Clipped or not to clip

[critterman]

Thanks all.

 

[thekarens]

You might search the forum on this topic. It's been discussed a lot and there's a lot of good discussion on it.

 

[Frumpydumple]

I prefer not to clip my birds wings, but sometimes it's best for the birds safety. See if his flying improves, if it doesn't then it might be best to clip him for his safety.

 

[Kiwibird]

I think birds should be flighted when possible. It is natural and good exercise for them. It is also important in homes where there are other pets (dogs/cats) or small children the bird may need to escape from. However, there are definitely circumstances where a bird should be clipped and flight discouraged. If he is really new to flying still, it may just be his inexperience. If you have a room that doesn't have a whole lot of stuff in it for him to crash into, try recall training him to improve his skills in a safer environment than him just "going for it" in a busy/crowded room. However, if he doesn't progress and improve over the next few weeks/months, it may just be better to clip him and work on other means for him to get exercise and communicate his needs to you when he wants to move.

All my parents birds are flighted, and all are excellent flyers. Our bird Kiwi came to us as mature bird, never taught to fly and refused to learn. He is kept clipped and we encourage climbing as well as "assisted flying" where he holds on to our hand and we walk around as he flaps his wings instead. He lifts his foot when he wants a ride/has to go potty, and we have learned to feel how he's leaning on our hand to tell which direction he wants to go (on his stand, back to his cage ect...). He basically signals us he would like to be somewhere else and directs us right to where he wants to be. Because he is clipped and does not even attempt flight, we also feel safe allowing him outside with no harness or cage, which is something he truly enjoys. Clipping isn't IDEAL, but it is necessary in some situations and birds don't necessarily have to have miserable life where they are at your "whim" because they are clipped. I will say, establishing better communication through their body language and allowing a bit more freedom of choice is important when you have a clipped bird who cannot just fly off to be where they want.

 

[getwozzy]

I'm just going to interject here at the beginning- please be civil with your responses, this is a VERY hot topic, so it would be wonderful if everyone plays nice!

Thank you!!

 

[Dinosrawr]

It comes down to what's better for the bird, like everyone else has said. Ideally, all birds should be flighted because they deserve to keep all their natural abilities, but sometimes it's not possible or not safe.

Personally, I will never clip Avery. To me, it comes down to training and encouraging her flying to improve, because she also came to me clipped and I don't think she ever fledged... flying isn't something she does unless it's out of sheer frustration or fear, but we're working on recall training and the like. I recommend doing research and making a personal choice based off of what you find and how you feel, but ultimately you need to put the bird first in this decision.

 

[Frumpydumple]

Since I clipped Cookie a few months ago she talks much less, but she seems much better behaved.

She always wants to fly somewhere but can't, she used to fly after me when I was leaving and she was doing well with recall training, but now she is clipped so she can't do that and she chews her flight feathers and seems less happy.

There are good things about wing clipping too though like how I can take her outside(carefully) and how she behaves better, but I prefer to have her flighted if possible.

I'm currently letting her wings grow out and I'm going to try harness training again.

It depends really.

 

[riddick07]

Right now I'm allowing everyone but Renji to grow their flights out. I've always been fairly neutral on clipping or not. For me its up to the individual to decide what is best in their situation.

Monkey is my only one who has completely grown out all her clipped feathers. I could never clip them again she loves zooming around so much. Plus, she has a lot more chest muscles going on. She was clipped too young and was very underdeveloped but she feels very solid now. The only two so far that I'm unsure of for letting their flights grow back in are Renji and Folger. Renji just barely tolerates me and would be better as a breeder honestly. Folger tries to eat my mother so it depends on how he behaves these coming months. For all I know he will pull all his new flight feathers out and I won't have to worry about clipping him

With time your guy should get the whole flying down. Its too bad you don't have another bird he could watch. My mothers little budgie Cam just plain old sucked at flying when he came home. He is caged in the living room so has a nice view of Monkey zooming around. We let him out today and he didn' crash unless he got too tired and couldn't continue to a safe landing zone. Plus, he was mostly landing in all the spots Monkey usually does so it was a little more obvious who he was watching.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here are just a few threads where this topic was discussed, oftentimes in detail.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/41983-flighted-vs-clipped-wings.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/38049-benefits-not-having-wings-clipped.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-mem...o-question-clipping-wings-vs-full-flight.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/26025-clip-wings-not.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/19291-clipping-wings.html

 

[Anansi]

Just a question. Is it better to clip a parrots wings or not and why? I have a crimson bellied that had clipped wings when I got him but is full feathered now and flying. The only problem is that he isn't always real good at flying and sometimes hits the ceiling or into a wall or window. He has not hurt himself but I am so worried he might end up with a break or a concussion. Advice please and why you feel one is better or safer than the other. Thanks. I don't want to restrict him but I don't want him to get hurt either.

Hey, Critterman. I personally believe in keeping birds flighted if at all possible, though there are situations where clipping is definitely quite understandable. (Such as the case pointed out by Riddick of Folger wanting to EAT Jenphilly. Lol)

But as Wendy has so helpfully pointed out a number of threads where this has already been well discussed, I'll focus instead on your individual situation. There was a suggestion from Kiwibird that will likely prove very beneficial for your bird. I can personally vouch for the benefits of recall training your bird in a smaller room before letting him free in the house at large.

When I first brought Bixby home at 4 months old, (he has never been clipped) he was a rather clumsy flier. If he took off and then found that he didn't have the strength to reach his intended destination, he would crash into a wall. If something spooked him, he would take off in a panic and fly into a wall. If he was in mid-flight and something distracted him... you get the picture.

