Rowan Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 (edited) Hello All As you can see by the attached pic - Dayo is getting bigger and we have not had his wings clipped at this point. A bit of background: He is 15 weeks old now, and flying quite well (including hovering and landing exactly where he wishes.) Although he is harness trained - we feel it would be a good idea to have his wings clipped. We have a condo with two doors and plenty of traffic ( his big brother a mini dachshund that goes out both the back and front doors and friends/neighbors that stop by often ). After losing our Quaker to flying away - having the same thing happen again would just be too much to endure. With that being said, we are also going to a family wedding out of town in September. We have friends/family that will be here to help take care of Dayo - but of course not to the extent he is currently used to (my boyfriend works from home, and my job has also afforded me this luxury lately so he is out of the cage playing with us most of the day.) We feel it is important to have him clipped prior to our trip - but my question is should we look into doing it sooner, rather than waiting until a few days before the trip and having two major stresses thrust upon him at once? Any insight/suggestions would be most welcomed. Thanks for reading! Beth Edited July 26, 2011 by Rowan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malikah Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Wow, what a pretty boy! Even a clipped bird can fly surprisingly well if they catch a breeze. A bird who cannot fly well is easy prey if it does get outdoors. If you are intent on doing it, I would do it way before the trip. We went to a wedding out of town and had the birdsitter tend to Kito without letting her out of her cage. That was only 3 days, I don't know how long you are going to be gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Its not just going out of town that is the motivation, its the fact that we have lost a bird to flying away and don't want to go through that again. We just wanted to make sure to give him ample time to fledge and build his confidence. We will be gone Wednesday afternoon - Sunday afternoon. Thank you for your compliments on "Mr Pink Pants" I just love him!:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Its not just going out of town that is the motivation, its the fact that we have lost a bird to flying away and don't want to go through that again. We just wanted to make sure to give him ample time to fledge and build his confidence.We will be gone Wednesday afternoon - Sunday afternoon. Thank you for your compliments on "Mr Pink Pants" I just love him!:eek: Most here are not in favor of clipping because of many legitimate reasons but since it's been discussed a million times here, I'll post these things for you to read. One major thing I'll say is that considering the age of your bird, he's nowhere near the age to clip because so many muscles haven't developed yet and coordination isn't developed yet. Just because a bird is flying around doesn't mean that he has the above things. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190512-WingClipping-Part-1-Objective-Neutral http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190511-WingClipping-Part-2-objective-neutral http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190510-WingClipping-Part-3-objective-neutral'>http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190510-WingClipping-Part-3-objective-neutral http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190510-WingClipping-Part-3-objective-neutral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Love the red feathers on his bottom, Dayo is a very cute baby...love the photo Totally agree with Dave and I think that clipping his wings so early when he is just developing his flight muscles will really affect his confidence. And clipping is no guarantee that the parrot wont fly. When I first got my baby grey, her wings were clipped, but this didnt stop her from attempting flight. She was able to do more than 15 meters distance (with harness) but it was clumsy flight and she crashed a couple of times. So clipping doesnt mean they cant fly and escape. They can still escape, but this time they dont have any deffence against being out and will be an easy prey... I would consider keeping him caged, if you are not confident with the caretakers in your absence. As for later, I guess you have to wait a bit before clipping and in the mean time, be extra careful with doors... Its your choice, but personally Im totally against clipping. Edited July 27, 2011 by ranaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) With no dis-respect to other members, I am in favor of clipping. You know how it feels to lose a flighted bird already, and your circumstances call for it , in my opinion. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. When your circumstances change, (new house, more security for bird) then you could let them grow out. Feathers grow back, just like our hair, its just a matter of time. Although I am a newer member this is just my opinion and what i would do, as I do appreciate the older members advice and understand why we shouldnt clip wings. read Daves posts, then re-read them before you make your desicion. Beautiful bird by the way! Edited July 27, 2011 by Cupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 If possible, perhaps you could at least leave Dayo flighted for a few more months. Just ensure no one taking care of him while your at the wedding lets him out. Then he would gain the muscle, coordination, confidence and neural synapses all birds are meant to have from very early months of development. BTW - It's hard referring to any other bird as Dayo, other than my own pride an joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Cupid, please do keep in mind that even a clipped bird can fly if given a good breeze and we have had many members lose a clipped bird because they thought they would not be capable of flight. An unclipped bird has a better chance of fleeing predators if it did escape to the outside, no disrespect to your beliefs and it is your decision but it should be a fully informed one, just so you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 With no dis-respect to other members, I am in favor of clipping. You know how it feels to lose a flighted bird already, and your circumstances call for it , in my opinion. