I just clipped my birds wings

[4 way borbs]

so just twenty minutes ago I clipped my birds wings for easier training. they are not very happy at the moment but are sitting in and around their cage hanging out in horror of what they just experienced but the reason im writing this is because part of the internet thinks that you should clip wing and the other half thinks to clip wings is animal cruelty and im confused. What's your opinion?? and to be clear Andy handled the clipping 100 times better than I imagined. I was worried that I would emerge with only one eyeball and cover and scratches. Andy gave up on escaping after the 5th bite (haha im counting in bite marks!) huge thanks to my brother who happened to be there for helping hold the wings out and cutting a little. I heard you're not supposed to home- clip birds in case you hurt them but all it is is cutting the flight feathers. (also Andy and Sky are loving each other and i can't look away its so dang cute )

 

[SailBoat]

Sincere you have already clipped them, I fail to understand why you are asking now?

IMHO, Wing Clipping is problematic as the largest muscles a bird has is its flight muscles, in which the heart provided the needed blood to drive those muscles and the air sacks (Lungs). As a result, birds that do not fly regularly are higher likelihood of heart and air sack problems and as a result commonly live shorter lives.

Unless you used the proper method of limiting the number of specific feathers, your birds maybe prone to flying like a rock and as a result can seriously hurt themself from the fall.

The issue with home clipping if you miss and cut your bird or cut a blood feather, you need the necessary training and support product to stop the bleeding.

 

[4 way borbs]

Sincere you have already clipped them, I fail to understand why you are asking now?

IMHO, Wing Clipping is problematic as the largest muscles a bird has is its flight muscles, in which the heart provided the needed blood to drive those muscles and the air sacks (Lungs). As a result, birds that do not fly regularly are higher likelihood of heart and air sack problems and as a result commonly live shorter lives.

Unless you used the proper method of limiting the number of specific feathers, your birds maybe prone to flying like a rock and as a result can seriously hurt themself from the fall.

The issue with home clipping if you miss and cut your bird or cut a blood feather, you need the necessary training and support product to stop the bleeding.

i was very careful, i promise you that

 

[4 way borbs]

the one thing i noticed after the clipping is that Andy was walking with her wings in a weirdish position. i checked her wings and there was zero blood or anything with a red flag with it so my diognosis is that Andy is not used to having her wings clipped as she has had them nice and long for almost all of her life while Sky, Lapis, and Smokey are used to it because they are much younger (sky is the second oldest at only one year while and Andys 5th gotcha day is next month

 

[4 way borbs]

Sincere you have already clipped them, I fail to understand why you are asking now?

IMHO, Wing Clipping is problematic as the largest muscles a bird has is its flight muscles, in which the heart provided the needed blood to drive those muscles and the air sacks (Lungs). As a result, birds that do not fly regularly are higher likelihood of heart and air sack problems and as a result commonly live shorter lives.

Unless you used the proper method of limiting the number of specific feathers, your birds maybe prone to flying like a rock and as a result can seriously hurt themself from the fall.

The issue with home clipping if you miss and cut your bird or cut a blood feather, you need the necessary training and support product to stop the bleeding.

im really only clipping the wings as long as needed to properly train them because only Sky is finger trained and is kinda peeved when im holding him

 

[Guest46745]

so just twenty minutes ago I clipped my birds wings for easier training. they are not very happy at the moment but are sitting in and around their cage hanging out in horror of what they just experienced but the reason im writing this is because part of the internet thinks that you should clip wing and the other half thinks to clip wings is animal cruelty and im confused. What's your opinion?? and to be clear Andy handled the clipping 100 times better than I imagined. I was worried that I would emerge with only one eyeball and cover and scratches. Andy gave up on escaping after the 5th bite (haha im counting in bite marks!) huge thanks to my brother who happened to be there for helping hold the wings out and cutting a little. I heard you're not supposed to home- clip birds in case you hurt them but all it is is cutting the flight feathers. (also Andy and Sky are loving each other and i can't look away its so dang cute )

I'll input on this one.

First, YOU should NOT be the one clipping your own birds' wings. Now your bird associates you with a painful experience. The trust and bond between you both has changed. Think about it, does the respect or love from a child to parent, or friend to friend even, increase or decrease when hurt by them? You've made you bird understand that you have the power to handicap them... is that what you want? To rule with fear? It's not expensive for a vet to do, and if you have to do it at home for some reason, get another adult to do it. Birds aren't the smartest pet, but they seem to remember who hurt them.

