Aggressive Wing Clipp

[Dragonwyke]

i got my U2 Sylvio maybe 3mos ago. he has settled in and become a wonderful addition to the family. he's acclimated well w/everyone, people and dogs, quite well. he's only bitten one person and none of the dogs, tho he has terrorized them into submission - which is exactly what i wanted since i have german shepherds and they need to leave birds alone anyway. lol

anyway, he is perfectly healthy in all ways but one. when he was released to me the people that had him before had given him an extremely tight wing clip. i mean, extreme. there are NO flights. all the first and second flight feathers are gone right down to the nub. Sylvio has shown no sign of tearing or chewing on the nubs, but it does seem to be tender at times at the sites of the feather follicles. in the 3mos that he's been here he has only grown out 2 feathers on each wing.

is there a way to increase the speed of the new feathers growing out? should i pull out the stubs of the old clipped feathers? or leave them alone to fall out over more time? i noticed today there is a new feather sprouting on the right wing way out on the tip, it's very pink and very tender for him. he hates showers and baths but will this help stimulate regrowth for these feathers?

i'm not asking because i'm ignorant on feather growth or parrots, or a big dummy or anything. but i swear i've NEVER in 20yrs of rehabbing parrots, seen a clipping so extreme. i'm serious, his wings looked they should be in a freezer bag at the local grocery store when he got her 3mos ago.

any knowledge, experience or advice would be helpful. thank you for your time.

maria

 

[dishgal1]

I have seen pics of that kind of clip. It is disgusting in my opinion. I do clip but only enough that mine can't fly as high as the ceiling. About eye level is where I keep them clipped to. That is just pitiful I think but more and more people are doing it I guess. You might as well amputate the wings if you are going to clip that short. It is just so pathetic looking.

 

[Dragonwyke]

that's how i've always done it too. depending on the weight of the bird i'm working w/it's usually just the first 4-6 long lift feathers. so they can't get any height. i still want them to be able get around. it's like chopping off someone's legs! how cruel is that! i just can't think of a good way to get those feathers growing faster, lol.

maria

 

[dishgal1]

Actually my vet taught me to leave the 3 longest flight feathers, then cut the next 7-8. They still have their beauty but he said just take a little bit off at a time until you get him just where you want him. It has worked wonders ( he was like a stunt pilot, he had to be clipped) and my Gcc didn't have to give up those gorgeous blue feathers.

 

[Dragonwyke]

oh, i KNOW!!!!! sometimes it's just impossible to get rid of the prettiest feathers on the wing! lol. my little senegal Bugg was completely naked when we got her, she was a feather twister, and tho all her other feathers grew in her flights and tail feathers are still victims of being twisted. i don't even KNOW what she looks like w/feathers. lol

maria

 

[melissasparrots]

Actually my vet taught me to leave the 3 longest flight feathers, then cut the next 7-8. They still have their beauty but he said just take a little bit off at a time until you get him just where you want him. It has worked wonders ( he was like a stunt pilot, he had to be clipped) and my Gcc didn't have to give up those gorgeous blue feathers.

Leaving the outside feathers to stick out on their own like that can be an accident waiting to happen. They are more prone to going through the cage bars and twisting the wing with just pressure at the end if the bird decides to flap. Also, new feathers don't have much support and are more likely to break into a blood feather with that kind of clip.

Personally with the bird in question, I would just wait. It sounds like they are slowly but surely falling out and growing back in on their own. Some people will pull them but the problem happens if you have a bunch growing in on their own unsupported by any other mature feathers. It can be a recipe for a blood bath. I'd try as much as possible to make sure there aren't things around his cage he can likely snag a feather on if he does a lot of flapping in there and try to keep him from falling and things that are likely to break feathers until he has several more grown in. I know thats difficult with an active cockatoo.

 

[Dragonwyke]

actually he doesn't spend alot of active time in his cage. i have him out w/me alot of the time. he's usually in there to sleep or to eat or chew his sticks and toys. his flapping and screaming he does when he's out of doors w/me. he hasn't had any accidents w/the 4 feathers he's got grown back in, but this new one on the very end has me a little worried. it's just starting, so i'm keeping an eye on it. i'm so very tempted to get some vet wrap and just tie his wings down till they're all grown in again, lol, just kidding. but that's how worried i am about these feathers.

since he's been here he stopped twisting his chest feathers, and those have all been replaced in this current molt, and his crest feathers are molting out nicely, but those wings....they just worry me.

maria