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. When your circumstances change, (new house, more security for bird) then you could let them grow out. Feathers grow back, just like our hair, its just a matter of time. Although I am a newer member this is just my opinion and what i would do, as I do appreciate the older members advice and understand why we shouldnt clip wings. read Daves posts, then re-read them before you make your desicion. Beautiful bird by the way! You should understand that you needn't state that you're a newer member in order to state your opinion. This place is for all opinions and no one is gonna chastise you for what you say. It's not disrespectful to agree or disagree with opinions. It's a free country and if you wanna say what you feel, than do it. It's not the level or amount of membership here that allows a person to say what they want. When someone is intentionally disrespectful to others, we recognise that and we always address and take action concerning the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Cupid, please do keep in mind that even a clipped bird can fly if given a good breeze and we have had many members lose a clipped bird because they thought they would not be capable of flight. An unclipped bird has a better chance of fleeing predators if it did escape to the outside, no disrespect to your beliefs and it is your decision but it should be a fully informed one, just so you know. I know Judy, Ive read and re-read Daves posts about the pros and cons. I feel its important to put my opinion out there as so many of us are "anti-clip" "You should understand that you needn't state that you're a newer member in order to state your opinion. This place is for all opinions and no one is gonna chastise you for what you say. It's not disrespectful to agree or disagree with opinions. It's a free country and if you wanna say what you feel, than do it. It's not the level or amount of membership here that allows a person to say what they want. When someone is intentionally disrespectful to others, we recognise that and we always address and take action concerning the problem. " Dave, I do understand although I know that this is a touchy subject among our flock members, and since Ive read about how "passionate" we can be on our forum from other posts, I just want peace and do not want to "step on any toes, or ruffle too many feathers" with my opinion, especially to other members that I admire and respect for thier knowledge and patience, such as Judy or yourself. I feel that I am not an expert in "grey keeping" as I've only recently begun to fully understand the emotional needs of our feathered friends from reading threads and recommended books, so I agree that for a new baby bird its important to learn to fly for their own good, but when a owner isnt sure that that is safe because of the conditions they live in, as I do, clipping goes into a "gray area". Thank you for valuing me as a flock member. I would type that dislcaimer just in case, (so I wouldnt get treated like "fredgrey" long ago) but now I see that I dont have to worry about that as Im sure that wont ever happen to me... Edited July 27, 2011 by Cupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Who is fredgrey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Ive been lurking in the forum for a while before I finally joined, and reading old threads so its fresh in my mind... its a old drama that happened many moons ago. Water under the bridge. A learning experience for older members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Dayo is really beautiful!:-) I'd like to give my two cents as well.. If you are afraid that your bird will fly away than take better care of him so he wouldn't fly away. That might just sound stupid and mean, and I'm sure you take care of your bird very well, but it is a BIRD! He is supposed to have wings and use them. I can tell you. I had few surgeries on my knees and I couldn't walk properly for a long, long time. Of course it is different with birds and wings but I can tell you, I didn't appreciate restrictions I had at all. I guess that is similar how a clipped bird might feel. The even biggest issue is to clip you bird too early in their development. This has nothing to do with preferring clipping or not, it is a fact, a very important one at that. If you are afraid than that is your problem. Don't make it a birds problem too and clipped wings might be just that. Be super careful, do your best and he'll be fine:-) You can train him to fly to you, or if he gets lost to answer some kind of whistle; learn him how to descend to you.. Maybe that could be preventive measures that should be utilized first. Why am I making such a big deal out of this? Because if you would ignore all my reasons I brought up so far, you should never ever ignore the fact that clipped bird could fly anyway and could easily become an easy pray. I won't get into psychological benefits of full flighted birds at all... I'm really paranoid about my Zak flying away so I put secure measures on every window. If the window is open, it is open just enough so Zak can't even think to fly outside. Windows are fully open only when Zak is in the cage and his doors closed with a lock that he can't open. If someone comes to babysit him, I warn the people not to open windows at all. Also, doors of his room has to be closed all the time while someone else is taking care of him. I have the advantage that behind those doors (two of them) there are a small halls where he could fly if he decides he'll make a run for it. So I know he can't get far. It is also human to let it slip sometimes but if you have done everything I suggested here,a chance of Dayo being lost forever is really very small:-) I know you just want the best for your birdie so don't take this the wrong way. I, myself also very often use the better safe than sorry route, but please just think a bit more about this:-) Keep us posted:-) Edited August 2, 2011 by Morana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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