Flighted vs. Clipped Wings

[Kiwibird]

@Kiwibird: No. Sadly, the intent of clipping a wing only on one side is to instill a psychological phobia in the bird about the prospect of flying. An evenly clipped bird can still manage some degree of flight and, given a solid wind, can even fly a considerable distance. With a one wing clip, the bird can never go in its intended direction and flight becomes a negative event in and of itself. The idea is that they become far less likely to even attempt flight.

I consider this approach to be psychologically damaging to the parrot. And potentially physically dangerous as well.

:11: That's sad to me. Either clip them fully to discourage flight or leave them flighted, but don't deliberately make them unbalanced and outright frightened of flight

 

[aether-drifter]

I'm not experienced enough with different birds to have a firm opinion about clipping, but I do notice that since Alice's feathers have grown back, her response to things that scare her has changed dramatically. Before, if anything scared her she'd climb to the top of the cage and sit there fluffed up and quaking for 1/4 of an hour - now she shoots a few feet up in the air, considers the danger, and usually flutters back down to earth as though nothing had happened. It seems as though having the option to flee is enough to make her feel in control of the situation, and it has definitely improved her confidence significantly.

I think this observation is very telling; I don't think that birds who "spook" easily should be clipped at all as it's detrimental to their mental health.

Basically, to sum up my feelings on clipping in general:
It should be a last resort, not something done for the owner's convenience. I greatly dislike it being done because people are too lazy to pay attention to doors and windows, or simply don't want their bird flying to certain "inconvenient" places. I think some people do it too casually, not really pausing to consider what they are taking from the bird and the impact it might have.

However, when it's a question of aggression, sometimes you just have to temporarily take away their ability to attack.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Basically, to sum up my feelings on clipping in general:
It should be a last resort, not something done for the owner's convenience. I greatly dislike it being done because people are too lazy to pay attention to doors and windows, or simply don't want their bird flying to certain "inconvenient" places. I think some people do it too casually, not really pausing to consider what they are taking from the bird and the impact it might have.

However, when it's a question of aggression, sometimes you just have to temporarily take away their ability to attack.

Thank you for your input, aether-drifter.

Let's try and keep "how we feel about clipping" out of this thread, as it will surely generate heated responses.

So far this thread has been going very smoothly, and we'd like to keep it that way.

 

[Jayyj]

@Kiwibird: No. Sadly, the intent of clipping a wing only on one side is to instill a psychological phobia in the bird about the prospect of flying. An evenly clipped bird can still manage some degree of flight and, given a solid wind, can even fly a considerable distance. With a one wing clip, the bird can never go in its intended direction and flight becomes a negative event in and of itself. The idea is that they become far less likely to even attempt flight.

I consider this approach to be psychologically damaging to the parrot. And potentially physically dangerous as well.

This is exactly my experience of it. It's traumatized her, no two ways about it. She doesn't know why she was crashing before - first she could fly, then suddenly she couldn't balance and she'd get hurt, now she seems to be able to do it again but it's a desperate scramble to find somewhere to land before the wing packs up again. All I can do is praise her when she does fly and hope she gradually regains confidence.

 

[aether-drifter]

Basically, to sum up my feelings on clipping in general:
It should be a last resort, not something done for the owner's convenience. I greatly dislike it being done because people are too lazy to pay attention to doors and windows, or simply don't want their bird flying to certain "inconvenient" places. I think some people do it too casually, not really pausing to consider what they are taking from the bird and the impact it might have.

However, when it's a question of aggression, sometimes you just have to temporarily take away their ability to attack.

Thank you for your input, aether-drifter.

Let's try and keep "how we feel about clipping" out of this thread, as it will surely generate heated responses.

So far this thread has been going very smoothly, and we'd like to keep it that way.

You know, I'm going to leave this discussion because I think it's for the best, but I just need to say one thing. Seems like it's okay to have one opinion here on this topic, but not another?

:smile056: :smile056:

 

[JerseyWendy]

You know, I'm going to leave this discussion because I think it's for the best, but I just need to say one thing. Seems like it's okay to have one opinion here on this topic, but not another?

:smile056: :smile056:

The OP's question was whether our birds were clipped or not, and why.

We all have opinions on this subject, many have STRONG opinions on it, and the past has proven that threads such as these end up being shut down because those PRO flight make it a point of making those who clip their birds' wings feel badly (via choice of words).

We (the mods) are trying very hard to avoid exactly that this time around.

 

[BeakFace]

@beakface: I live in the Netherlands, so when I typed that message I was having my coffeetime this morning It was around 11 a.m. (I am always confused when you use am and when you use pm, but I think am is in the morning and pm is at night. Is that right?)

Right it is.

 

[BACON]

^^ not at all. Every opinion is valid, maybe word it slightly less strong.

At the end of the day your situation maybe totally different to another's, we just have to do what's right for ourselves weather it's 'right or wrong'

I'm sure everyone here would love to know everything would be ok and their birds could remain flighted,.

My bird hardly ever flys, unless I launch her to the back of the sofa so I don't think she would miss out on much!!! (She is flighted at the min) but thinking of clipping for the summer.

Side note. Blues wing feathers took 2years to fully moult and grow back, is that normal?? I thought they replaced them every year :S

 

[MikeyTN]

Posts can be deleted but we can still see what was written there before!

This is why i said from the very beginning that this is a heated topic and there would be people getting upset over things. We've seen it happen over and over, this one is no exception! Thus I will close it now!

 

[aether-drifter]

You know, I'm going to leave this discussion because I think it's for the best, but I just need to say one thing. Seems like it's okay to have one opinion here on this topic, but not another?

:smile056: :smile056:

The OP's question was whether our birds were clipped or not, and why.

We all have opinions on this subject, many have STRONG opinions on it, and the past has proven that threads such as these end up being shut down because those PRO flight make it a point of making those who clip their birds' wings feel badly (via choice of words).

We (the mods) are trying very hard to avoid exactly that this time around.

Okay, I get that. My apologies. It just seems like I did see other opinions being expressed so I thought it was okay to give mine. But I don't want to cause drama.

 

[hacatta]

@beakface: I live in the Netherlands, so when I typed that message I was having my coffeetime this morning It was around 11 a.m. (I am always confused when you use am and when you use pm, but I think am is in the morning and pm is at night. Is that right?)

Your in the netherlands?that's great i am too.
Didn't think their would be someone else here too