It is with a heavy heart..

[Wulfgeist]

..that I called the bird store and made an appointment for Tico to have wings and nails done. :;sigh:: I was really leaning towards leaving him flighted after this molt but he's been going crazy. One day I was in the kitchen and this bird shot past me..I'm thinking to myself "how in the heck did a bird get in the house??" before I realized it was Tico. This was after he smacked into the window over the sink. He seems to really like flying, he'll take off and buzz around the house over nothing I can tell. I would happily leave him flighted but I'm concerned for him. My cats are fairly well behaved but Charlie is the worst when it comes to chasing after him when he flies. I don't think Charlie would intentionally hurt him and might not know what to do if he did catch him. I don't want him to find out, either.

It's probably for the best especially with the move coming in a month. One of my future housemates hates birds so it's probably not a good idea for him to have the chance to fly crazy around their house.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

when it's in the best interest of the bird, clipping isn't so bad! my girl spent a lot of her life clipped (for the same reason, kamikaze dives toward frying pan, etc) and she still had a good time. i left her with enough feather to go a very short distance but that's all...no hard landings.....

 

[Ebella812]

Our Lucy has her wings clipped. It's for the best especially if you have other pets. I'm always terrified that Lucy would fly into the window or a door if she gets scared. She can still get some air. She flies from her cage to the couch where we sit and will do quick little bursts if she's on the ground. She doesn't seem to mind and I don't have to worry about her flying into something and breaking her little neck. I'm sure your little baby will be fine.

 

[DebsFlock]

Mine are clipped, for the same set of reasons. Safety is the key thing, and I don't really sense that they mind particularly. They mind the man-handling more than they mind being clipped...

I need to trim my flock up, Scooter's taken to doing small loops off his playtop.

 

[Wulfgeist]

It's odd because he's hardly been clipped since I had him and that's been like 5 years? I got him clipped the beginning of this year but before that I never remember having him going crazy like he's been lately. My heart breaks for him because it seems he really likes it. I don't believe in declawing cats so it's hard to do this but on the other hand leaving cats with claws doesn't put them in danger. I guess there are really more reasons to do it than not and all of them have to do with his safety. Maybe I'll see if she can do a light clip.

 

[DebsFlock]

De-clawing cats is very different -- it's a significant, painful surgery and it is permanent. Wing trimming does reduce one mode of mobility, but it's not painful and it only lasts until those feathers molt out. My cats are indoor cats -- that's probably a better analogy.

 

[luvmytooo]

Im sorry But its for safety , seems like something is making him react differently.
Maybe its a sound of another bird outside that makes him take these dangerous flights ?
Whatever it may be , I feel its the best thing to do and I wouldn't let him not flying really weigh so heavily on you . I understand how you feel , believe me , but I would rather have my birds safe and flightless then badly hurt or worse with flight feathers.
Smashing into the window was a sign , thats how I see it and I wouldnt hesitate to clip my Yoshi's wings or any of my birds. I know my boy Yoshi LIVES to fly around the room.
But if he had a serious wreck like that , I would have scissors in hand. I just love the heck out him and wouldnt want to be without my baby boy.