Bird wing clipping help!

SafamirzašŸ¤

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Mar 26, 2022
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Cockatiel
Hello! I have a male cockatiel who is around 3-5 months old.

He isnā€™t great at flying, but heā€™s not terrible either. I think his wings were clipped his whole life. They are still clipped because we got them clipped recently because his right wing needed to heal. Now, he can flap them just fine and fly only a little bit. If he flies too much he will fall on his face.

I DO NOT plan on clipping them ever again unless it is absolutely necessary. I just had a question:

Can birds with clipped wings or wings that have been clipped since they were young learn to fly properly again? When he moults and his new feathers come in, will he learn to fly again? Will he think flying is too hard or give up? How can I train him right now to prepare him for his moult and his new feathers in the future?

I think he is around 3 or 5 months old. When will he moult?
 
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SafamirzašŸ¤

SafamirzašŸ¤

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Mar 26, 2022
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Cockatiel
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Hello! I have a male cockatiel who is around 3-5 months old.

He isnā€™t great at flying, but heā€™s not terrible either. I think his wings were clipped his whole life. They are still clipped because we got them clipped recently because his right wing needed to heal. Now, he can flap them just fine and fly only a little bit. If he flies too much he will fall on his face.

I DO NOT plan on clipping them ever again unless it is absolutely necessary. I just had a question:

Can birds with clipped wings or wings that have been clipped since they were young learn to fly properly again? When he moults and his new feathers come in, will he learn to fly again? Will he think flying is too hard or give up? How can I train him right now to prepare him for his moult and his new feathers in the future?

I think he is around 3 or 5 months old. When will he moult?
I think heā€™s also upset we clipped them. He doesnā€™t have a good balance anymore :( I think he will be fine and back to his old self again but I really need to know what I can do from my end until his wings grow back.
 
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SafamirzašŸ¤

SafamirzašŸ¤

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Mar 26, 2022
294
377
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Cockatiel
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I think heā€™s also upset we clipped them. He doesnā€™t have a good balance anymore :( I think he will be fine and back to his old self again but I really need to know what I can do from my end until his wings grow back.
I donā€™t know if I made a good decision to clip them, I just wanted his right wing to heal a bit so I didnā€™t want him flying too much. But I do know for sure Iā€™m not clipping again.
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Yes , he can learn to fly again. I got my rescue who had bern clipped for 10 years to fly again ...that took a long time tho. Yours is younger so should be quicker.

It can take 6 months-2 years for flight feathers to molt and grow back. ... but as some come in will get better.
 

LaManuka

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Hello! I have a male cockatiel who is around 3-5 months old.

He isnā€™t great at flying, but heā€™s not terrible either. I think his wings were clipped his whole life. They are still clipped because we got them clipped recently because his right wing needed to heal. Now, he can flap them just fine and fly only a little bit. If he flies too much he will fall on his face.

I DO NOT plan on clipping them ever again unless it is absolutely necessary. I just had a question:

Can birds with clipped wings or wings that have been clipped since they were young learn to fly properly again? When he moults and his new feathers come in, will he learn to fly again? Will he think flying is too hard or give up? How can I train him right now to prepare him for his moult and his new feathers in the future?

I think he is around 3 or 5 months old. When will he moult?
Your cockatiel absolutely will learn to fly! My guy Fang was clipped as a baby too, and I suspect it was also before he had a chance to learn to fly, and he is now the best flyer of my three birds. Cockatiels are very strong flyers in the wild so I don't think yours will have any trouble. Yours should start to moult into his adult plumage between the ages of 6 to 12 months, so I think you can expect him to start growing those flight feathers back quite soon. :)
 

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