So I limited his flight training to a bedroom for the first 2 or so months that he was home. I started off with 2 training perches of adjustable height, set them at the same level, and put them around 6 inches apart. (Easy stepping distance for an eclectus.) I then targeted him from one perch to the other until he felt completely comfortable with the exercise and the easily earned treats.

Then I began increasing the distance in small increments until he needed to hop to the second perch, always praising him effusively for every success and offering treats. Once he was comfortable with hopping, I increased the distance to the point that he needed to flap his wings once or twice to make the jump. Wash, rinse, repeat. And always keeping the sessions no longer than 15 minutes at a time. (Some birds' attention spans will allow for a little more, some for a little less. You'll know your own bird better than anyone else, but the range TENDS to be somewhere between 5 and 25 minutes. Try to end the session before he ends it for you.)

Eventually, you get to the point where he is flying with confidence from one training perch to the other. This comes from a combination of experience and increased strength in his pectoral muscles. You'll see the landings go from heavy and clumsy to light and graceful.

Once your bird can fly easily from perch to perch, you begin to alter the heights of the training perches to work on his skill. One of the most important skills to focus on is flying from a higher level to a lower one. (Very helpful if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation where your fid has flown up into a tree. For some reason, birds have an easier time learning to fly upward than downward.) I worked on this until Bixby could fly from the highest level of his training perch (6 feet) down to my hand while I was sitting cross-legged on the floor at the base of his stand.

Then I had him work on flying from a lower point to a higher point, gradually increasing the difficulty until he could generate enough lift to fly from my position on the floor (a few feet out from the base) to the highest point on the training stand. This serves for advanced strength training as well as flight skill development. Remember that the stronger a flier your fid is, the less prone to panic he will become. Very important, as panic is the cause of most crashing incidents IMO.

Once Bixby was extremely confident and the room was growing a little too small to further push and extend his boundaries, I began inviting my children into the room to just be themselves while he was training. (I have two VERY ACTIVE boys of 6 and 3 years old!) Once he could fly safely and confidently despite the ensuing pandemonium, he was ready to begin training in the larger rooms of the house. (Those of you familiar with my earlier threads on his training process will remember the trepidation I felt at moving the training out of that room. Very scary.)

There were a few crashes initially, as the larger spaces over-stimulated him a bit. But even then, he had gained enough flight ability that his bouts with the wall were relatively slow and painless. And now, though he's still a work in progress, (I brought him home at the end of November) it's actually rather rare that he renews his contentious relationship with the walls of my house. The next step is to begin training him on "blind recall" from another room, but he's still a ways off from being ready for that.

The entire process has proved rewarding for myself as well as Bixby, and our bond has deepened significantly as a result. Anyhow, just thought I'd share. But I have definitely yammered on more than long enough. Hope this proves helpful to you with your fid. Good luck!

 

[mtdoramike]

I have lost two birds to open doors, never to be seen again and one that flew off of my shoulder and into a wall breaking it's neck due to being startled. There is a Hawk that decided some years back to perch outside my home quite often. So I prefer to have their wings clipped for their own safety as well as piece of mind. But with that said, I hate to clip an older birds wings when they have been used to flying. To me, it breaks their spirit.

But then again, I have always been the type who believes and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[jenphilly]

Great posts so far

I agree with completely bird dependent.... and what you are comfortable with... we have 10 birds (how the heck did that happen!!!!), and one on the way, but another thread.., and if you did not notice the overlay, Riddick07 is my daughter..,,,

anyway,... out of 10 birds, I expect only 2 will be kept really clipped... renji the rescue cockatiel after about 5 years with us still hates people.... Folger who really only hates me, but boyfriend clips his own wings.... but if they do grow in and he continues to listen to Victoria and not want to chase me down and kill me in my sleep, I would be in favor of him having wings. The only other who in my opinion may need to be semi clipped is Dante, another tiel, because, well hes just a plain idiot. After couple years with us and wings, he startles really easy and just flies until some large object stops him. Ever see harry potter quidditch scenes where someone flies into curtained wall and tumbles to ground..,, thats Dante... he usually ends up in the pantry.... hes so pretty but really special....

All others have or are still growing in flight feathers. When there is a startle when they are all out its like day of the birds,,,, then roundup for the little ones. Ivory is usually safely on my head when we have those moments..,, look out point I guess!!!!

 

[critterman]

Thank you all for the great advice and suggestions. After reading all the messages and the suggested threads I think I will keep Ziggy's wing uncut and keep him flighted. I will practice with him in a smaller room and try the perch method. Again thanks all. I really appreciate your expertise.

 

[chippy]

Tiki didn't learn to land safely until she was almost 2... so we kept her clipped enough so that she couldn't fly far but could still glide rather then crash. Then we got Pippin and darned if he wasn't just as clumsy... I don't know if it's a Ringneck thing or what...but both would just crash-land onto their chests. Again, i have clipped Pippin just enough so that he can learn to fly just a little and land safely. He is just over a year and still crash-lands; luckily he doesn't like to fly and only does so if Tiki climbs onto his cage.
My daughters lovebird was fully flighted until she started flying directly into Tiki's cage (a dangerous thing!!!)...now her wings are ever so lightly clipped so she can't fly as far or as high.... It's a safety issue.

 

[Gizmomania]

Most of my birds arrived clipped, but I let all their flight feathers grow out. Maalik, my CAG is the only one who has never been clipped. I've asked our Jardine's breeder not to clip him before she ships him as well.

They seem so much happier to be the way nature intended them to be. There will always be certain circumstances where it would not be in the bird's best interest to be flighted.

I truly love to watch them engage in flight!