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Hypocrite?


Sassy

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Ok so I didn't want to clip Neytiri's wings but after a few flights at the bird shop that made it difficult to retrieve her I caved. I had them do a very light clip though... Just enough that she can't go up but can fly level. With her coming home next week I didn't want her to fly up to the the light in the foyer where I couldn't get her down. Does this make me a bad person?

 

Sassy

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You are not a bad person! Take advantage of this time to work with her and train her, without her flying all over the place. Perhaps by the time her wings grow back you will decide to let her stay fully flighted.

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No. I took Timber, my rehomed TAG to the vet the day after I got him for a check up. The previous owner said he had never flown (she had him for 6 months). The vet asked if he flew, and I told her the previous owner said he didn't. About that time, he took off flying and landed in the corner of her office. Ha. At any rate, her advice was to clip him since I was a new bird owner, wasn't able to handle him at that point, had four cats and other hazards around the house, etc. I'm going to see how it plays out as the feathers grow back. If I'm comfortable in being able to get him to come to me etc. as they grow in, I won't have them clipped again. If I'm not sure I can handle whatever situation occurs I will. His safety comes before anything else to me.

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no not at all ... as touchy a subject as this is, I believe you have to do what is best for YOU and your bird and your home and lifestyle. Marco is trimmed as well and it hasnt stopped her one bit from flying all over this place! She just cant get to the top of anything. Trust me, I had the door open bringing something in that scared her cuz it made a loud noise I was INSIDE the door frame, she was across the room on her boing and she BOLTED towards the door I tried to stop her but she fly thru my arms and straight outside IT WAS SCAREY! but because she wasnt fully flighted she only made it across the street into the grass for a crash landing I hate to think how badly that could of turned out for me.

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Definitely NOT a bad person. You have to make the best decision for you and the safety of your baby. We had the same issue when we brought Chickie home and she was going everywhere, including places we didn't have ladders to reach. She is clipped enough to impede long flights, but she can still go across a room.

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Of course you are not a bad person. It takes time and trial and error to understand your needs and balance those with Neytiri's. It is understandable that you would take the advice of her caretakers and when she gets home and you get to know her better you will sort things out without such guilt and angst. Be kind to yourself. Every family and every individual has to come to terms with this kind of decision. You are going to be an excellent mama.

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your def not a bad person. I myself had mine clipped his first year and the last 2years flighted and also almost lost him due to flying away. I'm just waiting for 1 last flight feather to come fully out and he is going for a light clip as well. too dangerous and I love him too much to lose him. he will fly just never like he did.

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You are not a bad person! Different homes have different needs for birds....BUT, don't ever let a groomer push you into something. There is a shop owner in Los Angeles that practically INSISTS all birds have clipped wings. She will rant and rave at customers about the dangers of unclipped birds - until the poor owner is practically bullied into having it done. Do it for you and the safety of your birds/children, etc.

 

I don't clip wings - for many reasons. And I've actually stopped shopping at the store because of the owner's aggressive attitude.

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I know what you mean... the shop owner (and previous owner that still works there) were insistent upon clipping... I would have a conversation with them about pro's and cons and it was civil though... she would of course encourage me to have her clipped but respected that I didn't want it. SHould have seen her face when she came in Sat and saw that she was lightly trimmed... I told her why I changed my mind and she told me that she is now reconsidering her views on clipping too... so it all works out. Once I have neytiri home and she's settled in... I will work on training her to come to me... after that I may let them grow out fully. Time will tell.

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Once I have neytiri home and she's settled in... I will work on training her to come to me... after that I may let them grow out fully. Time will tell.

 

Absolutely. I don't clip my birds - parrots, toucans or pigeons. But it's a big commitment. When the toucans are out, I crate the dogs. They are much flightier than parrots and my puppy will often chase them - way too stressful for the birds. My CAG has nipped the dogs when they get too close to his boing...they steer clear of each other now.

 

That said, I live alone, so I am in controls of all the windows and doors, toilet seats, boiling water on the stove, etc. If I lived with several children and had to constantly monitor everything...it might be very different.

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I didn't want to totally keep her from flying just tone it down a little. Yesterday when I visited her she was very cuddly and not nippy at all (except when I ran out of broccoli) LOL

 

She also is not attacking one of the girls who cleans her cage.

 

Come on Saturday. You can't get here fast enough.

 

Sassy

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Sassy... people here will probably " choke", when I say what I have to say. I am probably the number one person, who believes in "trimming"... NOT clipping! The most important thing, is to have a trusting relationship with your trimmer. They can " trim", to your level of training. It is important for a baby Grey, to be able to fly in the beginning, develop their chest muscles. If they don't from their start, their is no guarantee they will be able to do so, in the future.Which means, if you choose in the future for baby to be able to fly, it may not happen, even if fully flighted.

As a baby, I recommend them to be fully flighted, learn and practice. As they get older, go thru terrible two's need to focus on training techniques, that is the time to slowly trim.I encouraged all my birds to be able to fly, but as we entered behavior stage, they were trimmed to fly two rooms away only. They could focus on learning. Once we got past the terrible two's, they became fully flighted again.I am just telling you this, because in the future, if you choose to have your grey be fully flighted, it may not happen.

Whatever you choose, we are all hear to support you.I just want you to have all the information you need to make the best decisions. Nancy

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Nancy. She was flying for a few weeks (don't remember the exact number) and I had her trimmed on sat last week. I plan on encouraging her to fly when I bring her home in a couple days. My biggest concern is that she would fly up onto the light in our foyer (2nd floor level) and possibly fall to the tile below. The thought is if I could tone her flying down a little and get her trained as to where she is allowed to fly/land that I can try and prevent her from flying up there. I understand how important flying is but I need to weigh that with her safety too.

 

Sassy

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