Is wing clipping best for taming?

[Ocean]

so I've been watching a few videos on YouTube and reading up on taming. So as I have said Johnny is quiet a devious monster! He bites who he doesn't get his own way but when he flies his been flying directly into the window or wall at quite a speed so I was just wondering is it best to get him clipped for taming as well as saftey?

 

[weco]

Birds for the most part, at least our companion birds, falcons, owls, eagle and other predators are of course excepted, have tunnel vision and no concept of glass & what windows are or that they are an effective barrier that prevents them from further escape.

You may want to re-think your training mode.....you might want to first establish your friendship with Johnny before continuing with other training...and...trying to train a previously un-trained bird while it's mate is present is often difficult at best, but since Johnny & baby may not yet be a real item, taking Johnny to a separate room, one he usually doesn't frequent usually gives you the advantage of being the only thing in the room he's familiar with, giving you the advantage of holding Johnny's undivided attention.....

Clipping is a controversial topic...it does limit the bird's ability to escape and is technically a temporary limitation, with the clipped feathers growing back in with the next molt.....having said that, there are those who will argue that a parront should take the extra time it takes to properly train the bird un-clipped or should have done further research before getting a first bird, let alone two birds.....

Personally, I would clip both birds, then establish a relationship with each bird separately and together at the same time...doing the individual training in a different room, then together, showing the same attention to each so that neither gets jealous.....then I would take each bird and let them beak/feel/touch each window so that they understand that there is glass there...the same with the walls Johnny has been flying into.....if you have ceiling fans, never have them turned on when your birds are out of their cage...never assume that they will see that the blades are turning and be able to avoid them. The period of time between clipping and their next molt should be plenty of time to establish a connection with both birds, do proper step-up & step-down training, no-bite training & any trick training you might be thinking about.....

The few times that I have clipped any of my birds, I did it myself, but your idea of having someone else do the clipping may be a good one as it will probably keep them from holding a grudge against you for their flight limitations.....

Good luck.....

 

[veimar]

I have 6 rescued birds, and I absolutely had to clip the ones who were flighted to avoid their injury and to ease the boning process (I always only half-clip, so they can still fly). I never got a tame bird After they molted they are all fully flighted, sweet and tame. They never fly into windows or mirrors and are very confident fliers (they spend almost whole day cage free). I have one lovebird - my sweetest baby, and it was so easy to trim het wings a bit. she wasn't tame, but she never bit me.
I'm not any expert, but I'd not try to "train" them before you establish the bond.

 

[Kiwibird]

This is something of a 'pandoras box' your opening here. Lots of STRONG opinions on both sides of the clipping argument. Much of it boils down to the individual bird. Some birds respond very favorably to being clipped and it can open a door to a strong bond as the bird becomes reliant and is not distracted by the ability to fly off from training sessions. On the other hand, some birds respond very negatively and can develop further aggressive behaviors and behavioral problems like plucking. Unfortunately, you never really know until you try it.

We were fortunate in a way that when we adopted Kiwi, he had never flown and been clipped his whole life. We never had to think twice about it, and it did make training him easier (he was pretty feral) as he couldn't launch arial attacks (which I'm sure he would have initially). We still keep him clipped, as when we let his wings grow back and tried to teach him to fly, there was just not any interest on his part. He's never had any concept of flight though, so he doesn't 'miss' it.

 

[Ocean]

Thankyou so much guys, I'm going to get him clipped on Monday, and as you have said its best if someone else does it. I don't want Johnny to dislike me because I have taken his ability to fly away from him. I will make a bond with him after. But I plan to not touch them maybe for the first day as they might be agitated or whatever. Is that a good idea or should I start the trust,bond with him straight away.
I've found that baby is a lot easier to go near she doesn't become aggressive If she doesn't want me too touch her she just walks away where Johnny bites. I'm home schooled do I do literally have the whole day with them until I start collage ):

 

[Kiwibird]

It doesn't hurt them at all to get clipped. Their feathers (once fully grown in) are like hair, and it doesn't hut to cut them. He will probably be pretty distressed from the whole experience of going to the vet/store and being manhandled by a stranger though and you may notice him acting off the rest of the day (a little puffed up, not as active ect...). If he's feeling down, leave him alone to rest. He should bounce back by the next morning, and you can resume training. Be sure to let him out into a fairly soft, clear area as he won't know his wings are clipped until he tries to fly and can't. You want to make sure he's not around things he can crash into, as his movement through the air is not longer controlled. And so you know what to expect, clipping is not like the bird will drop like a rock from the sky when they try to fly (unless you get the worst vet/groomer ever who butchers their wings). They only get clipped so far in on their wing feathers, so they can still somewhat 'glide' a bit to the ground (though most panic when they realize they don't have lift anymore and have a bit of an uncontrolled descent). Another very important point, BOTH wings should be clipped EQUALLY and only a couple feathers in (depends on the size of bird, but mine gets 5-6 feathers in). There are people out there who only clip one wing, and that is just not an acceptable way to clip a bird. Nor is cutting off ALL the primaries (which I have also seen, literally the bottom portion of the wing is gone!).

 

[veimar]

Thankyou so much guys, I'm going to get him clipped on Monday, and as you have said its best if someone else does it. I don't want Johnny to dislike me because I have taken his ability to fly away from him. I will make a bond with him after. But I plan to not touch them maybe for the first day as they might be agitated or whatever. Is that a good idea or should I start the trust,bond with him straight away.
I've found that baby is a lot easier to go near she doesn't become aggressive If she doesn't want me too touch her she just walks away where Johnny bites. I'm home schooled do I do literally have the whole day with them until I start collage ):

I hope you have a nice vet out there. I never trusted any vet to clip my birds wings because the ones I got clipped by vets were clipped way too short IMHO. I know it's just an opinion, but I think even clipped birds should be able to fly. I only clip so much that they don't smash into the wall or window, and can be handled if needed. My clipped cockatiel can still fly over the whole room and fly to the huge play gym that's hanged under the ceiling (I have ladders too just in case). The best of luck with your lovie! They are great birds.

 

[Ocean]

I hope you have a nice vet out there. I never trusted any vet to clip my birds wings because the ones I got clipped by vets were clipped way too short IMHO. I know it's just an opinion, but I think even clipped birds should be able to fly. I only clip so much that they don't smash into the wall or window, and can be handled if needed. My clipped cockatiel can still fly over the whole room and fly to the huge play gym that's hanged under the ceiling (I have ladders too just in case). The best of luck with your lovie! They are great birds.[/QUOTE]

Thankyou. I wanted to clipp their wings, but it was recommended someone else does it so he doesn't hold a grudge since I've not had him for a week yet. I agree with you, I didn't at all want to get him wings clipped. I think it's very unfair people do it, when it's part of their species to fly but I'm doing it for his saftey and is he learns he can't fly too high after a while I might just leave them. I'm worried that they will clipp them lol of I want them too be able to glide. So I'll tell them clearly. Your gym sounds really cute, Thankyou