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Post Wing trimming


jgerardo

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My grey has only had his wings clipped 3 times in his life. When I bought him as a baby, the breeder clipped them. The next time was when he was about 7 months he started learning to fly and had a few close calls with the sauce pan. So we clipped him. I was a little sad that he did not know how to fly properly, so I let his wings grow and boy did he learn! He mastered his flying techniques but he is getting to the terrible twos! Going into places he shouldn't and biting what he shouldn't. He even flew outside twice. So I decided it was time to clip him again. So I took him in yesterday to Omar's Exotic Birds and they clipped his wings, nails, and beak. When we got home he seemed a little sad. He realizes his freedom is gone. He tried to fly and hit the ground hard. He was giving me the cold shoulder all day yesterday. :( I wish I could keep him flying but I can't watch him every minute of the day. If I am home, he gets to come out of his cage. Do your greys get sad after wing clipping?

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Wing clipping is a great way to screw up your parrot! I will never clip Misty. I am happy to keep an eye on him. We have been together for more than ten years since he was two. He was clipped when I got him and it was scary every time he tried to fly he risked injury. I promised him that he would never be clipped again. I so wish you had taken advice here first. Clipping caused far more problems than it might solve.

 

Steve n Misty

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My grey has only had his wings clipped 3 times in his life. When I bought him as a baby, the breeder clipped them. The next time was when he was about 7 months he started learning to fly and had a few close calls with the sauce pan. So we clipped him. I was a little sad that he did not know how to fly properly, so I let his wings grow and boy did he learn! He mastered his flying techniques but he is getting to the terrible twos! Going into places he shouldn't and biting what he shouldn't. He even flew outside twice. So I decided it was time to clip him again. So I took him in yesterday to Omar's Exotic Birds and they clipped his wings, nails, and beak. When we got home he seemed a little sad. He realizes his freedom is gone. He tried to fly and hit the ground hard. He was giving me the cold shoulder all day yesterday. :( I wish I could keep him flying but I can't watch him every minute of the day. If I am home, he gets to come out of his cage. Do your greys get sad after wing clipping?

 

So much has been discussed concerning clipping. Unfortuntally it's a subject that isn't looked at before buying a parrot. A person purchases a parrot, is told that one thing can be done concerning parrots is to stop a parrot from doing what comes naturally. FLYING. There's a lot more to owning a parrot besides just buying one. Nature gave wings to birds so that they could grow strong, avoid the natural problems that surround it, build a solid personality and confidence in order to deal with other things like people. Instead, there's loads of so called * professional groomers* which are people out there who have their own idiotic ideas about how to stop a bird's natural functions. Some go too far and the bird and owner pay the price. Rather than getting into this subject over and over and over and over, it's best to read these threads below. I posted them for many reasons.------The main reason was that people would read them before making bad decisions.

 

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?190509-WingClipping-Part-4-Objective-Neutral

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My greys were clipped when I got them from their breeder(s) but have not been clipped since nor ever will be. As with any "child" you teach them what is right and what is wrong. My greys do not destroy my home or things. We have learned to live together peacefully. Personal choices. Everyone should do with is right for their situation. To me a bird is meant to fly as humans are meant to walk. Even the canary flies around my home.

Edited by luvparrots
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As a soon to be Grey owner, I don't want my Grey's wings to be clipped, I want him to fly freely and explore the house. But I also don't want him to fly out of an accidentally left open window, or worse, fly into a pot of boiling water. So I'm torn...

 

Many things change when a person gets a parrot (any kind of parrot). A person's habits change. Certain things become the norm in a house. On a regular basis, windows are checked or doors are closed where the windows are. Ceiling fans are checked out. Loose electric wiring is checked. The cage serves it's purpose. Any cooking or preparing of food should be done only after the bird is put into the cage. Any cooking ( cold or hot cooking) in kitchen/cooking area should be off limits to a bird. If a person tells his or her dog to get his paws off the table or stove or sink then the same should apply to a bird. Like I said, it's a new learning process. Many many many people here on the board had gone through this whole scenario. You're not the first nor will you be the last.