Second, you sound like you have your reasons for doing it, but you asked is it cruel? I think so. I used to get my birds wings clipped back when I was ignorant. I did it because every vet told me it was "safer." From what IDK, and now, I don't care. "Safer" made sense when I lived in small apartments in college. But once I got my own house, my birds never had wings cut again. I had it done one time when I bought my house, and I could tell they were depressed. They stopped making happy noises, stopped getting excited over food, and constantly screamed for me to get them when I left the room. Not fun for any of us.

Logically speaking, birds are air-based animals. We, as arrogant humans, have taken them from the sky and forced them into our homes. On top of that, some of us cause them pain (mentally and physically), by clipping wings, keeping them land-based. By that rationale, why not carry a fish around in a bag with you room to room? Why not tie a dog's or cat's legs together and push it around in a stroller? Taking independence and freedom away from a creature that you care for... so your life is easier in some way, is positively cruel. I get that sometimes it is needed, like a bird who constantly flies into windows, but if it's not for medical reasons, don't handicap your pet.

 

[4 way borbs]

I'll input on this one.

First, YOU should NOT be the one clipping your own birds' wings. Now your bird associates you with a painful experience. The trust and bond between you both has changed. Think about it, does the respect or love from a child to parent, or friend to friend even, increase or decrease when hurt by them? You've made you bird understand that you have the power to handicap them... is that what you want? To rule with fear? It's not expensive for a vet to do, and if you have to do it at home for some reason, get another adult to do it. Birds aren't the smartest pet, but they seem to remember who hurt them.

Second, you sound like you have your reasons for doing it, but you asked is it cruel? I think so. I used to get my birds wings clipped back when I was ignorant. I did it because every vet told me it was "safer." From what IDK, and now, I don't care. "Safer" made sense when I lived in small apartments in college. But once I got my own house, my birds never had wings cut again. I had it done one time when I bought my house, and I could tell they were depressed. They stopped making happy noises, stopped getting excited over food, and constantly screamed for me to get them when I left the room. Not fun for any of us.

Logically speaking, birds are air-based animals. We, as arrogant humans, have taken them from the sky and forced them into our homes. On top of that, some of us cause them pain (mentally and physically), by clipping wings, keeping them land-based. By that rationale, why not carry a fish around in a bag with you room to room? Why not tie a dog's or cat's legs together and push it around in a stroller? Taking independence and freedom away from a creature that you care for... so your life is easier in some way, is positively cruel. I get that sometimes it is needed, like a bird who constantly flies into windows, but if it's not for medical reasons, don't handicap your pet.

i promise you that this is only for easier training and I personally think it's completely cruel to KEEP them clipped, by the time they grow back, they will be better trained. yes they have been afraid when i get near them. when i read this i almost cried that I made an unkindness. and it was needed, they are not well trained, I need them better trained before something bad happens like Andy chewing an important document or holes all over my clothes. I love them almost more than my real family and i want them to be happy and healthy.
P.S im giving almost twice the treats and new toys to say im sorry

 

[Jcas]

As you’ve probably noticed, wing clipping is a bit controversial with passionate people on both sides of the issue! While I am not a huge fan of wing clipping, your birds should be ok. Keep an eye on them to make sure they are adjusting to not being able to fly as well and be very slow and patient when working with them so they aren’t scared. If you are worried about them chewing on stuff like important documents, the only way to keep such things from being destroyed is to put them where the birds can’t get them!

 

[Inko-ai]

I'm going to start this off by saying that an animal's trust should be earned, not forced.
In my opinion, you will never have a strong or loving relationship with your birds by clipping them. You are not building your relationship on trust, you're building it on fear. If your birds fly away from you, that means that you haven't put in enough time and effort to show them that you won't harm them. By grabbing them and taking away their ability to fly, you are proving to them that you will harm them, which will reinforce their desire to get away from you once they can finally fly again.

But besides the effects on your relationship, there are many health problems that can stem from this. Their muscles will weaken, long term this could affect their hearts, they won't be getting the proper exercise that they need, they can seriously injure themselves attempting to fly and crashing, and it will take a toll on their mental health leading to possible behavioral issues like feather plucking.
I'm going to link several studies and articles on the effects of clipping. Some of them are long, but I encourage you to read through them as they have some very good information not only for you but also for others considering clipping their bird's wings.

https://parrotvolancy.com/wing-trimming-physical-health/

https://parrotvolancy.com/trimming-wings-mental-health/

https://unitedparrotkingdom.co.uk/should-i-clip-my-parrots-wings/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7697466/#:~:text=Endogenous antioxidants production increases following,of training adaptations [17]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10451555/

https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/2019/03/13/part-one-parrots-flight-and-humans/

https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/2019/03/27/part-two-the-benefits-to-them/

https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/2019/04/10/part-three-the-benefits-to-us/