valkyries" immediately popped into my head when I saw the first one.

(Would you mind if I copied your images in drawings?)

 

[JerseyWendy]

Wow! Impressive. The "ride of the valkyries" immediately popped into my head when I saw the first one.

(Would you mind if I copied your images in drawings?)

Thank you. Nope, don't mind at all. Help yourself.

 

[strudel]

Thanks. I think he'd make a fabulous subject.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh my word, that's a gorgeous pic!!
I respect all of your opinions but after much consideration I have decided not to clip my Percy's wings. I have changed the set up at home a bit to accommodate both him and the puppy safely so that issue is settled for now, thank goodness.
Thanks again for all your insights.