Edited by Dave007
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My grey was clipped before I brought her home and then she either pulled or chewed off the feathers on one wing preventing flight for several years, now she is flying and though she is not as proficient at it as she would have been if she had been left flighted in the first place but she is getting better at it all the time. I don't clip the wings on any of my 3 birds but one only flies if startled, one loves to fly and is very good at it and then my grey is a work in progress.

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Brutus has never been clipped and I like it that way. He LOVES to fly and it shows. He is so proud of himself when he makes a tricky landing. I do have to keep a careful eye on him because he can fly, but I am okay with that. All this being said, he flew out of the house a few months back and I was able to get him back, and I do not regret my decision to keep him fully flighted. It is the risk we will take and I take it knowing full well the consequences. I do believe that once he got out that having unclipped wings and full flying abilities kept him safe from hawks and crows. I do not even believe in little trims because that compromises a bird's safety if they ever have to fend for themselves.

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Alfie's wings were clipped twice when he was very young. The store I got him from recommended keeping his wings lightly clipped. After the second time, I decided it would never happen again. He was only lightly clipped both times, but I saw no benefit to it and it was so stressful for him that it just wasn't worth it. He's quite a strong flyer so the wing clip had no effect on him once he got used to it. I'm always super careful with doors and windows (and cats!) when he's out of his cage and he doesn't come out when I'm cooking as he can be a bit unpredictable about where he chooses to land... and I don't want him to land in a pot of boiling water!

 

The thing I realised was that, other than being super stressful for him, if he got out, he'd be able to fly away anyway- wings clipped or not. I also thought that having a bird and expecting it not to fly was like having a dog and expecting it not to wag its tail... or bark. I just wish I'd thought about it sooner rather than listening to the person at the store. Hindsight is always wonderful, isn't it?!

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Miss Dayo was clipped when I got her so I let her wings grow out... then when I had to go in to the hospital for a week I made a tortured decision to clip her so she'd be safe for the week at a friend's house while I was gone. But as soon as I did it I knew it was the wrong decision. She was so depressed. She did not interact with her environment at all... just sat there looking sad. Oh and the pathetic attempts to fly were just more than I could bear. I vowed never to do that again. Better for her to stay in her cage for a week than to clip her wings.

 

As far as keeping her safe (and my stuff safe) being fully flighted and un-caged, I have learned to use things that she is afraid of to keep her from getting into trouble. For instance beanie babies worked well for a while. I put them wherever I did not want her to go... worked like a charm. When one thing wears off I always stumble onto something else to use as a deterrent. Right now I have a T-Rex guarding my Ivy plants. Kitchen pots are always covered with one of those screen splatter guards.. just in case. As you work together and observe their behavior closely you will find a flighted parrot is manageable.

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You guys crack me up!

I have a ceiling fan in the bedroom and he doesn't go near it if it is spinning.

 

I use junky pillows and a set of comforters I bought cheaply to cover things he is likely to shred. i still have to keep an eye on him though, and if it is quiet it is a sure sign he is getting into something he shouldn't! l also learned to buy things that cannot be destroyed so easily like furniture and lamps made of metal, glass and hardwood--no plastic, no vinyl. The cheap vinyl and metal kitchen stools have been munched on. I will never buy vinyl anything as it is just like butter when met with a beak. He alternates on what he is interested in, so I rotate the pillows and comforters around as his interests change. I have given up on the door frame headers on most of my doors. I try to give him stuff he CAN shred when he is in the mood. He likes to show me how big and tough he is by putting big gaping holes in cardboard boxes. He has about a zillion wooden toys that he works on from time to time, and various atoms, and play stations with toys around the house, so he has places all over where he can let loose.

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