Cutting flight feathers

[AnniePurcell]

Our vet charges $20 to cut her flight feathers. It seems like something I could do myself for free but I'm afraid to do it. Advice?

**cutting her flight feathers is a must. I know some are against it, but I have 4 kids. We keep her feathers long enough that she can flutter down if she falls, but they are getting longer now. The other day when my kids were leaving for school, she flew off my shoulder, out the door behind them, and almost to the street. I've got my kids and neighborhood kids coming and going all the time so it's safer for her to be flightless.

 

[aliray]

It is something you can do yourself but my suggestion is have the vet do it once and show you how to hold the bird and how to clip ,which feathers to clip, how to recognise a blood feather, And how to hold the wing to clip it. Then after that you should be able to do it yourself and also how to clip their toenails. I had a lesson last Sunday from a mobile bird groomer who clips my neighbors parrots. I bought my Tiki over and she went over in detail and answered all my question. From now on I will do all three of mine. It cost me 15.00 and was well worth it

 

[AnniePurcell]

Tiki is a cute name!

 

[aliray]

Thank you. When I bought her ,her name was Chompers. Not a name for my little princess. So I changed it to Tiki, Suits her much better

 

[MonicaMc]

I would suggest reading this thread...

http://www.parrotforums.com/alexandrines/27991-true-clipped-birds-can-fly.html

Even clipped birds can fly. While I understand that you are doing it for safety, it is a false sense of security.


Even if your conure is clipped, I would highly suggest teaching recall training. It's the same basic behavior that you teach a dog when you tell him to come to you. It is a behavior that is best trained in a variety of situations (a harness is a great item to have!) so that the bird doesn't get distracted by it's environment nor "freeze up".



There are several websites that talk about recall training.

Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Training a Parrot to Recall Only When Cued
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Parrot Flight Training- Improving Skills
Recall
Recall Training | Carly Lu's Flight Blog
Teaching Flighted Recall: First Steps « Best in Flock ? Parrot Blog
Love Is Not Enough « Best in Flock ? Parrot Blog
Interview with Free Flight Trainer Chris Biro « Best in Flock ? Parrot Blog

 

[baron1282]

I was told today that a clipped bird can still fly. By a parrot shop in Cincinnati.. However, the person said that they wouldn't be able to fly for too long, and that it helps with the speed of which they can fly.

When they fly in the house full flighted they can fly so fast and not stop in time and break their neck on walls. When they are clipped they can still fly, but can not fly at full speed and not for long.

 

[chippy]

I was told today that a clipped bird can still fly. By a parrot shop in Cincinnati.. However, the person said that they wouldn't be able to fly for too long, and that it helps with the speed of which they can fly.

I need to say that you were given misinformation...we had a clipped bird years ago who had never flown showed no indication of any ability to do more than just flutter to the ground, then got frightened and flew away never to be seen again. I know better now!

 

[Karigan]

This is the clip I perfer for my birds. My sennie has had it for a year and a half now with no problems about the outter feathers freying or breaking.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvXMZ0kgeq0"]Wing Clipping - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mirlito]

Hello there, have you ever thought about getting a harness? I got one for the equivalent of $5. It´s great we bought one for our crimson bellied conure. It would save you on having to cut the birds feathers too and is an extra sense of security.

 

[Mayden]

Hello there, have you ever thought about getting a harness? I got one for the equivalent of $5. It´s great we bought one for our crimson bellied conure. It would save you on having to cut the birds feathers too and is an extra sense of security.

A bird isn't likely to be harnessed in the house when it's being played with. So the door opening whilst children are coming and going is still going to be a huge risk.

I'd say work on recall training and teach the children that a door must be closed behind them so the birds cannot get out. (Blocked into a single room)

A light clip should be enough so the bird can flutter, but please don't think that they cannot fly. I believe we have a video of a heavily clipped bird on this forum recently that was out in a harness and flying. It is a false sense of security and a clip shouldn't be a substitute for good training and teaching your children to be more responsible when it comes to having the bird safe.

Agreed with someone who mentioned before, have your vet show you what to do and how to handle your Tiki during the clip. A clip if done wrong can be really disastrous and break so much trust that you're building together.

 

[aliray]

Great video. Thanks for sharing

 

[Peeker]

I agree that a clip does not stop a bird from flying so even if you clip your bird it's important to teach everyone in the family not to open doors until your bird is secure. It will help to slow them down some. Wing clips and nail trims can be done at home but ask your vet to show you first so you don't make mistakes.

I don't know what type of parrot you have but in some cases wing trims have initiated problems with feather chewing and plucking. If you have a parrot type that is more prone to feather destruction it's worth a second thought.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I would pay the vet to have it done (at least the first time) Birds move around a lot when you're trying to clip their wings. Ask the vet if that price includes nail filing. Yep, clipped parrots can still startle and fly away. I would just make sure that your conure is in her cage whenever anyone opens a door to the outside. Clipped wings do make training easier. Trixie's were clipped when she came to us. Now she has become a "freedom bird". We're letting her flight feathers grow out. It's so cute to watch her fly to the human she chooses to be with at the moment.